Johnson has accomplished things most of us only dream about - not only as a three-time NBA most valuable player (MVP), but also in the world of business. The founder and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE) has built an empire by investing in areas most businesspeople won't touch - inner-city neighborhoods that had few of the shops and services found in more affluent areas.

On top of that, Johnson has a fulfilling family life at home in Beverly Hills, Calif., with his wife Cookie, their two children, Earvin III and Elisa, and, from time-to-time, Johnson's son from a prior relationship, 22-year old Andre.

Johnson, who was forced to retire from basketball in 1991 after testing HIV-positive (he later returned to play part of the 1996 season with Los Angeles), has also built on his legend as a philanthropist. Already known during his playing days for his work with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and the recipient of the 1987 NBA Man of the Year award for his work with charities and community causes, Johnson's own Magic Johnson Foundation has become one of the leading non-profit groups in the United States.

"The great thing about my foundation is, because we are working to help so many different causes, people want to get involved - close personal friends, as well as volunteers," Johnson says, passing on credit for his own accomplishments.

Not that "passing" is an unusual concept to those who followed Johnson's basketball career.

'Give the Ball to Others ...' Known for his game's inclusiveness and joy, Johnson's "pass-first" philosophy engendered some of the best team basketball ever seen on any court. It was those qualities, along with his on-court creativity and charisma, that made Johnson one of the finest players ever to lace up a pair of sneakers. But that concept of sharing started at home.

Johnson was born in 1959 to Christine and Earvin Johnson, Sr., in Lansing, Mich., as the fourth of seven children. From his early childhood, Johnson and the basketball were as inseparable as Johnson and his famous smile. Inseparable, that is, until his father taught him a philosophy about how basketball is played best.

"Give the ball to others to score," Earvin Sr. told his young son. And did Johnson ever follow those instructions. When he first retired from the NBA in 1991, "Buck" (a nickname for Johnson among his teammates) was the game's all-time assists leader (now second to Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, with more than 10,000). But it was Johnson's all-around game and his revolutionary size at his position that earned him his nickname and reputation.

In 1976, a Lansing sportswriter dubbed Earvin Johnson, Jr., "Magic" following a 36-point, 18-rebound, 16-assist performance for Everett High School. The name took hold completely when Johnson led Everett to the 1977 state championship.

After deciding to stay home for college to attend Michigan State University in East Lansing, Johnson led the Spartans to their first-ever NCAA title, beating Larry Bird's Indiana State team, 75-64, in 1979. The game is still the highest-rated college basketball telecast ever and merely set the stage for what was to come as Johnson left college two years early to join the Lakers.

The Rise of 'Showtime' When Johnson arrived in Southern California to sign his first contract with the Lakers in 1979, legend has it that he asked the driver to stop the car on the way from Los Angeles International Airport to the Forum, the Lakers' arena at the time. The reason? Johnson had never seen a palm tree before and wanted to get out and get a closer look.

However, it was Johnson that eventually left star-studded Hollywood crowds star-struck in his presence. Just one year after earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA Final Four, Johnson earned the first of his three NBA Finals MVP awards by leading the Lakers to their first NBA crown in eight years.

Johnson cemented his legend at age 20 on a May night in 1980. The Lakers, without reigning NBA MVP center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - he'd sprained his ankle badly in the previous game - traveled to Philadelphia for Game 6 of the finals, leading the series, three games to two. Most pregame speculation hinged on whether Abdul-Jabbar would be ready for a deciding seventh game back in Los Angeles, since it was assumed the 76ers would easily defeat the Lakers without the center.

However, Johnson, a six-foot, nine-inch point guard (about six to nine inches taller than the average player at that position at the time), volunteered to play center in Abdul-Jabbar's stead. Forty-two points and 15 rebounds later, Johnson had led the Lakers to a series-clinching 123-107 victory.

It was the first of five Laker crowns in the 1980s (the others coming in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988). Johnson led Los Angeles to the NBA finals in nine of his 12 seasons, won the league MVP award in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and even led the league in free-throw percentage in 1989, the only Laker ever to accomplish that feat.

But even with all of the personal accolades, Johnson is still all about team, even today, when asked about the key moments in his career. "Winning five NBA championships and winning the Olympic gold medal are the most important things I accomplished in basketball," he says.

Johnson and Bird continued their rivalry in the pros, as Bird's Boston Celtics won three championships during the '80s. The Lakers and Celtics met in the NBA Finals in 1984, '85 and '87, with the Lakers winning the final two series. More importantly, Johnson and Bird brought the NBA from the brink of extinction to unimagined heights in the 1980s.

The league, which could not get its Finals games televised live in 1980, became more popular on television than baseball by 1990, while attendance rose every year to watch the Lakers' "Showtime" style of fast-breaking basketball.

However, on Nov. 7, 1991, "Showtime" appeared to close its doors for good.