Magic Johnson Speaker & Booking Information

Lakers Hall of Fame legend Magic Johnson was born August 14, 1959 and is a retired professional basketball player who played point guard. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time. Johnson's career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. Johnson was a member of the "Dream Team", the U.S. basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1992.

Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, were well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. Johnson was a part-owner of the Lakers for several years, and was part of a group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Earvin Johnson, Jr. is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Magic Johnson Enterprises which was formed in 1987. Through strategic investments, partnerships and endorsements, Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE) provides products and services that particularly focus on ethnically diverse urban communities.

MJE is comprised of a portfolio of companies that include Urban Coffee Opportunities (making MJE the only joint venture partner of Starbucks), Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund which is the country's largest private real estate fund focused on the revitalization of underserved communities, over 30 Burger King restaurants, a dozen 24 Hour Fitness Magic Sport centers, a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant, and a long-standing partnership with AMC Magic Johnson Theatres.

MJE recently launched several additional initiatives: SodexoMagic, LLC and respective partnerships with Aetna and Best Buy. SodexoMagic, LLC provides an extensive portfolio of food and facilities management services as well as offers signature dining facilities. MJE's alliance with Aetna will empower businesses and ethnically diverse communities to make informed choices about health care options by improving health care literacy and demonstrating the benefits of wellness. Similarly, MJE has entered into a multi-year relationship with retail giant Best Buy to enhance urban retail growth strategies and implement diversity outreach with multicultural consumers.

The aforementioned businesses have been at the forefront of urban development, raising the understanding of the importance of the multicultural consumer, and are directly responsible for tremendous growth across the country. Through MJE, Mr. Johnson has bolstered the economy by establishing brand name businesses in underserved communities, training and hiring local residents, employing local contractors, and opening the door for other businesses to find success in diverse communities.

In addition to his varied business accomplishments, Mr. Johnson was voted (unaided) number one at representing the urban community, garnering a higher percentage than any other organization or personality (February 2008 Yankelovich/Magic Johnson Brand Study). He was also voted the number one rated athlete for corporate endorsements (TSE Sports & Entertainment Survey, April 2007) and one of the most highly rated celebrities able to influence consumer purchasing power (rated 6 out of 350 according to the 2006 Davie Brown Index).

As Chairman and Founder of the Magic Johnson Foundation, Inc., Mr. Johnson is dedicated to developing programs and supporting services that address the educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities. Founded in 1991, the Magic Johnson Foundation (MJF) has become one of the most recognizable charitable organizations around the world.

Over the past few years, the MJF has awarded more than $1.1 million to community-based organizations that focus on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, established four HIV/AIDS clinics and has co-created the award-winning "I Stand With Magic" campaign to end HIV/AIDS in the black community. Additionally, the MJF has supported more than 800 minority high school students with college scholarships (many through the organization's Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program), opened 20 Magic Johnson Community Empowerment Centers located in underserved communities across the country, and provides a range of community-based initiatives including an annual children's Mardi Gras, holiday toy drive and semi-annual job fair.

Mr. Johnson is universally known for his 13 year career in the NBA. His honors include: five national championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, 3 MVP awards, 12 NBA All-Star games, a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mr. Johnson is currently Vice President and part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.