Years After Serena Williams’ Phone Call, Magic Johnson Dwells into Biggest Regret Around 2019 Lakers’ Decision: “I Want to Keep My Relationship…”

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson hand-crafted the golden era for LA basketball with his stint with the Showtime Lakers in the 80s. However, the same cannot be said about his term as the President of Basketball Operations. Although Johnson successfully executed some of the best trades in recent Lakers history, he stepped down from the position in 2019. While there were many factors that drove Johnson to take this decision, including tennis legend Serena Williams, Magic recently revealed his biggest regret involving the shocking decision.

During a recent media appearance, the NBA Hall of Famer revealed his relationship with the Lakers owner, Jeanie Buss, while also shedding light on his resignation. 

Magic Johnson delves into his infamous 2019 resignation

2019 was a rocky year for the Los Angeles Lakers. Although they had brought in four-time NBA champion LeBron James the year before, the team struggled to perform. Moreover, Magic Johnson stepped down as the Lakers’ President of Basketball Operations on April 10th, 2019. Johnson talked about his relationship with Jeanie Buss and what drove him to offer his resignation on the Top Billin’ With Bill Bellamy podcast.

Johnson said, “I love Jeanie Buss, she is like a sister to me. So, I would do anything for the Lakers and Jeanie. It was some people meddling in the business and trying to get in my way on the job that I was doing and so, I said I don’t have time to be dealing with this. I’m supposed to make all of the decisions when it came to the Lakers basketball and so, some of the outside forces who were working within the Lakers were trying to not have me make the moves I wanted to make.”

The legendary Laker further added, “I’m gonna step down because I don’t need the hassle or the headache. I want to keep my relationship with my sister, Jeanie.”

The three-time MVP also revealed one his biggest regrets following this saga. “The only regret that I had is I didn’t tell LeBron, so I do regret that,” Magic said. He didn’t notify LeBron James or Jeanie Buss of his major decision, for which he had apologized to both of them

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Johnson had a tumultuous relationship with GM Rob Pelinka. The NBA legend asserted that Pelinka spoke ill of him behind his back. Interestingly, tennis legend Serena Williams had also called him to offer him a job as an advisor. Following this call, Johnson had made up his mind about stepping down once and for all.

Magic was losing the love for the game while he was President

Like any other basketball fan, Magic Johnson likes to talk about his opinions on the game on social media platforms. However, he couldn’t do so while he held the post of the Lakers President.

This was also one of the major reasons why the basketball great infamously stepped down. “You know I can’t answer any questions about no players, because every time I do it, I get fined”, said Johnson, as per NBC Sports. The five-time NBA champion was fined for winking at Paul George on National TV. Moreover, he had also praised Giannis Antetokounmpo once which also resulted in a fine.

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