"We embraced our being Black; We embraced being leaders in our community" - Magic Johnson on the "Black excellence" in the NBA and its impact on the community
LA Lakers legend and Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson is set to appear this weekend to celebrate the NBA's 75th Anniversary in the 2022 All-Star Game. Before heading into Cleveland for the festivities, Johnson sat down with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated to discuss a variety of topics.
Some of the topics they talked about include the late, great Kobe Bryant and the current struggles of the Lakers this season. They also discussed the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, the majority of which are African American. Magic noted that these players were not only great on the court, but also off of it. Johnson said:
"It's Black excellence. It's men who excelled at the game of basketball. Men who also stood tall in their community, who were leaders on the court, but also off the court, and we embraced our being Black. We embraced being leaders in our community and we gave of ourselves to, hopefully, make our communities better, and our community could touch us."
The NBA’s 75 (76*) Greatest Players Ever list: https://t.co/it0cVQyZFQ
Magic Johnson added several examples of Black excellence from members of the 75th Anniversary Team. He mentioned LeBron James doing things for his hometown of Akron, Ohio. James and his foundation opened the I Promise School to help support at-risk children in the city.
Johnson also said that Julius Erving taught him, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas, the importance of giving back to the African American community. Jordan made a $5 million donation back in 2016 to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Michael Jordan is considered one of the best basketball players ever. Jordan is a Founding Donor of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
#michaeljordan #airjordan #basketball #chicagobulls #blackhistorymonth https://t.co/WLlghYa9tM
All living members of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team are scheduled to appear and be celebrated at Sunday's event. It was just one of many amazing festivities at the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.
Magic Johnson brags about the number of LA Lakers players in the NBA 75
In the same interview with The Undefeated, Magic Johnson also bragged about the LA Lakers possibly having the most number of players on the NBA's 75th Anniversary team. Johnson believes that the Lakers are number one with the Boston Celtics at number two.
However, the fact is that it's the opposite, because the Celtics have the highest number of players in the NBA 75. They have 20 former players on the list: Ray Allen, Nate Archibald, Dave Bing, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Pete Maravich, Bob McAdoo, Kevin McHale, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Parish, Gary Payton, Paul Pierce, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman and Dominique Wilkins.
The Lakers came in second with 18 total players on the 75th Anniversary Team. O'Neal, McAdoo and Payton also played in Hollywood. The remaining players who played for the Lakers are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Carmelo Anthony, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, George Mikan, Steve Nash, Dennis Rodman, Jerry West, Russell Westbrook and James Worthy.