Magic's Touch: From Fundamentals To Fast Break With One Of Basketball's All-time Greats

by Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Roy S. Johnson, Roy Francis Johnson

Here is Magic's game the way Magic plays it, available for the first time in trade paperback. The NBA superstar shows us all the right moves--passing, shooting, defense, dribbling, and rebounding--from a champion's point of view. An all-out effort to give fans and students of the game an inside look at how basketball should be played. Black-and-white photos and illustrations.

Genres: Biography, Sports, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is an American retired professional basketball player and current president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.

Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_J...]

Reviews

[Braden Boudreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Braden Boudreau
Ms. O’Brien-Yetto
English 9H
Nov. 1st 2017
    Magic’s Touch by Earvin Johnson is a book about Earvin “Magic” Johnson and is about his life and time before, during, and after the NBA. As a quick summary, Magic Johnson was a six foot nine point guard who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and won multiple championships with, Earvin is also HIV positive and remains a big figure in the sports scene today. I gave the book three stars because I liked it but at times it could be stale and boring.
    I enjoyed the book, it is always interesting to learn about a person’s life when they did something or are doing something you enjoy. An aspect I found added depth was bringing in different people from Earvin’s life to talk about him. One coach said “Throughout it all Magic was still smiling with that infectious grin”. Quotes such as these really help you visualize who Magic was. On the court he was always smiling and he would have some fun playing for himself and the fans. The team he was on is branded as the “Showtime Lakers” with him being the main component. There were often a lot of similes comparing Magic to another player or players which I thought was well done. Seeing how he is six foot nine playing the smallest position on the court there was definitely a different mindset about him. There were times however when there was a lack of literary elements and sophisticated language when Magic talked. This was understandable because it was a book on his life which was primarily basketball but it is still a book and I thought that part as a whole could’ve been done better. The flow of the book could’ve also been worked on, I felt without prior knowledge on sports and being intrigued by basketball the book would’ve been very easy to put down and not addicting as many great or even good books are.
    Overall, the book was a decent that was intriguing but I felt as if it was an attempt to make money off of being a successful person. Having a prior knowledge on basketball was also big on whether or not you liked this book, the experience for a person who doesn’t know who Magic is versus a long-time lakers fan isn’t necessarily better or worse, but the experience was definitely different. While I read this book because I’m big on sports I would recommend it to another person or people like me but for those who don’t typically enjoy sports, I’d say to steer clear.

[Matt Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been on my shelf for 30 years, Finally read it after watching the HBO series Winning Time about the Lakers. Not a bad book, not a great book. Geared more towards young men wanting to learn about basketball.

[Ian Sinclair]

I have recently just finished the biography "Magic's Touch" Written by Earvin "Magic" Johnson. I was very impressed with the book. I admire Magics's brutal Honesty and commitment to his team and being loyal. He was a very motivational and uplifting. He always tried to keep his team in check and in the game. The book was 1st person writing of him looking back on his career. I enjoyed hearing his point of view on the game from a 6'9 point guards opinion. He was very insightful in all aspects of the game even those aspects he was not good at during his time in the league. the book sort of made me want to try out for the basketball team this year but its too late already. I would recommend this book to older and previous basketball players and fans. Especially those who witness Magic Johnson's era. The book taught me to pay attention to everything i learn in my life and to hold on to it Because some day I might be reusing that information to help or inform someone else. Today even though Magic Johnson is too old to actively teach during his camps he still finds away to still help out. In the book he says the one thing he wants people to remember him by is his commitment to never giving up even when he was on of the first players to deal with a life threatening disease in mid-career the temporarily ended his career but it never stopped him. This book was a great inspiring read and I would read it again.

[Todd Wittenmyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book if you're into 1980's NBA! More instructional than autobiographical though!

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love basketball and the fact I can get in depth information into what happens on and off the court in the NBA from a hall of famer, it is very inspiring to hear how he got to the level he did. Truly one of my favourite books and something I still read today.