We Reminisce: Magic Johnson’s comeback game in 1996
Four years after he last stepped on an NBA court (the 1992 All-Star Game), Magic Johnson donned the Lakers uni again on Jan. 30, 1996, against the Warriors. Coming off the bench and playing power forward, Magic posted 19 points, eight boards and 10 assists, including one memorable ball-fake on Latrell Sprewell that had Spree on Amber Alert. Magic averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 boards and 6.9 dimes in 32 games following his mid-season comeback, and the Lakers lost to the Rockets (Hakeem, Drexler, Horry, Cassell) in the first round of the playoffs. After that series Magic retired again, on his own terms.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
SwedishMooze says:
Dime.. you need to save all these reminisce links in their own section by player… great walk down memory lane.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
iain. says:
his great attitude must have been so infectious. I didn’t know he played that recently.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
favorite. player. ever.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
AY says:
One of my best friends claimed at the time that “spree is one of the best defenders of all time”, one of these classic arguments that i still think about whenever someone brings up how great dwade is. And then i showed him this video of a 38 year old overweight magic completely destroying sprewell. The topic never came up again.
September 8th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
s.bucketz says:
that fake was naasty…can we get a reminisce on Spree??everyone forgets how beastly he was cuz of all his silliness wen he left
September 8th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
GEE... runnin a train! says:
lol reminisce him chokin the coach lol.
Magic was like that. Mind has to wonder if some of these cats with nicknames be actual ballers checkin the Dime website sometime. Imagine Spree using some alias and we don’t know it, and comin up on this.
He prolly would be cussin something awful.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Kermit The Washington says:
This video was dope; I forgot all about his comeback! And I forgot all about Elden Campbell too haha
September 8th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Michorizo says:
Happened on my B-day … one of the most memorable B-day memories I have. I remember taking a shot of something and looking up at the TV as this play happened. Magic almost broke his neck …
September 8th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Ian says:
one of the two best players ever (wilts the other) in my opinion
dont be pissed jordan fans is just an opinion
September 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
it aint easy being green says:
nasty, just nasty
@ dime,
bout a week ago a couple of people, myself included, commented with the idea of doing a hypothetical “best backcourt duo” (a la best 3pt shooter) tournament. whats good?
September 8th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Drink The Haterade (Kobe Rocks) says:
@ Dime–
I know we still got like 4 weeks til preseason games and 8 wks till the opener, but could we get something that keeps us interested. I mean the last couple of days been real dry.
Like how about a story about how all these young cats couldn’t hang back in the day cause you could close line someone comin thru the lane and it was just a foul. Think Mchale slammin Rambis to the floor.
September 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Meica says:
Does Magic have a talk-show, or something, yet? I mean wow! I think Showtime really is an apt description. He was born a celebrity. I always forget what a great speaking voice that man had; and how articulate! And, of course, what a great f*cking basketball player. Thanks, Dime, I had forgot about that one.
September 8th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
AY says:
magic actually had a talk show the magic hour, back in the late late 90s. I remember going down to la to see my folks and driving up rosemead in pasadena and on the biggest billboard in the history of man, there’s magic’s mug and the tagline “delivering 60 smiles per minute”. it was cancelled after a couple of months. i watched it once and it was really bad, him laughing at anything the guests said and basically doing that for an hour.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Yup, he was sick
September 8th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Tbone says:
s.bucketz: right on the money
lol @ post 6
Drink The Haterade (Kobe Rocks): shhhhhhhh, everyone else seems to be enjoying it
Great post dime. A lot of the time when we see Magic talking on TNT with Charles and Kenny, and as we see him now, forgetting the true greatness of his playing days becomes too easy. Truly an inspirational player.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Magnifico says:
magic was the best showman ever, truly a joy to watch. gotta admit, he inspired all of us to try those no-look-passes and behind-the-back dishes. He’s one of the few that gives you your money’s worth.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:17 am
USA < International all stars says:
reminisce this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8crWY-INEn4
Abdul rauf giving the bulls buckets.
September 9th, 2008 at 6:53 am
sans says:
“It was so much fun, man.” You gotta love that about the game.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:55 am
karizmatic says:
Thanks y’all my favorite player of all time. And that pass fake on Latrell one of my favorite plays ever. Magic man, 27 mins 19 pts 10 assts 8 rebs after four years out. One of the greatest of all time.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Kudabeen says:
He wasn’t fast, strong, or a great athlete, but he knew what to do and when to just beat you. These type of guys are the rarest breed. Magic had an advantage on pretty much 99% of the guys he played against and it was in between his ears (brain) and shoulders (heart). That’s why he goes on that Mount Rushmore of Ballers that 1-5% of elite level player. He can come out of retirement (4-5 years) and give cast 19 8 and 10 in what 27 minutes!! That is just pure…The game was second nature. Very nice look Dime
September 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Kevin says:
Pure class
September 9th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Tbone says:
Just another thought here:
You can tell from listening to Magic and watching him talk, he has a certain respect for the game, he honors the game itself, and you can tell he holds it above him, that is to say he knows the game of basketball is bigger than he is. It seems many of stars of those days shared that sentiment.
By no means is this a knock against todays stars, I love Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Melo, Arenas, etc as much as the next true fan. What I’m saying is that these guys sometimes think they are bigger than the game of basketball.
Of course there are exceptions, and as much as I hate to admit it, Duncan is the first to come to mind. I think Nash and Garnett also fit the bill, perhaps others as well.
Maybe I’m stretching a little. Haters might say that we have no idea what the players really think, but after watching this clip, it’s worth noticing the difference between the way Magic regards the game versus the big stars of today.