Earvin “Magic” Johnson

OF ‘THEY CALL ME MAGIC’ ON APPLE TV+

In preparing your documentary series “They Call Me Magic,” what were your thoughts about how your upbringing made you the person the world has come to know?

I’m like my father, who was a worker. He worked two jobs his whole life, and he instilled that work ethic in me. And then I’m like my mother; probably when you think about me going over to people and thanking them and saying hello, that’s probably from my mother. She taught us to always help thy neighbor, always give back, and so she instilled that in all of us – all my brothers and sisters – and so I’m so happy that I’m a combination of both

of them.

And all those life lessons that they instilled in me, I make sure that I carry those out today. I always want to make sure that I represent them well. I care about what they think. I think, “Am I making the right decision? Am I doing the right thing?” Because I want to make sure that I make them happy,

right?

What do you think has been the key to your resilience?

That’s what I’ve always been about. I’ve always been the leader of my teams on the court, but even if we lost games, I’d say, “OK, we’ve just got to make sure we don’t lose the next one” ... and find out the reason why we lost that game, to make sure that doesn’t happen the

next time.

That’s why I’m excited about this documentary. It gets to tell people that I am a guy who loves to live life and live it to its fullest. I’m just a positive person.

That’s my DNA. That’s who I am.

How do you assess your acumen in the business world, which seems to have inspired other athletes similarly?

I really have the track record of success, and now all those athletes have come and talked to me. Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), Dwyane Wade, Grant Hill, Kobe (Bryant), they all had come to me for advice in how to get started being a businessman and I tried to give them the blueprint. So I had and have the

blueprint and I just pass it on to them.