Johnson’s magic extends beyond basketball court
The revolutionary point guard went straight from being a national championship winner in 1979 with his home state university, Michigan State, to clinching the professional title with the LA Lakers in 1980, his rookie season.
It was the launching pad for a five-title decade in LA and the happy-go-lucky hero was himself embarking on a personal journey that would make him one of the most popular athletes on the planet. Where better to be a star than in Hollywood? But something else was happening in LA in 1980. Not far from where the magic was happening at The Forum, the Lakers’ Inglewood arena in south-west LA, an oasis of glory in a rundown neighbourhood, the gay community of west LA was under siege from an unknown virus.
