Magic Johnson Opens Up on Being Shunned by NBA Players After HIV: “I Was Upset”

Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s return to the NBA All-Star was a fitting tribute by the fans. After his shocking retirement announcement due to his HIV diagnosis sent shockwaves to the entire world. At the peak of his game, he retired. Yet the return was made possible thanks to the fans and one special man.

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. Kay asked Magic about the time when players refused to play with him on the court. She also asked further about his feelings back then and his feelings now about the situation. “I was upset then.”

Kay questioned if Magic was angered by the player’s choice. “Yeah very angry,” said the 5x NBA champion. But things changed later when he got the opportunity to hoop once again. The former Commissioner allowed retired Magic Johnson to play in the All-Star game. Even after not playing a single minute that season, he received 658,211 fan votes as per basketball-reference.

David Stern permitted him to play in the All-Star game and that changed people’s minds. Since they saw that nothing was going to happen to them, plus saw Magic Johnson perform at the highest levels. This not only helped to change the basketball player’s mind, but also the general perception around the world changed.

Magic speaks about not only the All-Star, but his Olympic selection also helped him to broadcast his message even further. “Instead of uncertainty, there was love and respect and now people got more educated after the dream team.” The 3x Finals MVP has thanked Stern many times for giving him the confidence to play again.

Magic Johnson on Stern saving his life

Johnson joined the Lakers again for some time in the 1995-96 season. He played 32 games and then retired again. Anyhow, this return of Johnson was not the most celebrated one. It was rather the All-Star game. All of this was possible only because of David Stern, who Magic considered being an angel.

Stern was always very respectful to his players. He never missed a chance to celebrate legends like Johnson. To put it simply, the emotional LA champion said in Stern’s memorial service, “That game saved my life.” Johnson has shown his gratitude to Stern on several other occasions as well. This gesture from the former NBA commissioner gave him a perfect farewell that he will always be grateful for.

Earlier this year before the All-Star game, Magic Johnson 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.”

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