WEBVTT 00:00:04.421 --> 00:00:07.716 who will represent America in the 1992 Olympics. 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.886 There's been much speculation about who will play and who won't. 00:00:10.969 --> 00:00:15.265 I was already thinking about what my next move was going to be 00:00:15.349 --> 00:00:18.101 when Commissioner Stern called me and said, 00:00:18.185 --> 00:00:21.438 "Hey, Earvin. We want you to play in the Olympics." 00:00:22.147 --> 00:00:23.899 If you're going to put together a team, 00:00:23.982 --> 00:00:25.734 you should start with a great team leader. 00:00:25.817 --> 00:00:29.238 And who better than a player who has led his team to five NBA championships? 00:00:29.321 --> 00:00:30.656 Magic Johnson. 00:00:32.073 --> 00:00:34.701 I got so excited, so we talked about that. 00:00:34.785 --> 00:00:37.246 And then he said, "But we're having one problem." 00:00:37.329 --> 00:00:38.914 And I said, "What is that?" 00:00:39.581 --> 00:00:40.958 "Larry and Michael." 00:00:42.167 --> 00:00:48.131 Yeah, I called Larry, and I said, "Listen, LB. This is our last hurrah. 00:00:48.674 --> 00:00:51.218 We gotta play, man. You gotta play." 00:00:52.010 --> 00:00:54.054 I told him I probably wouldn't do it. 00:00:54.137 --> 00:00:55.597 I'm just trying to get through this season. 00:00:55.681 --> 00:00:57.599 I don't know if I can make it. 00:00:57.683 --> 00:01:00.102 He said, "Earvin, my back," and "I don't know." 00:01:00.185 --> 00:01:04.147 I said, "All you have to do is go stand in the corner 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:05.816 or stand at the top of the key. 00:01:05.899 --> 00:01:08.569 You don't have to do nothing else. I'm gonna get you the ball. 00:01:08.652 --> 00:01:10.112 You just shoot it and make it." 00:01:10.195 --> 00:01:11.947 "You can still do that, can't you?" 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:14.157 "I can do that with my eyes closed, yeah." 00:01:14.241 --> 00:01:15.284 I gotta do it. 00:01:15.367 --> 00:01:18.078 Whether I can play or not, I gotta be on that team. 00:01:18.161 --> 00:01:19.663 Finally, he said yes. 00:01:20.831 --> 00:01:22.916 And then the hard one was Michael. 00:01:24.251 --> 00:01:27.171 Michael, I was wondering if you made a definite decision 00:01:27.254 --> 00:01:29.173 on whether you will or will not play in those Olympics? 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:32.759 I would love to do it, but I think it would take so much away 00:01:32.843 --> 00:01:34.970 from what I have to do for the Chicago Bulls. 00:01:35.053 --> 00:01:37.598 So right now, I don't think I'm gonna participate. 00:01:37.681 --> 00:01:39.308 Well, I said, "Listen, man. 00:01:40.851 --> 00:01:43.770 It's been on my bucket list to play with you and Larry. 00:01:43.854 --> 00:01:46.565 And we're going to have fun being with each other 00:01:46.648 --> 00:01:48.984 'cause we've never really hung out like that." 00:01:49.067 --> 00:01:52.529 I had to work on him some, but finally he said yes. 00:01:54.031 --> 00:01:55.449 The Dream Team. 00:01:55.532 --> 00:01:59.745 A basketball machine with names like Magic and Michael and Ewing and Bird. 00:02:02.388 --> 00:02:04.557 He brought Showtime to Barcelona. 00:02:09.588 --> 00:02:11.215 Magic! Magic! 00:02:17.363 --> 00:02:20.199 I never wanted them to think like they had to carry me, 00:02:20.282 --> 00:02:21.617 the other nine guys. 00:02:22.409 --> 00:02:26.789 And so, the practices was probably the best basketball I've ever played 00:02:26.872 --> 00:02:27.873 in my life. 00:02:27.957 --> 00:02:30.125 He's like the baby-faced assassin. 00:02:31.377 --> 00:02:34.213 That was like a dogfight every single day. 00:02:34.713 --> 00:02:36.632 He wanted to prove that he was back. 00:02:36.715 --> 00:02:39.969 I wanted to prove to him that there's new kids on the block. 00:02:40.636 --> 00:02:45.766 We spent a lot of time together, and I think it bonded all of us together. 00:02:45.850 --> 00:02:50.980 I was in Barcelona playing cards with Magic, Charles Barkley and MJ. 00:02:51.063 --> 00:02:54.942 It was just like a bunch of brothers talking shit. 00:02:55.025 --> 00:02:58.320 'Cause Michael is probably the greatest shit-talker of all time, 00:02:58.404 --> 00:03:00.823 and Magic was not having any of it. 00:03:00.906 --> 00:03:05.327 Here's these two competitive guys who didn't want to lose. 00:03:05.411 --> 00:03:06.579 We were gonna play. 00:03:06.662 --> 00:03:09.707 We're gonna play hard, and I was coming in there to win. 00:03:10.332 --> 00:03:14.420 A dream team for America. A nightmare for its opposition. 00:03:18.883 --> 00:03:22.636 If we can maintain this level of intensity, 00:03:22.720 --> 00:03:25.431 then we feel that we have a great chance to win. 00:03:28.893 --> 00:03:33.397 There's no doubt Magic added that little special sauce 00:03:33.481 --> 00:03:35.232 to the '92 Olympic team. 00:03:37.818 --> 00:03:43.157 They have, as expected, won the gold here in Barcelona. 00:03:45.409 --> 00:03:50.206 I needed the Dream Team to validate into my own mind that, 00:03:50.289 --> 00:03:52.333 "Hey, Earvin, you're gonna be okay. 00:03:52.416 --> 00:03:54.084 You're gonna be here for a long time. 00:03:54.168 --> 00:03:57.213 You can still play. Your body is okay." 00:03:57.296 --> 00:03:59.965 Because by then I had adjusted to the medicine. 00:04:00.549 --> 00:04:04.136 He was giving confidence to tens of millions of people 00:04:04.220 --> 00:04:05.638 who had a similar diagnosis, 00:04:05.721 --> 00:04:10.893 who would see Magic out there playing at an incredibly high level. 00:04:10.976 --> 00:04:14.605 And so during that time, that period, 00:04:14.688 --> 00:04:18.734 Magic had begun a discussion with David about his desire to return to the league. 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:25.282 When you leave sports, it's really not about the games. 00:04:26.492 --> 00:04:29.495 It's about you're one of the guys. 00:04:30.412 --> 00:04:35.251 And I needed to be one of the guys one more time. 00:05:33.642 --> 00:05:34.935 It was less than a year ago, 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:38.689 it seemed that we'd seen the last of Magic Johnson on the basketball floor. 00:05:38.772 --> 00:05:42.026 The Lakers star was retiring because of the virus that causes AIDS. 00:05:42.109 --> 00:05:45.362 But then Magic on the Dream Team, an Olympic gold medal 00:05:45.446 --> 00:05:48.032 and now Magic back in the NBA. 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:51.076 I didn't go out the way I wanted to go out, 00:05:52.077 --> 00:05:53.871 and that's not the perfect ending. 00:05:53.954 --> 00:05:58.334 John Wayne always rode out the way he wanna ride out. 00:05:59.210 --> 00:06:00.836 That's John Wayne's way. 00:06:01.712 --> 00:06:02.713 Finally. 00:06:03.547 --> 00:06:05.883 This is a great day for me. 00:06:05.966 --> 00:06:08.427 Been working extremely hard to come back, 00:06:08.511 --> 00:06:10.763 and I'm just happy to be back 00:06:12.765 --> 00:06:16.227 So, that's all I have to say. 00:06:18.437 --> 00:06:20.689 For selfish reasons, I wanted him to play. 00:06:21.440 --> 00:06:23.651 You know, we had a chance of winning it again with Magic. 00:06:23.734 --> 00:06:25.319 We can get back to the Finals. 00:06:25.903 --> 00:06:29.532 To come out again leading the Lakers out like old times. 00:06:30.699 --> 00:06:35.287 Right now it's sending chills up my spine, right now just talking about it. 00:06:36.914 --> 00:06:39.333 But it was controversial when Earvin came back. 00:06:39.416 --> 00:06:42.503 There was players all over the league that didn't feel comfortable. 00:06:42.586 --> 00:06:44.129 Karl Malone came out publicly. 00:06:44.213 --> 00:06:46.966 If I get in a collision with a guy-- It don't have to be Magic. 00:06:47.383 --> 00:06:48.759 It could be Joe Schmo. 00:06:48.843 --> 00:06:52.221 But the fact of the matter is, if you got the AIDS virus, 00:06:52.304 --> 00:06:55.349 it'll be hard for me to play as hard as I'm capable of playing. 00:06:55.432 --> 00:06:58.602 And if people can't respect my decision, that's tough. 00:06:58.686 --> 00:07:04.024 For such a prominent player to make those remarks 00:07:04.775 --> 00:07:06.777 were really difficult to get past. 00:07:07.444 --> 00:07:09.530 Man, I just played with Karl. 00:07:10.072 --> 00:07:12.408 We did the All-Star Game, now we did the Dream Team, 00:07:12.491 --> 00:07:15.828 and now you've got an issue playing against me during the regular season? 00:07:15.911 --> 00:07:17.872 It was sort of like he stabbed me in the back. 00:07:17.955 --> 00:07:22.877 Now you have this huge distraction. 00:07:24.253 --> 00:07:27.715 We go to North Carolina to play a preseason game, 00:07:28.382 --> 00:07:32.178 and unfortunately, he gets this fingernail scratch. 00:07:33.929 --> 00:07:35.097 There's a time-out. 00:07:35.681 --> 00:07:37.141 And when he comes to the bench, 00:07:38.726 --> 00:07:45.191 I look up and all eyes and cameras are upon me. 00:07:45.274 --> 00:07:47.151 I could see the look on players' face 00:07:47.234 --> 00:07:48.402 where they wasn't comfortable. 00:07:48.486 --> 00:07:50.821 You could see guys' whole demeanor change. 00:07:50.905 --> 00:07:54.825 The nonverbal communication that's going on in that particular moment, 00:07:54.909 --> 00:07:58.120 and you're like, "Why is everyone staring?" 00:07:58.954 --> 00:08:02.374 I remember hearing the reporters saying, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God." 00:08:02.458 --> 00:08:04.543 You know, "Magic got scratched." You know, "He's bleeding." 00:08:04.627 --> 00:08:05.961 "What are they gonna do?" 00:08:07.213 --> 00:08:09.381 I have the gloves in my back pocket. 00:08:09.465 --> 00:08:12.384 We have a protocol. I wrote the protocol. 00:08:13.928 --> 00:08:16.680 There's no way that I could put these gloves on. 00:08:18.057 --> 00:08:23.354 Putting the gloves on would be the epitome of a mixed message 00:08:23.436 --> 00:08:25.815 'cause we're telling you, you can't get it from him. 00:08:26.774 --> 00:08:29.819 So if you can't get it, then why are you putting the gloves on? 00:08:31.695 --> 00:08:34.365 You could see the fear upon people face, 00:08:34.448 --> 00:08:37.701 and it just keep on drawing attention to it. 00:08:37.785 --> 00:08:39.829 So, it's just too much. 00:08:39.912 --> 00:08:42.248 It's gonna happen all year long. 00:08:42.331 --> 00:08:45.835 Magic Johnson's comeback is over before it began. 00:08:45.918 --> 00:08:49.505 The basketball superstar said today that he is retiring for good 00:08:49.588 --> 00:08:52.883 because of the controversy over his decision to play 00:08:52.967 --> 00:08:54.885 while infected with the AIDS virus. 00:08:54.969 --> 00:08:57.054 There had been so much bad press. 00:08:57.138 --> 00:08:58.848 The joy was gone, 00:08:58.931 --> 00:09:03.227 but I felt for Magic 'cause he still had basketball left to play. 00:09:03.310 --> 00:09:08.190 You said when you were here that God created you to play basketball. 00:09:09.066 --> 00:09:11.110 I don't know now what you think about that statement. 00:09:11.193 --> 00:09:13.320 I would think this is very disappointing for you. 00:09:13.904 --> 00:09:16.782 People don't understand this what we as young kids-- 00:09:16.866 --> 00:09:19.910 I mean, it's all we thought about, you know, was basketball. 00:09:19.994 --> 00:09:21.996 And that was our whole life at the time. 00:09:22.079 --> 00:09:25.166 You said that you wanted to go out like John Wayne. 00:09:25.249 --> 00:09:28.169 -Yeah. -You wanted to do it your way. 00:09:28.252 --> 00:09:29.253 Exactly. 00:09:29.336 --> 00:09:31.046 Now you're not gonna get that chance. 00:09:31.130 --> 00:09:33.632 The perfect ending would've been me playing this season. 00:09:34.925 --> 00:09:38.846 But my movie will have no ending. 00:09:52.093 --> 00:09:56.306 Man, I tell you, Cookie and I, we'd been together on and off 00:09:56.389 --> 00:09:59.475 since we were 18 years old, and now we're married. 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:00.935 Now we're about to have a baby. 00:10:01.216 --> 00:10:05.386 Magic, the vital statistics for Earvin Johnson III, 00:10:05.470 --> 00:10:08.515 seven pounds, 15 ounces. Congratulations. 00:10:09.307 --> 00:10:11.226 Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. 00:10:11.309 --> 00:10:15.522 When EJ was born, it was just such a relief to me 00:10:15.605 --> 00:10:20.527 because they always just said, "From what we understand with the disease 00:10:20.610 --> 00:10:22.904 if the mother doesn't have it, the baby doesn't have it." 00:10:22.987 --> 00:10:24.864 But in the back of your mind, you're wondering, 00:10:24.948 --> 00:10:27.617 "Is he gonna come out okay? Is he gonna look okay?" 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:29.369 You know, "Will he be sick?" 00:10:31.204 --> 00:10:33.456 And he came out, and he was just beautiful. 00:10:33.540 --> 00:10:37.752 And he was super healthy and a big blessing for us. 00:10:37.844 --> 00:10:42.015 Even though we had a new baby, and Earvin was really great, 00:10:43.058 --> 00:10:46.228 what was hard was there was a little sense of being lost. 00:10:48.897 --> 00:10:53.443 I'm not playing the game that I love, and that hurt me. 00:10:53.527 --> 00:10:58.365 Not being a part of the locker room, not being a part of the bus ride, 00:10:58.448 --> 00:11:01.952 not going to war every single night with my guys. 00:11:03.704 --> 00:11:06.123 I'm consumed with basketball. 00:11:06.206 --> 00:11:07.875 I'm consumed with being the best. 00:11:07.958 --> 00:11:11.879 I'm consumed with winning championships my whole life. 00:11:12.796 --> 00:11:15.090 The only thing he knew was to compete in basketball. 00:11:15.841 --> 00:11:21.597 What does this genius with a ball in his hand want to do with his life, 00:11:21.680 --> 00:11:23.974 in the prime of his career as a player, 00:11:24.558 --> 00:11:28.312 what's he gonna do to satisfy that passion to play this game? 00:11:29.229 --> 00:11:31.982 Those were our conversations daily. 00:11:32.065 --> 00:11:35.485 Who are you, and what are you going to be? 00:11:35.569 --> 00:11:37.487 Because you just can't be this. 00:11:37.571 --> 00:11:39.615 I just had to take a step back and say, 00:11:39.698 --> 00:11:41.867 "Hey, Earvin. Okay, let me try to figure it out." 00:11:49.812 --> 00:11:55.109 I was always dreaming outside my zip code, outside my area code, 00:11:55.192 --> 00:11:56.902 outside my community. 00:11:57.682 --> 00:11:59.684 You know, as little kids, you're just like, "Boy, shut up. 00:11:59.767 --> 00:12:01.811 You ain't gonna, you know, have that tub." 00:12:01.894 --> 00:12:04.313 Or, "You ain't gonna do this or you-- How you gonna do that?" 00:12:04.397 --> 00:12:06.190 Because you didn't see it. 00:12:06.274 --> 00:12:10.445 And the people that you saw that did have it didn't look like us. 00:12:10.612 --> 00:12:13.073 We were at the country club as young people working 00:12:13.448 --> 00:12:19.287 and we end up teasing each other because he worked inside shining shoes, 00:12:19.371 --> 00:12:22.832 and I worked outside caddying and so forth. 00:12:22.916 --> 00:12:27.087 And he later told me that I was a field hand, 00:12:27.962 --> 00:12:30.215 and he worked in the big house. 00:12:30.298 --> 00:12:32.175 This is how Lansing was. 00:12:32.818 --> 00:12:34.111 But you know what? 00:12:34.194 --> 00:12:35.737 I've always dreamed big. 00:12:35.821 --> 00:12:39.032 When I said I was gonna do something, I did it. 00:12:40.325 --> 00:12:45.122 And whatever it was that I wanted, my father said, "You gotta work for it." 00:12:49.459 --> 00:12:51.837 And my father worked at General Motors, 00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.339 and he worked two or three jobs all the time. 00:12:54.423 --> 00:12:56.717 He would work at Shell's gas station, 00:12:56.800 --> 00:12:59.845 and then he would go to General Motors for eight hours that night. 00:13:00.887 --> 00:13:05.392 He had a trash hauling service, so we would go pick up people's trash. 00:13:05.475 --> 00:13:08.645 My brothers, they were kind of embarrassed when they had to work on the truck 00:13:08.729 --> 00:13:10.397 'cause their friends would see us, you know. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:12.190 We used to be ashamed. 00:13:12.274 --> 00:13:16.486 Our friends back then as kids, you know, always pick on 857 00:13:16.570 --> 00:13:18.572 because that was the number on the side of the truck. 00:13:18.655 --> 00:13:21.783 And I got in a lot of fights behind that, you know, but-- 00:13:21.867 --> 00:13:24.244 I didn't care if my friends saw me on the truck. 00:13:24.328 --> 00:13:26.580 I just cared about hanging with my father. 00:13:26.663 --> 00:13:28.165 You know, he was my idol. 00:13:29.166 --> 00:13:31.960 I was a block and a half from 'em, so I watched him come up 00:13:32.044 --> 00:13:34.254 from when he was almost born, I guess. 00:13:34.338 --> 00:13:36.465 He learned a lot from his dad. 00:13:36.548 --> 00:13:40.677 And the values that Earvin has in his life are his parents'. 00:13:42.095 --> 00:13:43.847 I remember this like it was yesterday. 00:13:44.389 --> 00:13:46.934 I said, "Hey, Dad, I'd like some money. 00:13:47.017 --> 00:13:49.353 Godzilla is playing at the theater." 00:13:51.146 --> 00:13:53.982 And everybody in the neighborhood wanted to go see Godzilla 00:13:54.900 --> 00:13:56.944 at the movie theater downtown. 00:13:58.362 --> 00:14:01.281 And he said, "I don't have a dollar to give you." 00:14:01.865 --> 00:14:04.159 He said, "But come with me." I said, "Okay." 00:14:04.243 --> 00:14:08.538 So I followed my father to the garage, and he said, 00:14:08.622 --> 00:14:13.585 "Meet Mr. Shovel, Mr. Rake and Mr. Lawn Mower." 00:14:14.753 --> 00:14:15.753 I said-- 00:14:16.421 --> 00:14:18.382 He said, "Now, if you want a dollar, 00:14:18.465 --> 00:14:21.635 you go use one of those tools to go make a dollar." 00:14:21.718 --> 00:14:25.973 I would pray for the snow to come in Lansing, Michigan, 00:14:26.056 --> 00:14:27.724 so I could go out and make some money. 00:14:27.808 --> 00:14:31.603 So I was always hustling in the neighborhood some kind of way. 00:14:34.022 --> 00:14:36.858 You know, I was always in business all his life. 00:14:36.942 --> 00:14:38.819 He's never knew me when I wasn't in business. 00:14:38.902 --> 00:14:40.904 Earvin would work with him in the summertime. 00:14:40.988 --> 00:14:43.448 A little part-time job for Greg Eaton. 00:14:43.532 --> 00:14:47.536 Earvin came on time and left when everything was-- 00:14:47.619 --> 00:14:49.413 that you asked him to do was completed. 00:14:49.788 --> 00:14:52.666 He doesn't know how to "half do." 00:14:52.749 --> 00:14:55.460 We would, you know, dump the trash, kind of straighten up the office. 00:14:55.544 --> 00:14:58.255 And I remember vividly that 00:14:58.338 --> 00:15:00.674 Earvin would go sit at the desk. 00:15:01.633 --> 00:15:03.385 Would put his feet up on the desk. 00:15:03.468 --> 00:15:06.597 That's when he was at my desk with his feet up on my desk 00:15:06.680 --> 00:15:07.806 when I come in. 00:15:07.889 --> 00:15:09.975 And I go, "What is this?" "I'm playing you. 00:15:10.058 --> 00:15:12.811 I'm being you right now." We laughed. 00:15:12.894 --> 00:15:17.149 And he really kind of envisioned himself being a businessman. 00:15:17.232 --> 00:15:19.109 That was the thing he used to talk about all the time 00:15:19.192 --> 00:15:22.404 when we would be talking about what we're gonna do after basketball. 00:15:22.487 --> 00:15:23.989 We used to sit on the back of the bus. 00:15:25.657 --> 00:15:27.492 And they said, "Buck, what do you wanna be?" 00:15:27.576 --> 00:15:28.660 'Cause they used to call me Buck. 00:15:28.744 --> 00:15:31.455 I said, "I'm gonna own my own business and be a businessman." 00:15:32.372 --> 00:15:35.709 But at the same time, I didn't know even where to start. 00:15:37.544 --> 00:15:41.506 And so Dr. Jerry Buss, he was the first call I made, 00:15:41.590 --> 00:15:43.008 and I went to see him. 00:15:43.717 --> 00:15:47.304 He wanted to know, "What you want to do besides basketball?" 00:15:47.387 --> 00:15:49.514 He always asked me that. 00:15:49.598 --> 00:15:52.642 He said, "Earvin, what's your goals? What's your dreams?" 00:15:52.726 --> 00:15:56.854 And then, "How are you going to accomplish that goal or dream? 00:15:56.939 --> 00:16:00.691 What's your strategy to get to where you wanna go?" 00:16:01.567 --> 00:16:04.446 Earvin had this plan that, you know, "I'm going to use my fame 00:16:04.528 --> 00:16:06.406 and meet people in the business world." 00:16:06.489 --> 00:16:07.574 A/B common mark. 00:16:11.453 --> 00:16:14.373 There were people that taught him a lot about business, 00:16:14.456 --> 00:16:16.166 and he would take their knowledge. 00:16:16.250 --> 00:16:18.126 Jerry Buss taught him a lot about business. 00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:21.255 Michael Ovitz taught him a lot about business. 00:16:21.338 --> 00:16:24.007 And when we met Michael Ovitz, 00:16:24.091 --> 00:16:26.093 he really schooled Earvin in a lot of things. 00:16:29.346 --> 00:16:32.391 He came in, and he sat there. And we talked about what he could do. 00:16:32.474 --> 00:16:34.935 To his credit, he started the conversation 00:16:35.018 --> 00:16:38.647 by saying, "I want to not be 40, 00:16:39.273 --> 00:16:43.610 retired athlete with nothing to do and open a few car dealerships. 00:16:43.694 --> 00:16:46.154 I want to be in business." 00:16:46.738 --> 00:16:50.200 And I told him it was a real uphill fight. 00:16:51.118 --> 00:16:53.787 The first thing I did is I got him subscriptions 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:55.872 to The Wall Street Journal, to Fortune, 00:16:55.956 --> 00:16:57.874 to BusinessWeek, to Forbes. 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:00.377 It was a learning period for him. 00:17:01.003 --> 00:17:02.796 We'd call up, you know, the head of Coca-Cola. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:05.257 "Hey, can we meet with you? Magic Johnson wants to meet with you." 00:17:05.340 --> 00:17:07.217 And "I want to meet with the head of PepsiCo." 00:17:07.301 --> 00:17:10.554 We'll meet with Pepsi. And meet with-- He did this around the country. 00:17:10.637 --> 00:17:14.016 He would call me periodically, ask for advice. 00:17:14.516 --> 00:17:18.061 What Earvin said is, "There are a set of skills that I have to acquire. 00:17:18.937 --> 00:17:21.023 And I have to take the time 00:17:21.481 --> 00:17:23.942 and have to demonstrate the dedication 00:17:24.026 --> 00:17:25.652 to learn those skills." 00:17:26.445 --> 00:17:28.405 But I think Earvin was always sensitive 00:17:28.488 --> 00:17:30.782 to the fact that he was a superstar in sports. 00:17:31.408 --> 00:17:34.077 And I think that he thought that his image in sports 00:17:34.161 --> 00:17:37.205 overwhelmed what he might be able to do in business. 00:17:37.748 --> 00:17:40.208 And I think that deep down he was always worried 00:17:40.292 --> 00:17:42.419 that he'd never be taken seriously. 00:17:42.502 --> 00:17:44.129 He'd be looked at as a jock. 00:17:45.088 --> 00:17:46.757 It was a hard adjustment. 00:17:47.382 --> 00:17:50.427 People don't understand this about an athlete. 00:17:51.553 --> 00:17:54.640 Every single day, your day is mapped out. 00:17:54.723 --> 00:18:00.562 So now there's nobody there to tell me to do something. 00:18:00.646 --> 00:18:02.397 You know, it's all, "Okay." 00:18:03.523 --> 00:18:04.900 I didn't have purpose. 00:18:05.150 --> 00:18:09.446 The Lakers were my purpose, and I needed to pour my energy, 00:18:10.489 --> 00:18:13.992 and my passion and love into something other than basketball. 00:18:14.076 --> 00:18:17.496 So I needed to know how to get started 00:18:17.913 --> 00:18:20.249 and what direction to go in. 00:18:24.294 --> 00:18:26.546 We're live here at the Great Western Forum. 00:18:26.630 --> 00:18:30.592 I remember being at a game at The Forum. 00:18:30.676 --> 00:18:32.803 Earvin and I had went to the game that night. 00:18:32.886 --> 00:18:34.096 Earvin "Magic" Johnson. 00:18:36.974 --> 00:18:39.101 The game was over, we're about to go home 00:18:39.184 --> 00:18:40.686 and they make a huge announcement. 00:18:40.769 --> 00:18:43.146 You cannot leave the stadium. 00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:45.274 heading towards the Culver City area. 00:18:45.357 --> 00:18:47.109 The crowd has gotten very still now, 00:18:47.192 --> 00:18:48.193 and I'll tell you why. 00:18:48.277 --> 00:18:51.196 They've got some riots going on around the city of Los Angeles. 00:18:51.989 --> 00:18:54.575 Quite close to The Forum, within about two miles. 00:18:54.658 --> 00:18:56.201 And I remember they said, 00:18:56.285 --> 00:19:01.331 "There has been a riot that broke-- has broken out close to here. 00:19:01.415 --> 00:19:04.710 We would advise no one leave the stadium at this time 00:19:04.793 --> 00:19:07.713 until we can find out if it's safe to leave." 00:19:10.632 --> 00:19:13.969 When they finally let us out, Earvin put us in the car, 00:19:14.052 --> 00:19:16.471 and as we're driving, yeah, my heart just sank. 00:19:17.306 --> 00:19:19.850 The jury in the Los Angeles police brutality trial 00:19:19.933 --> 00:19:22.728 has just reached its verdicts this evening. 00:19:22.811 --> 00:19:25.272 The four police officers who were videotaped 00:19:25.355 --> 00:19:27.566 repeatedly beating an unarmed man 00:19:28.317 --> 00:19:31.945 were found not guilty on all but one count. 00:19:32.613 --> 00:19:34.323 We were dead center in the middle of Los Angeles. 00:19:34.406 --> 00:19:35.824 We were dead in the middle of the riots. 00:19:35.908 --> 00:19:38.994 And looking back at it 00:19:40.871 --> 00:19:42.456 every action causes a reaction. 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.459 And we, for so long, have never reacted. 00:19:45.542 --> 00:19:48.086 We've always turned the other cheek and accepted it, 00:19:48.170 --> 00:19:50.339 and that was our day to say, "* that." 00:19:52.090 --> 00:19:54.593 When I think about Rodney King and the rioting-- 00:19:54.676 --> 00:19:58.764 And what I didn't like is that we tore up our own community. 00:19:59.556 --> 00:20:06.480 The Black community, you know, we set our own businesses on fire, 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:10.108 and that hurt South Central, Compton. 00:20:10.192 --> 00:20:12.569 It hurt so many communities. 00:20:15.405 --> 00:20:17.699 Not only were the stores burned, 00:20:17.783 --> 00:20:19.076 but the jobs were lost. 00:20:19.159 --> 00:20:21.870 I saw employees coming to work in a lot of these places 00:20:21.954 --> 00:20:24.498 and standing there in tears because their jobs were not there. 00:20:25.249 --> 00:20:28.126 A lot of the Black leaders started calling me saying, 00:20:28.210 --> 00:20:29.544 "Hey, we need you. 00:20:29.628 --> 00:20:32.881 You've got the biggest voice, so people will listen to you. 00:20:32.965 --> 00:20:34.466 So you got to get involved." 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:37.594 The whole segment of the population that have been left out, 00:20:37.678 --> 00:20:41.848 left behind and just lip service. 00:20:41.932 --> 00:20:45.269 Done a little here, a little there, will not matter. 00:20:45.352 --> 00:20:46.645 We need to do much more. 00:20:47.646 --> 00:20:52.109 That was the start of something for me that had to change. 00:20:52.192 --> 00:20:55.821 I said, "Okay, I gotta build my business in urban America." 00:20:55.904 --> 00:20:58.073 If you don't make a difference in the Black community, 00:20:58.156 --> 00:21:00.909 that doesn't matter that you winning all those championships. 00:21:01.493 --> 00:21:06.957 So, we gotta go out and, you know, ask people to now start rebuilding. 00:21:07.044 --> 00:21:08.629 I gotta get a office." 00:21:10.198 --> 00:21:13.493 Now I'm going to the office every day. I'm back on schedule again. 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:18.289 I remember my first interview like it was yesterday. 00:21:18.873 --> 00:21:21.751 I walked right into his office actually, 00:21:21.835 --> 00:21:25.338 and immediately he was Earvin Johnson. 00:21:25.422 --> 00:21:28.091 He was no longer Magic Johnson. 00:21:28.174 --> 00:21:29.759 That was left on the court. 00:21:30.719 --> 00:21:33.805 Earvin, he saw something in me 00:21:33.888 --> 00:21:36.349 that I actually didn't recognize in myself. 00:21:37.434 --> 00:21:41.104 And he saw the way I spoke about the community in which I grew up. 00:21:41.771 --> 00:21:45.025 I grew up in South Central LA. 00:21:45.108 --> 00:21:49.612 I was living in LA during the riots and it was all around me. 00:21:49.696 --> 00:21:52.115 I could walk out the door and see flames. 00:21:52.198 --> 00:21:56.661 But I loved my neighborhood, loved the community, and-- 00:21:56.745 --> 00:21:58.079 Even though it was tough. 00:21:58.705 --> 00:22:01.583 The neighborhood where I grew up was definitely underserved. 00:22:02.125 --> 00:22:04.753 There were no major coffee shops. 00:22:04.836 --> 00:22:08.506 There were no first-rate movie theaters. 00:22:08.590 --> 00:22:12.469 We saw how the Black community 00:22:12.552 --> 00:22:14.596 as well as the Latino community, 00:22:14.679 --> 00:22:18.808 always the first thing they wanted to do was be able to take their families 00:22:18.892 --> 00:22:21.186 to a movie, 00:22:21.269 --> 00:22:23.813 and that's the most affordable thing that they could still do. 00:22:24.439 --> 00:22:27.817 But we had to drive outside our community to go to the movies. 00:22:28.526 --> 00:22:32.947 You're talking about 30, 40 minutes just to go to a first-run movie theater. 00:22:33.031 --> 00:22:37.410 Films, movies have always been a part of my life with Cookie. 00:22:37.494 --> 00:22:40.372 That's our-- One of our first dates were at the movie. 00:22:40.455 --> 00:22:43.083 And it's funny. To this day that's, like, our date night. 00:22:43.166 --> 00:22:44.876 To go to the movies on Friday nights. 00:22:44.959 --> 00:22:46.961 I met with Ken Lombard. 00:22:47.045 --> 00:22:51.216 Ken, he had the expertise in the theater business. 00:22:51.299 --> 00:22:55.553 Earvin made it clear that he loved the movie theater side of the business, 00:22:55.637 --> 00:22:57.681 and this was something that he had interest in. 00:22:57.764 --> 00:23:04.604 And so this was going to be my first big investment of my own money. 00:23:04.688 --> 00:23:07.732 It was an opportunity for us to get in a lane, 00:23:07.816 --> 00:23:11.236 build a business around the minority communities 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.697 that really no one was doing at the time. 00:23:13.780 --> 00:23:15.281 I walked out of that meeting, 00:23:15.699 --> 00:23:17.826 convinced that Earvin was the right partner. 00:23:17.967 --> 00:23:21.180 where moviegoing is the first most important priority 00:23:21.706 --> 00:23:22.790 for those people. 00:23:22.874 --> 00:23:26.419 And it's a really progressive and dynamic moviegoing audience, 00:23:26.503 --> 00:23:28.671 and you can make a ton of money." 00:23:28.755 --> 00:23:30.548 So I think, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." 00:23:30.632 --> 00:23:32.509 'Cause we were expanding around the world. 00:23:32.592 --> 00:23:34.802 I said, "So where do we have to go?" 00:23:34.886 --> 00:23:36.721 He said, "Five miles from here to Baldwin Hills." 00:23:38.806 --> 00:23:44.604 You could merge economic necessity, economic desire, creative opportunity 00:23:44.687 --> 00:23:46.564 and purposefulness in the community. 00:23:46.648 --> 00:23:48.525 That was a very powerful statement. 00:23:49.317 --> 00:23:50.735 And I really did this, he'll tell you. 00:23:50.818 --> 00:23:52.612 I reached across the table, I said, "I'm in." 00:23:57.116 --> 00:24:00.245 We knew what everybody else was thinking. 00:24:01.704 --> 00:24:03.665 It's in the middle of the Bloods and the Crips. 00:24:03.748 --> 00:24:07.043 It kinda sits in the junction of a number of different gang lands 00:24:07.126 --> 00:24:11.214 that go from Rollin' 60s, further down Crenshaw to the Jungle, 00:24:11.297 --> 00:24:12.966 which is the P. Stones. 00:24:13.716 --> 00:24:17.136 One incident could destroy our business. 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:20.390 And everybody was thinking that it was going to happen. 00:24:20.473 --> 00:24:23.768 That's what really made me mad, so I had to prove them wrong. 00:24:23.852 --> 00:24:26.896 And so I said, "Ken, call the heads. 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:30.775 I want to have breakfast with both heads of the Crips and heads of the Bloods." 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:33.152 He said, "Okay. You sure?" 00:24:33.236 --> 00:24:34.404 And I said, "Yeah." 00:24:34.487 --> 00:24:35.697 We went. 00:24:35.780 --> 00:24:38.116 And I had about six or seven guys with me. 00:24:38.199 --> 00:24:40.118 They showed up with about 35 people. 00:24:40.910 --> 00:24:44.372 I said, "I'm not here to disrespect either one of you. 00:24:44.455 --> 00:24:45.915 What I'm here for is to say, 00:24:45.999 --> 00:24:51.546 this theater is gonna help the entire Black community. 00:24:52.213 --> 00:24:53.840 I want you to come. 00:24:53.923 --> 00:24:55.425 I want your family to come. 00:24:55.508 --> 00:25:01.598 But you guys got to agree that we can't have violence 00:25:01.681 --> 00:25:04.267 outside or inside that theater. 00:25:05.018 --> 00:25:06.477 And I'm creating jobs. 00:25:06.561 --> 00:25:10.732 So if you guys got some guys who want to work, I will employ them." 00:25:11.774 --> 00:25:12.859 Everyone respected him. 00:25:12.942 --> 00:25:14.903 No one knew him as a businessman, of course, 00:25:14.986 --> 00:25:16.613 but they respected everything about it. 00:25:16.696 --> 00:25:19.574 And in LA, you know, all these guys are basketball fans 00:25:19.657 --> 00:25:20.658 or Laker fans. 00:25:20.742 --> 00:25:23.536 So they obviously, you know, they loved Earvin. 00:25:23.620 --> 00:25:25.538 And then we were off to the races. 00:25:25.622 --> 00:25:28.750 Before Magic started building theaters, 00:25:28.833 --> 00:25:31.503 I didn't give two shakes from a rat's rectum about it. 00:25:31.586 --> 00:25:35.798 Now Magic becomes a hero because he lives up to his word. 00:25:36.591 --> 00:25:41.804 Giving jobs to people that, you know, were written off 00:25:41.888 --> 00:25:45.099 in some aspect, It was huge. 00:25:45.183 --> 00:25:47.894 Movies may play a big role in our popular culture, 00:25:47.977 --> 00:25:51.105 but in some of our neighborhoods, they play no role at all. 00:25:51.189 --> 00:25:54.234 But thanks to some movie magic, that's changing. 00:25:54.692 --> 00:25:57.529 This is a movie complex built by Magic Johnson, 00:25:57.612 --> 00:26:00.073 right in the center of the Crenshaw District in LA. 00:26:01.783 --> 00:26:04.911 The opening was a celebration. 00:26:04.994 --> 00:26:06.162 I lived around the corner. 00:26:06.246 --> 00:26:08.456 The entire neighborhood was going. 00:26:09.165 --> 00:26:13.044 We got big, big, big screens 00:26:13.795 --> 00:26:17.882 stadium seating, you got popcorn shrimp, 00:26:17.966 --> 00:26:20.426 chicken and some hot sauce. 00:26:23.304 --> 00:26:25.557 And the whole thing. They're gonna tear it up. 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:29.477 It's gonna be a lot of shooting, a lot of fighting, you know. 00:26:29.561 --> 00:26:30.895 That never happened. 00:26:31.479 --> 00:26:35.984 We were able to dispel a lot of myths about the Black customer. 00:26:36.067 --> 00:26:38.528 This is Magic Johnson's newest movie theater. 00:26:38.611 --> 00:26:40.405 He's got three or four of 'em all over the country. 00:26:40.488 --> 00:26:43.783 Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and this is the latest one right here 00:26:43.867 --> 00:26:45.618 in North Randall, the greater Cleveland area. 00:26:45.702 --> 00:26:48.955 There were no movies in Central Harlem. 00:26:49.038 --> 00:26:51.666 Now we have nine screens here. 00:26:51.749 --> 00:26:54.836 Another benefit is that 80% of the theater's staff 00:26:54.919 --> 00:26:57.422 lives in the neighborhood it serves. 00:26:57.505 --> 00:26:59.883 And it wasn't about money. 00:26:59.966 --> 00:27:01.426 It was about change. 00:27:01.509 --> 00:27:04.762 Changing the community and revitalizing that community 00:27:04.846 --> 00:27:07.348 in a different way that I had ever seen before. 00:27:08.892 --> 00:27:11.769 Once the theaters was successful 00:27:11.853 --> 00:27:15.648 and people, they had their, you know, magnifying glasses out, 00:27:15.732 --> 00:27:18.151 looking like, "Is this is really going to work in these communities? 00:27:18.234 --> 00:27:19.694 Are you sure it's gonna work?" 00:27:19.777 --> 00:27:22.822 And not only did it work, but it expanded quickly. 00:27:23.364 --> 00:27:26.993 And from the theaters came Starbucks. 00:27:30.496 --> 00:27:33.583 I think I was in New York, and I saw this line. 00:27:33.666 --> 00:27:37.212 And I saw the Starbucks, but I didn't know what it was, you know, at that time. 00:27:37.295 --> 00:27:40.673 I said, "Them people waiting in line for coffee?" 00:27:41.633 --> 00:27:43.843 And this is Black people in line too. 00:27:43.927 --> 00:27:46.262 Man, I'm sitting there. I'm saying, "Wow. 00:27:46.346 --> 00:27:49.724 This may be the next thing I gotta do." 00:27:49.807 --> 00:27:52.685 Meet the guy you could call the new Mr. Coffee. 00:27:52.769 --> 00:27:56.731 Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks and the brains behind the brew. 00:27:56.814 --> 00:27:59.234 You go to a city like New York City, and you're quite amazed 00:27:59.317 --> 00:28:01.152 that a city as sophisticated as New York 00:28:01.236 --> 00:28:03.071 with great food and great art, 00:28:03.154 --> 00:28:04.614 you can't get a good cup of coffee. 00:28:04.697 --> 00:28:05.698 I was a little suspect. 00:28:05.782 --> 00:28:08.451 You know, what could Magic do with Starbucks 00:28:08.535 --> 00:28:12.330 that would be significant and authentic and relevant? 00:28:12.413 --> 00:28:17.961 And so, I think at the time, I was just intrigued to meet Magic Johnson. 00:28:18.044 --> 00:28:19.879 The question was, 00:28:19.963 --> 00:28:23.466 if you put a Starbucks in South Central LA are people gonna spend four dollars? 00:28:23.550 --> 00:28:26.636 And Earvin's response was, "We buy Gucci." 00:28:26.719 --> 00:28:29.973 Anytime that somebody is skeptical, 00:28:30.056 --> 00:28:32.392 and Howard was, and he had a reason to be, 00:28:32.475 --> 00:28:34.143 you've got to take 'em to the deal. 00:28:35.395 --> 00:28:39.691 So Waiting to Exhale, Whitney Houston's first movie, was coming out. 00:28:39.774 --> 00:28:42.569 Howard Schultz decided he wanted to come down on that Friday. 00:28:42.652 --> 00:28:44.612 And I tell you, he was shocked. 00:28:44.696 --> 00:28:45.947 It was crazy. 00:28:46.030 --> 00:28:49.200 I mean, a thousand people showed up in the lobby. 00:28:49.284 --> 00:28:51.286 You know, he looked at the line. 00:28:51.369 --> 00:28:56.708 He looked at all the conversations going on around the concession stand. 00:28:56.791 --> 00:28:59.043 He's seeing us spending a lot of money. 00:28:59.127 --> 00:29:01.254 He said, "Let's go inside." I said, "Okay." 00:29:01.337 --> 00:29:06.801 The movie starts, and of course, Whitney's having problems with her man. 00:29:07.510 --> 00:29:09.012 I mean, so, what do you think, Robin? 00:29:09.095 --> 00:29:13.016 I've loved this man forever, and now that we've got another chance, 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:15.935 I don't wanna blow it by making him think I don't have any faith in him. 00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:19.355 Every woman and their girl, "Dump him. Why you still with him?" 00:29:19.439 --> 00:29:20.773 You know, they're talking to the screen. 00:29:20.857 --> 00:29:24.068 This audience was heavily engaged, 00:29:24.861 --> 00:29:27.155 viscerally with the movie. 00:29:27.238 --> 00:29:31.534 And Magic was encouraging the fact, "Look what's going on here. 00:29:31.618 --> 00:29:34.829 This is happening because we're giving people a platform 00:29:34.913 --> 00:29:36.581 to interact with the movie. 00:29:36.664 --> 00:29:41.503 And this is the community that I want to create with you at Starbucks." 00:29:41.586 --> 00:29:44.297 Starbucks is expanding with a little bit of a "magic" touch. 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:46.633 The popular company is teaming up with Magic Johnson 00:29:46.716 --> 00:29:49.177 to put new locations in neighborhoods across the country. 00:29:49.761 --> 00:29:50.929 Lo and behold, it turns out 00:29:51.012 --> 00:29:53.473 that Black folks drink coffee too, 00:29:53.556 --> 00:29:56.351 and they watch an awful lot of movies. 00:29:56.434 --> 00:29:57.769 Are we ready? 00:29:57.852 --> 00:29:58.978 It wasn't charity. 00:29:59.437 --> 00:30:02.190 In fact, it could do very well for investors. 00:30:07.946 --> 00:30:10.949 All the things that I was on the basketball court, 00:30:11.032 --> 00:30:12.742 I am as a businessman. 00:30:12.825 --> 00:30:15.954 Discipline, focus, building a strategy, 00:30:16.037 --> 00:30:18.164 execution, excellence. 00:30:19.707 --> 00:30:23.670 Earvin constantly focused on always wanting to get better. 00:30:23.753 --> 00:30:25.713 We gotta keep growing. We gotta keep doing. 00:30:25.797 --> 00:30:28.341 He's gobbling up one of LA's oldest hamburger chains. 00:30:28.424 --> 00:30:30.426 Yeah, Fatburger. Yes. 00:30:30.510 --> 00:30:31.511 Yeah. 00:30:31.594 --> 00:30:33.555 With a snip of a ribbon, another new business. 00:30:33.561 --> 00:30:38.399 We found out that there was a shortage of housing and retail in urban America. 00:30:38.483 --> 00:30:40.485 So let's do something about it. 00:30:40.568 --> 00:30:43.946 This project is not only gonna be a great project, 00:30:44.030 --> 00:30:45.948 but a much-needed project. 00:30:46.032 --> 00:30:49.160 The primary goal was real estate opportunities 00:30:49.243 --> 00:30:51.245 in minority communities across the country. 00:30:51.913 --> 00:30:54.040 Well, institutional capital was not ready. 00:30:54.123 --> 00:30:56.542 We got more noes than yeses. 00:30:56.626 --> 00:30:59.796 But we proved everybody wrong. 00:31:01.089 --> 00:31:03.549 Brand new buildings right in the hood. 00:31:04.300 --> 00:31:07.679 *iniums on top and retail on the bottom. 00:31:07.762 --> 00:31:10.932 Everyone could see what we were trying to do, 00:31:11.015 --> 00:31:12.600 and we were beginning to pull it off. 00:31:12.684 --> 00:31:16.354 We're going to become the most significant development company 00:31:16.437 --> 00:31:18.773 in minority communities across the country. 00:31:18.856 --> 00:31:22.068 Well, now he's doing no-look passes with real estate funds 00:31:22.151 --> 00:31:25.321 and no-look passes with shopping centers and franchises. 00:31:25.375 --> 00:31:26.535 You had to get there early. 00:31:26.719 --> 00:31:28.554 We worked through lunch. 00:31:28.637 --> 00:31:31.056 We worked Saturday and Sunday. 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:33.851 There wasn't a Saturday or Sunday that I didn't go in the office 00:31:33.934 --> 00:31:37.104 for maybe 15 straight years. 00:31:37.187 --> 00:31:38.689 With his playing days behind him, 00:31:38.772 --> 00:31:40.858 Johnson turned his focus to the business world. 00:31:40.941 --> 00:31:44.862 He's now involved in movie theaters, restaurants, shopping centers, 00:31:44.945 --> 00:31:47.031 Starbucks and real estate. 00:31:47.114 --> 00:31:50.492 An empire valued at nearly half a billion dollars. 00:31:50.576 --> 00:31:54.288 Earvin wanted to do a lot. 00:31:56.665 --> 00:32:00.836 And so I was always concerned that we were trying to do too much. 00:32:02.129 --> 00:32:04.715 And he's only one person. 00:32:13.181 --> 00:32:15.225 Earvin and I always talked about having kids. 00:32:15.309 --> 00:32:16.893 This is way before we got married. 00:32:16.976 --> 00:32:21.690 And we always said that we wanted to have a big family 'cause he had a big family. 00:32:22.858 --> 00:32:24.109 But at that time, 00:32:24.193 --> 00:32:29.531 there wasn't a lot of knowledge about HIV patients and having children. 00:32:29.614 --> 00:32:33.202 And so we were advised not to try on our own. 00:32:34.453 --> 00:32:36.371 You know, having two boys 00:32:36.455 --> 00:32:40.417 and knowing that Cookie and I wasn't having any more kids ourselves, 00:32:41.335 --> 00:32:43.962 we both decided to adopt. 00:32:44.922 --> 00:32:48.759 This beautiful baby came into our lives. 00:32:50.761 --> 00:32:53.931 She came home, and I had EJ there. And I'm like, 00:32:54.014 --> 00:32:57.142 "EJ, look. This is your new baby sister." 00:32:57.226 --> 00:33:00.896 Then he was like, "That's so cute. She's so sweet. 00:33:00.979 --> 00:33:02.106 Now take her back." 00:33:04.525 --> 00:33:07.736 Earvin kind of kicked in with the kids when they became toddlers, 00:33:07.820 --> 00:33:10.239 when they were a little more agile for him. 00:33:12.366 --> 00:33:15.953 He was very busy. He had to get up and go to work. 00:33:17.162 --> 00:33:19.873 And plus, he was traveling a lot too, so he wasn't there a lot. 00:33:21.125 --> 00:33:23.502 Even though he worked a lot, 00:33:23.585 --> 00:33:25.504 I knew, like, once he was home 00:33:25.587 --> 00:33:29.341 we were gonna go get ice cream or we were gonna go to the movies, 00:33:29.425 --> 00:33:32.136 or he would spend countless hours with me in the mall, 00:33:32.219 --> 00:33:36.015 letting me pick out my, like, favorite outfits or whatever. 00:33:36.937 --> 00:33:38.022 whenever he was home. 00:33:38.305 --> 00:33:40.349 You know, weekends when he was there it's, like-- 00:33:40.432 --> 00:33:42.851 You know, he would take us everywhere. 00:33:43.852 --> 00:33:46.647 First memories, I can remember, like, 00:33:46.730 --> 00:33:47.731 when my dad would come 00:33:47.814 --> 00:33:50.275 into Lansing, we would get together as family. 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:54.613 And then I started, probably around ten or 11, 00:33:54.696 --> 00:33:56.990 starting to fly out by myself. 00:33:57.074 --> 00:34:01.411 And for the first time, seeing sort of what the big city was like 00:34:01.495 --> 00:34:04.540 and, you know, seeing the beach, going to Disneyland. 00:34:04.623 --> 00:34:08.168 Like, for little Lansing, that seemed larger than life. 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:13.548 and picked the flowers and ran back and, "Look, Mommy. Look what I got you." 00:34:13.632 --> 00:34:15.258 You know, he picked flowers for me. 00:34:15.342 --> 00:34:17.511 I'm like, "EJ, you're supposed to catch the ball." 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:22.557 So, when I was playing basketball, I had his number. 00:34:22.641 --> 00:34:24.267 I used number 32. 00:34:24.351 --> 00:34:27.145 And when he would come to my games, it was a lot of pressure. 00:34:27.229 --> 00:34:30.232 I did feel like all eyes were on me. 00:34:30.368 --> 00:34:33.580 Everything that you do reflects your parents. 00:34:34.581 --> 00:34:37.542 As a father, you say, "Oh, man, I want him to get into sports 00:34:37.626 --> 00:34:39.294 and be like me." 00:34:40.003 --> 00:34:42.422 People would say, if I made a mistake, 00:34:42.505 --> 00:34:46.384 you know, it was worse than any mistake that my dad made. 00:34:46.468 --> 00:34:48.470 Or if I did something great in the game, 00:34:48.553 --> 00:34:51.932 that was great, but it was never as great as what he did during that time. 00:34:52.015 --> 00:34:57.354 So, you know, at a early stage, then I stopped loving playing. 00:34:58.825 --> 00:35:03.080 What was hard was for-- for him to just let go of that old world, 00:35:03.956 --> 00:35:05.624 because it was snatched from him. 00:35:05.707 --> 00:35:07.376 He wasn't ready to let it go. 00:35:07.876 --> 00:35:09.378 He loved the competition. 00:35:10.045 --> 00:35:11.838 This is not because he wanted to be seen. 00:35:11.922 --> 00:35:14.132 It was about being competitive. 00:35:14.216 --> 00:35:18.679 I missed the elbows, getting elbowed, and I missed giving some elbows. 00:35:18.762 --> 00:35:21.974 I missed, you know, preparing for the opponent. 00:35:22.057 --> 00:35:23.267 I want to play. 00:35:26.186 --> 00:35:28.689 Why am I not out there? 00:35:28.772 --> 00:35:30.857 So in 1996, 00:35:30.941 --> 00:35:34.152 sometime after the first of the year, he goes, "I'm coming back to play." 00:35:34.736 --> 00:35:35.904 But I knew 00:35:37.072 --> 00:35:40.075 I knew that he was not gonna last very long. 00:35:40.158 --> 00:35:43.704 This morning, Johnson ended the speculation about his return. 00:35:43.787 --> 00:35:45.289 I am back. Yes, I am. 00:35:46.665 --> 00:35:49.960 Tickets started flying out of The Forum box office soon as Laker fans 00:35:50.043 --> 00:35:52.796 caught wind that Magic Johnson is returning to the team. 00:35:52.879 --> 00:35:56.341 I am so excited. I couldn't sleep for the last two or three nights. 00:35:57.175 --> 00:36:00.387 I think it was 1996. I was at Magic's comeback game. 00:36:00.470 --> 00:36:04.433 Sellout crowd. Whoo! Magic's back in LA, baby. 00:36:05.058 --> 00:36:07.728 I was a sports guy on the radio, 00:36:07.811 --> 00:36:09.730 and I was like, "I have to go to this game." 00:36:11.315 --> 00:36:14.943 Magic is a big part of my childhood. 00:36:15.027 --> 00:36:17.487 Like, when I was a kid, I used to draw pictures of him. 00:36:17.571 --> 00:36:21.992 To see him back on that court, not just playing, but playing really well 00:36:22.075 --> 00:36:23.869 Magic's in deep, banks it in! 00:36:23.952 --> 00:36:25.621 It was so life-affirming. 00:36:25.704 --> 00:36:27.748 It was beyond sports. 00:36:27.831 --> 00:36:31.168 When he took to the court for the Los Angeles Lakers last night, 00:36:31.251 --> 00:36:34.338 Magic Johnson played as if he hadn't missed a beat. 00:36:34.421 --> 00:36:38.258 He scored 19 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. 00:36:38.342 --> 00:36:42.554 As far as him going and playing, I was happy 'cause he was happy, 00:36:42.638 --> 00:36:43.639 but, 00:36:44.139 --> 00:36:47.559 you know, not necessarily thinking that this was a good thing. 00:36:47.643 --> 00:36:50.354 Well, Magic Johnson says, "Bring on Michael." 00:36:50.437 --> 00:36:53.398 The Magic Man appears ready for a Friday night showdown 00:36:53.482 --> 00:36:58.362 with NBA king Michael Jordan after a spectacular return last night. 00:36:59.029 --> 00:37:00.322 Magic Johnson backs in. 00:37:00.405 --> 00:37:02.157 Rejected by Pippen. 00:37:02.241 --> 00:37:05.327 Back to Magic off the dribble by Rodman. Short. 00:37:08.247 --> 00:37:12.000 What was sad for me was the second game against the Chicago Bulls, 00:37:12.084 --> 00:37:13.627 and they destroyed 'em. 00:37:14.127 --> 00:37:16.255 And I know Michael. I spoke to him after the game. 00:37:16.713 --> 00:37:18.048 He felt bad. 00:37:18.131 --> 00:37:21.927 I mean, him and Dennis Rodman just-- They obliterated 'em. 00:37:22.010 --> 00:37:24.554 I remember Dennis Rodman wanted to guard him. 00:37:24.638 --> 00:37:27.099 You know, so we sic Dennis on him. 00:37:27.182 --> 00:37:28.934 Magic slaps the hand of Rodman away, 00:37:29.017 --> 00:37:30.686 goes around him, and Rodman gets a foul. 00:37:30.769 --> 00:37:32.437 And-- Uh-oh. He will 00:37:32.521 --> 00:37:34.314 There was a lot of shit-talking in the game. 00:37:34.398 --> 00:37:39.069 Said, "Look, man, I told you in '92, there's some new kids on the block." 00:37:39.152 --> 00:37:41.697 You know, "It's not Magic Johnson and Larry Bird anymore. 00:37:41.780 --> 00:37:43.949 You're on the way down, and we're on the way up." 00:37:44.449 --> 00:37:48.287 You know, the athleticism and speed and quickness wasn't there. 00:37:48.370 --> 00:37:50.497 Because of his IQ and his size, 00:37:50.581 --> 00:37:55.043 he could still make, you know, a contribution out there on the floor. 00:37:55.127 --> 00:38:00.257 But as the season goes on, you'll-- Things start to catch up to you. 00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:04.845 He wasn't as excited and happy as he thought he would be. 00:38:04.928 --> 00:38:08.223 It was, you know, kind of grueling, and it was different. 00:38:08.307 --> 00:38:09.891 defense like he's trying to defend right now, 00:38:09.975 --> 00:38:11.685 the Blazers are gonna be all right. 00:38:11.768 --> 00:38:13.020 How about that for a reaction? 00:38:13.478 --> 00:38:18.775 It took that to tell him, "Okay, I can retire now. 00:38:19.401 --> 00:38:21.278 It's not what it used to be. 00:38:21.778 --> 00:38:23.196 I don't want this anymore." 00:38:24.448 --> 00:38:28.201 This is not a sad day or a bad day. It's a good day 00:38:28.285 --> 00:38:31.330 because God blessed me to be able to come back 00:38:33.081 --> 00:38:35.542 and God will continue to bless me after this is over. 00:38:36.585 --> 00:38:39.713 And he kept going back to try to revive that old life, 00:38:39.796 --> 00:38:41.590 which just wasn't gonna happen. 00:38:41.673 --> 00:38:43.675 But what happens with his mind-- 00:38:43.759 --> 00:38:47.054 The way Earvin thinks-- The way Earvin operates is, 00:38:47.137 --> 00:38:51.058 he only look forward, and then that's when the new visions come. 00:38:51.141 --> 00:38:54.394 And he gets so excited about the new visions. 00:38:55.187 --> 00:38:56.730 He had different things he was trying to do. 00:38:56.813 --> 00:38:59.358 There was a comeback, and then there was the TV show. 00:39:00.150 --> 00:39:03.445 In just a few short months, Johnson will host The Magic Hour, 00:39:03.528 --> 00:39:05.239 a late-night syndicated talk show. 00:39:05.831 --> 00:39:07.583 How are you? Nice to meet you. 00:39:07.666 --> 00:39:10.919 We talked about it. I thought it was an interesting idea. 00:39:11.420 --> 00:39:14.465 I did warn him, because I handled David Letterman, 00:39:14.965 --> 00:39:21.597 and I did advise him that it's a tough, tough row to hoe. 00:39:21.680 --> 00:39:23.807 You've got Leno. You've got Letterman. 00:39:23.891 --> 00:39:27.019 This is really a tough arena that you're getting into. 00:39:27.102 --> 00:39:28.645 -Yeah. -Why are you doing that? 00:39:28.729 --> 00:39:30.439 Because it's a tough arena. 00:39:32.691 --> 00:39:38.363 Live from Los Angeles, it's The Magic Hour. 00:39:38.447 --> 00:39:40.699 The Magic Hour is-- 00:39:41.575 --> 00:39:44.578 Keep in mind, this is coming from somebody who loves Magic Johnson-- 00:39:44.661 --> 00:39:47.164 Is one of the-- Not just one of the worst talk shows, 00:39:49.848 --> 00:39:51.394 he doesn't really like doing this every night. 00:39:51.877 --> 00:39:55.172 This has to be your breakfast, lunch and dinner. 00:39:55.256 --> 00:39:56.257 It wasn't for him. 00:39:56.340 --> 00:39:59.552 He had breakfast and lunch doing other things. 00:39:59.635 --> 00:40:02.539 So I think he was burning the candle at too many ends. 00:40:02.614 --> 00:40:03.782 He's one of the best guards, 00:40:03.865 --> 00:40:06.243 perhaps the best basketball player of all time. 00:40:06.326 --> 00:40:09.371 The first player ever to win a high school, 00:40:09.454 --> 00:40:13.125 an NCAA, an NBA and an Olympic championship. 00:40:13.208 --> 00:40:16.878 He's won five MVPs and five championship rings. 00:40:16.962 --> 00:40:20.340 Johnson has made an impact as a successful businessman. 00:40:20.423 --> 00:40:22.175 He has helped revitalize urban neighborhoods. 00:40:22.801 --> 00:40:26.596 He's become synonymous with the city of Los Angeles and much more. 00:40:29.057 --> 00:40:33.478 I brought my mom, I remember, 'cause my father didn't make it that time. 00:40:33.562 --> 00:40:36.898 And all of a sudden, she-- I saw her tear up. 00:40:37.983 --> 00:40:39.526 And I said, "Mom, what's wrong?" 00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:44.239 She said, "I cannot believe it, and your grandfather-- 00:40:45.615 --> 00:40:49.494 He would have just been out of his mind 00:40:49.578 --> 00:40:52.706 to know that-- Jackie Robinson was his favorite player. 00:40:53.582 --> 00:40:57.043 He cheered for Jackie, listened to every game on the radio, 00:40:58.128 --> 00:41:03.925 and now the team that Jackie played for, you own-- One of the owners of the team." 00:41:04.009 --> 00:41:05.760 And I was like, "Wow." 00:41:14.978 --> 00:41:19.816 I was born the day after Jackie Robinson played his first game in Brooklyn. 00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:23.153 That was very significant in my household. 00:41:29.367 --> 00:41:30.869 Sixty years later, 00:41:32.329 --> 00:41:33.330 and it's Magic. 00:41:33.747 --> 00:41:39.920 And that was the type of good luck that you cannot-- you can't order it up. 00:41:40.003 --> 00:41:41.296 It just happens. 00:41:41.379 --> 00:41:44.800 Magic Johnson is joining a new team, the LA Dodgers. 00:41:44.883 --> 00:41:48.553 His winning lineage with the Lakers and his megawatt smile 00:41:48.637 --> 00:41:50.931 have all of a sudden, by themselves, 00:41:51.014 --> 00:41:54.226 lifted a cloud that's really plagued Dodgers and their fans. 00:41:56.228 --> 00:41:57.354 I can't-- 00:41:58.897 --> 00:42:00.649 I can't even put into words how it is. 00:42:00.732 --> 00:42:03.693 So, it's a great time. 00:42:07.739 --> 00:42:11.576 Well, my father was about never owing anybody anything. 00:42:11.660 --> 00:42:17.749 So he would always teach me about owning the car that he drove, 00:42:17.833 --> 00:42:19.543 owning the house that we lived in. 00:42:20.335 --> 00:42:21.962 That's the power in America. 00:42:23.088 --> 00:42:25.882 Dodgers have won it all in 2020. 00:42:29.553 --> 00:42:30.929 This is what it's all about. 00:42:31.012 --> 00:42:33.140 And you know what I had told them when we bought the team? 00:42:33.223 --> 00:42:38.562 "I got all these Laker championship rings. I wanted a World Series ring." 00:42:38.645 --> 00:42:40.939 And sure enough, I got one. Yeah! 00:42:41.690 --> 00:42:43.817 The Black kid from Lansing, Michigan. 00:42:44.003 --> 00:42:45.337 That's the game he's in now. 00:42:45.421 --> 00:42:47.298 Once again, Johnson is bringing the magic 00:42:47.381 --> 00:42:48.966 back to a beloved franchise. 00:42:49.050 --> 00:42:51.802 They said, "Let's buy the Sparks." I said, "Okay, let's go do it." 00:42:53.429 --> 00:42:54.847 Let's go, Sparks! 00:42:54.930 --> 00:42:57.016 If you ask him right now, "So, what's next?" 00:42:57.099 --> 00:43:00.269 He's gonna be like, "Glad you asked. So here's the thing." 00:43:00.352 --> 00:43:02.563 Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson 00:43:02.646 --> 00:43:05.983 is part of a powerhouse group financing LAFC, 00:43:06.067 --> 00:43:09.487 a new soccer club recently approved by the MLS. 00:43:09.570 --> 00:43:12.073 That's what I like seeing, as a older Black man. 00:43:12.156 --> 00:43:16.994 You know, he's doing things that we couldn't dream of doing. 00:43:18.996 --> 00:43:21.415 Earvin's always been a trailblazer, 00:43:21.499 --> 00:43:24.794 and I think the important part of that 00:43:24.877 --> 00:43:26.462 is we don't just kick the door open. 00:43:26.545 --> 00:43:30.257 We make sure that we leave it open and provide a path for others to follow. 00:43:31.550 --> 00:43:33.469 Everything that I've always wanted to accomplish 00:43:33.552 --> 00:43:34.929 or didn't think was attainable, 00:43:35.012 --> 00:43:38.124 once-- Magic has shown us, once again, "Hey, guys. You can do it." 00:43:38.449 --> 00:43:39.909 We all owe Magic. 00:43:40.952 --> 00:43:43.538 Like, you know, you talk about generation from generation, 00:43:44.414 --> 00:43:45.498 I owe Magic. 00:43:47.458 --> 00:43:50.378 Magic Johnson made it very, very popular 00:43:50.461 --> 00:43:53.506 to not have any excuses to fall and stay down. 00:43:53.589 --> 00:43:54.799 Because if anybody could have 00:43:55.425 --> 00:43:58.177 he could have, and he refused to do so. 00:43:58.261 --> 00:43:59.762 And look at how he's shining today. 00:44:01.973 --> 00:44:04.851 Although he took the long way around 00:44:05.351 --> 00:44:07.186 to get to this point, 00:44:07.270 --> 00:44:09.814 how he is with Cookie 00:44:12.358 --> 00:44:14.652 -It's amazing. -It's what everybody would want. 00:44:14.736 --> 00:44:17.780 -It's a wonderful love story. -It's what-- Yeah, it is. 00:44:17.864 --> 00:44:20.616 Wherever they are at as a couple, 00:44:20.700 --> 00:44:22.702 he's looking out for Cookie. "Where's Cookie?" 00:44:22.785 --> 00:44:24.704 He's got her by her hand, or he's looking for her. 00:44:24.787 --> 00:44:26.789 -Right. -And I love the way he does her 00:44:26.873 --> 00:44:28.916 and the way he treats her and the way he looks at her. 00:44:29.000 --> 00:44:32.587 It is just-- You can-- It's so much love, and I just-- 00:44:32.670 --> 00:44:36.248 That's one of my favorite things about their relationship 00:44:36.566 --> 00:44:38.836 You can argue all you want about the GOAT. 00:44:39.161 --> 00:44:41.998 You can talk about Bill Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, 00:44:42.081 --> 00:44:44.500 Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 00:44:44.583 --> 00:44:46.961 You know, talk about Michael Jordan, LeBron James. 00:44:47.044 --> 00:44:48.295 You can go on and on. 00:44:49.171 --> 00:44:51.882 And not because I coached him, 00:44:51.966 --> 00:44:54.760 not because I just love him, I think he's the greatest of all time. 00:44:56.012 --> 00:44:58.097 You know, everybody has their own opinions. 00:44:58.180 --> 00:44:59.724 I have my own opinion. 00:44:59.807 --> 00:45:02.184 But it doesn't matter who's better. 00:45:02.268 --> 00:45:04.020 We'll be linked together for the rest of our life. 00:45:05.146 --> 00:45:06.147 His name is Magic. 00:45:06.230 --> 00:45:08.774 So we knew it was gonna be something magical. 00:45:09.608 --> 00:45:12.945 He does not realize the impact of his name. 00:45:13.821 --> 00:45:15.281 His name will be there forever. 00:45:17.867 --> 00:45:19.618 I never got caught into "Magic." 00:45:19.702 --> 00:45:23.497 I didn't think it was going to stick, and I didn't think it was going to last. 00:45:23.581 --> 00:45:25.291 And here I am. 00:45:25.374 --> 00:45:29.045 I'm 61 now, and people are still calling me Magic. 00:45:29.128 --> 00:45:30.671 So I guess I was wrong, 00:45:32.548 --> 00:45:33.924 and everybody else was right.