Magic Johnson turned down opportunity to be part of Golden State Warriors ownership group

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson has taken full advantage of his post-playing career, and he is now a business mogul with responsibilities and income streams in many different industries.

One such industry is professional sports. Johnson is a part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks.

According to the man himself, Johnson also had a chance to be a part of the ownership group of the Golden State Warriors. However, Johnson turned down the offer.

“I do, just the right situation,” Johnson said after Shannon Sharpe asked him if he wants to own an NBA team. “But I’m such a Laker fan, I don’t know if I can do it. … I’ve had four opportunities, and I turned them all down. Joe Lacob and Peter Guber sat down with lunch with me in Santa Monica. ‘We want you to be our partners with the Golden State Warriors.’ I love both men. I just couldn’t do it. I’m a Laker. I love the Lakers.”

It’s pretty wonderful to see that after all these years, Johnson still feels so strongly about the team that he played his entire NBA career for. There were certainly many years in which Johnson’s name and the Lakers were synonymous with one another. He remains one of the greatest players to ever wear a Lakers jersey.

Johnson served as the president of basketball operations for the Lakers from February 2017 to April 2019.

Though his tenure with the team as an executive ended abruptly, that has seemingly had very little impact on his relationship with the organization.

In his playing career with the Lakers, Johnson averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game. He retired as a three-time league MVP, three-time Finals MVP and five-time NBA champion. Since starting his NBA career, he has amassed a massive personal wealth and is currently believed to have a net worth of around $620 million.

Time will tell if Johnson ends up becoming an NBA owner in some capacity down the road.