“MAGIC on the Back of His Car”: Decades Before Splurging $3,500,000 on Hypercar, Michael Jordan Proved His Adoration for Magic Johnson

Just like in the pros, back in his high school days, Michael Jordan was a phenom. He was a scoring machine and integral to the Emsley A. Laney High School basketball team. However, while he scored many points and grabbed several rebounds, he also tried hard to be an elite playmaker at the time. Hoping to emulate his hero, Magic Johnson, Jordan did everything he could to be like him. And, as revealed in the book Michael Jordan: The Life, this included getting vanity plates that read ‘MAGIC’, years before he bought a $3,500,000 ‘hypercar’.

MJ has always had a fascination for cars. Over the years, he’s built quite the car collection for himself. From an Aston Martin DB7 Volante to a Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir, he has it all. Recently, he bought himself a $3,500,000 Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster, a hypercar that features a 6.6 liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which generated 1,817 horsepower. However, despite all that, it is his first car that holds a special place in his heart, as it paid homage to his hero.

Michael Jordan paid homage to Magic Johnson with his first-ever car in high school

Back before his playing days in the NBA, Michael Jordan was known for his incredible scoring ability. However, scoring wasn’t the only aspect of his game he wished to hone. MJ wanted to be the best of the best. To do that, he needed to emulate the best, something Magic Johnson had the honor of being in his mind.

While it is true that everybody wants to “Be Like Mike”, as a high schooler, Mike wanted to be like Magic. So, during practice, he would start playing just like the Lakers legend, throwing no-look passes to all his teammates. This earned him the nickname “Magic Mike”, something that stuck throughout his high school life.

Everyone was calling him “Magic Mike”, and one of his teammates bought him a license tag that read “Magic”. His girlfriend at the time even got him a t-shirt that read “Magic Mike”. In hindsight, it seems a bit much, but it was a nice little homage Jordan gave his hero, placing the tags on his first-ever car.

“Jordan himself had initiated an effort to take things in another direction, one inspired by his hero. His vanity plates now read MAGIC on the back of his car and MAGIC MIKE on the front, evidence of his wanting to perfect Magic Johnson’s ability with the no-look pass. ‘It started one day in practice,’ he told Chuck Carree, ‘when I started doing some freaky things like Johnson does. I made some passes looking away and one of my teammates started calling me ‘Magic Mike.’ He bought me the license tag on the back, and my girlfriend got me a T-shirt and front license tag with ‘Magic Mike’ on it.'”

His Airness adored Magic, but in 1991, he had to overcome his hero in order to win his first NBA Championship. And, in true MJ fashion, he did so mercilessly, winning the series 4-1.

Magic Johnson was jealous of Jordan and his ridiculous Nike shoe deal

Back when he first started out in the NBA, Magic Johnson had a choice to make. He had to choose a shoe deal between Converse and Nike. As history shows, he went with the more mainstream option, signing with Converse. It was a decision, that at the time seemed smart, but years later, he would come to regret it.

In 1984, Michael Jordan signed a historic $2,500,000 deal with Nike. A deal that ended up with him reportedly earning $1,500,000,000 by 2020. And, one that Johnson admits he is still jealous about.

Magic chose Converse because they offered him more money. Whereas, Nike’s Phil Knight wanted to offer him stocks. But, at the end of the day, both Jordan and Magic made their money. Although, Magic could have made a bit more if he signed with the Swoosh.