Magic Johnson fought back tears Tuesday as he eulogized the man he referred to more than once as “my angel.”
Johnson was one of several boldfaced NBA names — also including Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Yao Ming and others — to attend the Radio City Music Hall memorial service for longtime NBA commissioner David Stern, who died Jan. 1 after suffering a brain hemorrhage nearly three weeks earlier.
Johnson, the fourth of 10 people to speak at the packed service, emotionally credited Stern with saving his life with his handling of the 12-time All-Star point guard’s revelation in 1991 that he was forced to retire from the Lakers and the NBA due to contracting HIV.
“In a time of need 29 years ago, the toughest time in my life … my commissioner turned into my angel and he was able to throw me a lifeline,” Johnson said. “David came out and we held a press conference together. After the press conference, we went into a little room and he told me that the league, as well as himself, would always be there for me. I didn’t know just what that meant at that time.”
Johnson also recalled Stern calling him several months later to gauge the five-time NBA champion’s interest in playing in the 1992 All-Star Game, despite concerns from his fellow players due to a lack of education about his disease.
“When you’re dealing in a life or death situation, you need the support of your brothers, of your league, and of a friend,” said Johnson, who totaled 25 points with nine assists to earn game MVP honors. “That game saved my life. It gave me the energy that I needed to carry on, to live on.
“Knowing that David paved the way for me to actually play in that game, we’d talk about it all the time, how we changed the world and we changed [the perception] of HIV and AIDS on that particular day. We saved a lot of people’s lives that day.”
Five months later, Johnson also was included at Stern’s insistence on the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, alongside Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and several other NBA stars. Johnson now believes that his inclusion helped promote HIV awareness on a global scale.
“That’s what David wanted to do. Not only save my life, and it did that, but he also saved millions of people that we would never meet, because of the fact I was able to play and perform in the Olympics,” Johnson said, as his voice started to crack. “I’m gonna miss my angel.
“Sometimes God puts somebody in your life, that you don’t know the reason why, until something seriously happens in your life. You know it’s your friend when something bad happens in your life. I don’t care about my [five] championships. If David Stern was your friend, he stood right there next to you, no matter what. No matter what people said. We know he’s the greatest commissioner to ever live, but he’s going to go down as a man that stood for what is right.”
Stern’s successor as NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, also said during the service that his former boss “changed the world.” Val Ackerman, the first president of the WNBA, called Stern “the most important person to women’s sports since Billie Jean King.” One of Stern’s sons also thanked Knicks owner Jim Dolan for “picking up the tab” for the memorial.
Former Lakers and Knicks coach and current Miami Heat executive Pat Riley and jazz musician Wynton Marsalis were among the others to speak at the service, which also was attended by the entire Knicks team and several other former NBA stars, as well as NBA owners Mark Cuban, Jeanie Buss and Micky Arison, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.