Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson holds the distinction of being the only rookie to win the Finals MVP award. When the Lakers took on the Philadelphia 76ers in 1980, Johnson put in an incredible shift to help his team win the title. Interestingly, he played out of position for the final game. Johnson played primarily as a guard and he was one of the best players in that position. However, due to a massive Kareem Abdul-Jabbar setback, the former MVP had to play center.

Abdul-Jabbar injured himself during the crucial game 5 clash. With the whole team and the world stunned, Magic took it upon himself to replace the great Kareem. He put in a memorable performance and was all over the court which was the reason why Johnson thought of an interesting nickname after the game.

Magic Johnson once tried to describe his finals performance

Five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson is built for the big moments. He has three finals MVP awards and his first NBA title will forever be etched in NBA history. 

A rookie Johnson played out of position to cover Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s absence and was phenomenal during the game. When asked about his thoughts on his gameplay, he said, “What position did I play? Well, I played center, a little forward, some guard. I tried to think up a name for it, but the best I came up with was C-F-G Rover.”

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In the famous game 6 against the 76ers, a 20-year-old Magic scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists. Apart from being the first rookie to win the Finals MVP, he also joined an elite list of players to win the NCAA and NBA titles in consecutive seasons. 

Johnson was confident despite Kareem’s injury

When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar injured himself, the team and the fans were naturally devastated. However, that was not the case with Magic. He was quite confident in himself as he cheered up his teammates before the flight.

In fact, he also sat on Kareem’s designated seat on the flight! Additionally, whenever a player walked into the flight, Johnson lifted his team’s spirits up in an interesting way. He exclaimed, “never fear, Magic is here” to boost the team’s morale. He lived up to his promise and his hype as Johnson led his team to the 1980 NBA title in the absence of Kareem.

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What is your favorite memory of Magic Johnson? Let us know in the comments down below.