Only his first season in the NWSL and Magic Johnson is very close to winning his 16th ring – it would be the first in women’s soccer! The Washington Spirit just clinched a playoff spot a year after they welcomed Earvin “Magic” Johnson into the ownership group. Trinity Rodman and Gift Monday are empowering his inner Gollum with their spectacular partnership.

The Houston Dash suffered a blowout 4-0 loss to the Spirit last night. With this win, the Spirit bagged its second consecutive playoff berth.

They last made it to the playoffs in 2024 and lost to the Orlando Pride. Between that near miss and this season, Magic Johnson joined the ownership group in September 2025. He’s already close to his 16th total championship with their latest feat.

After the game, he was on all his social media pages to celebrate his team. “Congratulations to my @washspirit for clinching the NWSL 2025 playoffs! Cookie and I are so excited about the post season and are hoping for another chance at the Championship this year!”

Magic wasn’t there for the previous season but it doesn’t mean he’s not thrilled for what their second shot after the season Spirit has had. The Spirit has mostly been on edge about their star. Trinity Rodman’s health and recurring back issues.

Johnson himself needed this major pick-me-up. His other Washington team, the Commanders, had a bad week.

Magic Johnson has reason to be excited again

The Washington Commanders suffered a 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, who before this game weren’t the frontrunners to win. But the Commanders’ defensive line practically handed the game to them. Instead of publicly sharing his notes on the loss as he tends to do, Magic Johnson focused on his friends who joined him at the game.

Johnson wasn’t there at the Spirit-Dash game (at least he wasn’t seen there), but he didn’t miss Gift Monday’s heroics. She was responsible for three of the four goals in this win. Rodman (whose relationship with her NBA legend dad, Dennis Rodman is as much a rollercoaster as Magic’s own history with The Worm) was instrumental with her two assists to Monday.

The striker’s hat trick and Sofia Cantore’s goal with an assist from Narumi Miura brings the Washington Spirit back to the point they were at last year. With Magic Johnson’s encouragement, they look like they have the potential to go farther this time.

The Kansas City Current was the first squad to punch a postseason ticket and already have the NWSL shield for the best overall record this season. The Spirit rank second 16 points behind the Current and four points above the third-ranked Gotham FC.

The team will hit the road to face their rival, Gotham FC for a midweek Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage match. That will be followed with a home game against the San Diego Wave FC on Sunday, Oct. 5.