“I Was Scared to Death”: Magic Johnson’s Height as a Teenager Made Him a Target for Older Kids, Leaving Lakers Legend Traumatized

Among the many words that can describe prime Magic Johnson, the NBA pro, there are ‘tough,’ ‘unselfish,’ and ‘athletic.’ ‘Scared’ and Magic Johnson don’t mesh in the same sentence, though. But that was the case in Magic: The Life of Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, the Lakers icon’s 2022 biography by Roland Lazenby. Johnson is quoted in this book admitting that as a young boy who was larger than his peers, there was a phase that filled him with anxiety. The experience, though, shaped Johnson into a future college and NBA superstar.

Magic started playing basketball when he was seven years old, thanks to his dad and uncles, also athletes. But he was not immediately playing with the neighborhood kids or classmates. Fitting in as a tall kid was just as challenging. “I was big for my age even then,” Magic said. “But I still wanted to play with kids my age.”

Instead, he was designated to watch from the sidelines of their neighborhood court in Lansing. After the older kids left, he’d shoot some hoops alone, imitating what he observed. Instead of his peers, the older boys noticed. Two friends, Charlie Ford and Bob Riddle, got him to join because of his size.

“They dragged me out on the court with the older kids.” Instead of jumping at the chance to play with other kids, Magic said, “I was scared to death. They’d just play and beat on me all the time and make me cry.”

That’s not a reaction we usually imagine from Magic, the once-dominant 6’9″ point guard who played for the Michigan Spartans and the Los Angeles Lakers. But it set him on the path to always play with and against phenomenal talent like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird, respectively. “I got beat up pretty good, but I learned.” However, he’d have to fit in with his peers in other ways.

Basketball made Magic Johnson closer to his team

According to an old LA Times profile on Johnson, he was over five feet in fifth grade, taller than the average middle-schooler. The older kids played according to his height, not age. He was nearly 6′ by seventh grade, 6’3″ in the eighth, 6’5″ in the ninth, and 6’6″ when he started high school.

Not only was he physically well-matched to the older boys, but his developing skills made him a great opponent. Instead of observing, he got better at playing with them, rough as it was. By age 15, he was getting national attention as a top prospect.

In a different memoir, he recalled his challenges at Everett High School. Sometimes teammates didn’t want to pass him the ball. But sport brought these kids closer as a team and eventually won a state championship. That was the foundation of Magic standing out among NBA veterans for generations.