Michael Ovitz and Magic Johnson: Magic's Fast Break into Business

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson's retirement from the NBA after contracting HIV, with numerous articles celebrating both his courageous battle against the virus and his incredible career as an athlete and businessman.  L.A. Times' Bill Plashke's 'Magic Johnson remains a living symbol of hope' or the NBA.com's '20 years ago, Magic took on challenge of HIV ... and won' are but a few examples, the latter of which mentions Magic's little-known connection to Michael Ovitz:

"Michael Ovitz, who had made Creative Artists Agency into a Hollywood entertainment colossus, had taken him under his wing while he was still a player, and now, with some time on his hands, Magic jumped in with both feet."

Few people may know the mentoring role Michael Ovitz played in Magic's very successful business career.  Success Magazine wrote a great article on how Ovitz helped Magic enter the business world:

“I learned a couple of great lessons there with Michael Ovitz,” Johnson says. “The first is that if you want to be successful, you have to be willing to use every connection you’ve got. It is a funny story how that meeting came about. During a Lakers game the season before, I was standing on the sidelines getting ready to pass the ball inbounds. There were two businessmen I respect—[studio executive and  author] Peter Guber and [recording industry executive] Joe Smith—who were sitting there courtside and were huge fans. I looked over and asked, ‘How do I get into business?’ It probably wasn’t the best place to ask, but they could tell I was honestly looking for help, so later they arranged for me to meet Michael Ovitz.

“The second thing I learned is that if you want someone to be your mentor, you better be ready to listen and be humbled,” Johnson says. “Michael wasn’t sure about working with me because so many athletes think they can move right into business and never take anyone’s advice. I had to prove to him I was serious and that I would listen.”

Click here to read the entire article, 'Magic Johnson's Fast Break Into Business - The legendary L.A. Laker's secret behind a successful sports-to-business transition.'