(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Magic Johnson spent his entire NBA career playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and remains one of the biggest icons of that team, and the entire league.
However, there was a time when he was thinking of saying goodbye to the purple and gold.
That’s according to Lakers legend Michael Cooper, who shared the story of when Johnson wanted to be traded from the team.
Cooper told Nick Gelso that there was a season when Johnson was wildly unhappy with how the team was playing.
Although they were winning games, every single one was a struggle and they weren’t playing the way they were supposed to.
Sitting at the Houston airport, Johnson told Cooper and others that he didn’t like the status of the Lakers and was thinking of leaving them behind.
I will never forget this… the day Magic almost quit the Lakers. Thank god he stuck around…
Check out my podcast w @CLNS_Nick for more.
by @PrizePicks @CLNSMedia #LakeShow #LakersNation #lakers pic.twitter.com/57rRNVL1Xo
— Michael Cooper (@ShowtimeCooper) April 4, 2024
Of course, Johnson ended up staying with the Lakers, which was of course incredibly good news for the team.
Johnson is still considered one of the best NBA stars of all time, averaging 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game.
He was a game-changer when it came to assists and is still celebrated as the best passer the league has ever seen.
Johnson was a crucial part of the Showtime Lakers era and if the team had lost him, they would have been greatly impaired and their success would have dwindled instantly.
Whatever issues Johnson had with the Lakers were obviously solved because he stayed put in Los Angeles and finished his career with the team.
He is one of the select few NBA icons who remained with one squad for the entirety of his time in the league and is still very close to the Lakers organization.
The post Lakers Legend Recalls How Magic Johnson Almost Requested A Trade appeared first on The Cold Wire.