Magic Quits Nba Again, This Time ‘On My Terms’

Magic Johnson, saying he was really “ready to give it up” this time, retired from the NBA again. At age 36, chances are he won’t change his mind.

Johnson, whose comeback with the Los Angeles Lakers began in triumph and ended in disarray, announced his retirement Tuesday, saying it was time to return to his business interests.

“I was satisfied with my return to the NBA, although I would have hoped we would have gone further into the playoffs,” he said in a statement issued by his agent, Lon Rosen. “But now, I am ready to give it up. It’s time to move on.

“I am going out on my terms, something I couldn’t say when I aborted a comeback in 1992.”

Rosen said Johnson’s decision to retire again has “nothing to do with his health.”

Johnson, who turns 37 in August and would have been a free agent July 1, first retired just before the start of the 1991-92 season after learning he had the AIDS virus.

The three-time league MVP decided to come back before the 1992-93 season, but quit again shortly before the season when several players expressed concerns about playing with him.

After considering a comeback several times since, Johnson returned to the Lakers on Jan. 29. He played in 32 games and the Lakers won 20, helping them earn the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Houston Rockets, however, eliminated the Lakers in four games in the first round.

The Lakers, who won five NBA titles with Johnson, had no advance warning about Tuesday’s announcement.

“From the time he came to this team almost 17 years ago, Earvin Johnson has been a very special part of our lives,” said Jerry West, the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations.

“While this is a sad day, it’s one that we always knew would come, and I would rather look at it remembering all the great moments he brought to this team and our fans.”

Johnson coached the Lakers for the final 16 games of the 1993-94 season, going 5-11, and bought a five percent ownership interest on June 27, 1994. He sold his stake back to owner Jerry Buss before returning as a player.

Johnson played 32 games this season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds.

After coming back, he was sidelined by a calf injury. While he was dominant at times, he looked his age at other times. Nevertheless, he termed his comeback a success.

Only 10 days earlier, after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, Johnson reiterated his desire to play next season.

“This is where I want to be, I’m a Laker,” he said at the time. “I’m looking at the Lakers as No. 1.”

But he wasn’t entirely happy with his role, saying he hoped to see more action at point guard than power forward and hinting he would welcome offers from other teams. All of that, however, changed in the ensuing 10 days.

“We weren’t totally surprised,” Lakers coach Del Harris said of the retirement. “We knew it was one of the possibilities. It was not the one we wanted to see. We would have been glad to have him back.

Johnson, who at 6-foot-9 revolutionized the role of point guard, has the second-highest assists total in NBA history, behind Utah’s John Stockton. In 906 regular-season games, Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists.

Johnson said he will devote himself to his growing business interests, including his Magic Johnson Theatres and building-land development company. He will also play exhibition games around the world.

In his final game, Johnson scored eight points in 30 minutes and sat out much of the fourth quarter in the Rockets’ 102-94 victory.