Clyde Drexler says USA Dream Team felt Magic Johnson was going to die – NBA Update
Former NBA player Clyde Drexler and the rest of the USA Dream Team from the 1992 Olympics felt sorry for Magic Johnson and believed the NBA legend would soon die. Drexler revealed this in a new book about the Dream Team yet to be released.
The excerpts widely available from the book suggest that Drexler and other members of the Dream Team held back when facing Johnson because of his ailment. Magic Johnson was diagnosed with AIDS in 1991 and subsequently retired. He had already made a name
for himself with the Lakers as a multiple time NBA World Champion, a leader and one of the best players to ever grace an NBA court.
Furthermore, Magic came back for the 1992 All Star game and was later made part of the 1992 Olympics team, dubbed the Dream Team which also included the likes of Drexler, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.
Drexler said that Johnson was his usual self when back in the fold, but everyone knew otherwise because of his advancing years and his ailment.
“"Magic was always...".. "'Come on, Clyde, come on, Clyde, get with me, get with me,' and making all that noise. And, really, he couldn't play much by that time. He couldn't guard his shadow."”
Magic of course lives on today and is very involved with basketball to this day. The NBA legend has been widely successful in his battle against AIDS and indeed become a model for victims of the deadly virus.
On the court though, Drexler believes Magic gained a lot of advantage because of the sympathy his condition induced. Clyde said that everyone on the team was pretty much expecting Johnson to drop dead, as in those days AIDS struck much more fear in players
than it does now.
“"But you have to have to understand what was going on then. Everybody kept waiting for Magic to die. Every time he'd run up the court everybody would feel sorry for the guy, and he'd get all that benefit of the doubt. Magic came across like, 'All this is
my stuff.' Really? Get outta here, dude. He was on the declining end of his career."”
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