1992 was a memorable year for the NBA, looking at a series of iconic moments that took place. One of the most celebrated moments was Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s NBA return in the All-Star game to play against Michael Jordan. Magic had announced his retirement because of his HIV diagnosis. After the All-Star game, Johnson was selected for the 1992 Olympics, but there was a “catch” in his selection.

On Jun 23, 2024, BBC News uploaded a video on their YouTube channel featuring Magic Johnson. In the series Influential with Katty Kay, she spoke with Magic about his career, HIV advocacy, and Olympic memories. Commissioner Stern had called the 5x NBA champion about his selection and Johnson couldn’t hide his excitement. “It was the greatest moment of my life, especially coming after I had retired coming off a HIV. So personally I needed this too.” But to play for the “Dream Team” Stern put up a condition that Magic had to speak with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and had to convince them to play.

Magic Johnson described that it was harder to convince MJ for the team. Since His Airness had already won the gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. But Magic had already prepared a speech where he asked Jordan to “hang out every night and play cards together.” Plus Jordan could “play golf all day, come to the game, just score 30 at halftime and go sit down.” Apparently, it worked and Jordan was part of the team. And to convince Larry Bird he used an emotional tactic.

“Larry this is a chance for our kids to see us play in the Olympics not on the Boston Celtics not on the Lakers,” said Magic Johnson. Bird was struggling with his back injury and was still not sure. “You can just play 10 minutes a game. All I want to do is come down and do a no-look pass to you. And you shoot a three-pointer we both going to be very happy.” Thus Bird too came on board for the dream team. Magic spoke about how important the Dream Team was.

Magic Johnson recalled how the Dream Team there would never be replicated. Every single player has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He feels they went out there and did their job by winning the gold medal. Importantly they had fun getting to know each other plus beating the teams by over 42 points a game. Magic also recalled his time during his final All-Star game.

Magic Johnson gets emotional

The 12x All-Star on Feb 19, 2024, took to X to reminisce about his old days ahead of this year’s All-Star game. Magic tweeted, “The 1992 All-Star game is a core memory of mine! I owe so much to Commissioner David Stern for allowing me to play in the game and helping me change the world after my diagnosis.”

He shared a video of the last couple of minutes of the game, where he was making an impact all over the court. Johnson’s 25 points and 9 assists helped the West beat Michael Jordan’s Eastern All-Stars. He added, “Love the last couple minutes of the game, competing against my two good friends and NBA greats Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas.”

In 1991, in his prime, Johnson announced his retirement after testing positive for HIV. Since then, the 5x NBA champion has been a significant advocate for creating awareness of the cause. When Magic Johnson announced his results decades ago, he revealed, there was just one medication available–AZT. But thanks to medical advancement, the number is now nearly at 40, he feels “it’s not a death sentence anymore like it used to be.”

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