The mystique and tradition of the Los Angeles Lakers was once and forever defined by the career of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
Right after he was drafted by them with the top pick in the 1979 NBA draft, he transformed them from a bridesmaid franchise into world champions as a rookie.
Four more championships followed in the next eight seasons, making those Showtime Lakers a true dynasty and arguably the greatest team in league history, while setting the precedent for all that has followed for the organization since.
But it almost didn’t happen.
After Johnson’s freshman year of college at Michigan State University, he was thinking of going pro. He recently admitted that the Kansas City Kings (now the Sacramento Kings) offered him what was then considered a lucrative contract to be their selection in the 1978 draft.
However, a wise man — his father — made him reconsider.
“Kansas City had the No. 1 pick. So, they called me and said, ‘Hey, we want to draft you No. 1’. They were the Kansas City Kings at that time. So, I flew down and met with a dude named Joe Ackerson, the general manager, and he said, ‘Hey! I wanna give you a six-year deal, $200,000 a year!’. So, I got excited, I’ve been broke my whole life. I’m like, ‘Oh man! This is great!’ And, so I jumped up and said, ‘I think that’s good!’ My father grabbed me and he pulled me, drove me outside, and said, ‘Hold on. We’ll be right back.’ He said, ‘You’ve been broke for 18 years, you can be broke one more year!’ I said, ‘Yes sir!’”
Actually, the Kings had the second pick that year, but since Johnson listened to his father and returned to Michigan State for one more year, the Kings used that pick on Phil Ford, who had three solid years to start his career but didn’t amount to a whole lot.
It’s safe to say Johnson never regretted that decision.
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