One of the greatest sports tales is still the US Men’s Olympic Basketball team from 1992, but there was a brief period of time when one of the key players wasn’t even on the squad.
Even though Magic Johnson was a true NBA legend, his HIV diagnosis forced him to retire from the game in 1991.
The sporting world was taken aback by the incident, particularly given how little was known about the illness in those days compared to now.
Nevertheless, Johnson didn’t let the illness stop him, and a year later he was back competing in the NBA all-star game and vying for a spot on the 1992 Olympic team—though he had to win over a lot of people first.
Johnson needed to persuade Larry Bird and Michael Jordan of his importance to the group.
How did things get to this point?
Magic Johnson appeared in a video that BBC News posted on their YouTube channel on June 23, 2024, as part of the series Influential with Katty Kay.
Johnson talked about his Olympic memories, HIV advocacy, and career during the interview.
Johnson told Influential, “It was the best moment of my life, especially since I had retired because of HIV.”
“Therefore, I also needed this personally.”
The hardest part, according to Johnson, was persuading Jordan because he had already won an Olympic gold medal in 1984. But Magic had prepared a speech, luring Jordan in with the prospect of spending every evening playing cards and hanging out, along with the assurance that Jordan could come to the game, play golf all day, score thirty points by halftime, and then unwind.
This strategy proved successful, and Jordan approved Johnson’s addition to the team.
Magic made an emotional plea to Larry Bird, who was nursing a back injury, in an attempt to convince him.
“Larry, this is our opportunity to play for the Olympics, not the Boston Celtics or the Lakers, for our children.”
“You only have ten minutes to play each game. All I want to do is drop to the floor, pass to you without looking, and let you make a three-pointer.
Leave a Reply