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“Michael Jordan used to be called Magic Mike”: When the Bulls legend idolized Magic Johnson and mimicked everything the Showtime Lakers star did

Jeet Pukhrambam
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"Michael Jordan used to be called Magic Mike": When the Bulls legend idolised Magic Johnson and mimicked everything the Showtime Lakers' star did

Michael Jordan used to look up to Magic Johnson before he entered the league. Then, a shoe deal changed everything for the Bulls legend. 

MJ’s love for the game came from a very young age. As a youngster, he idolized Magic Johnson, the Showtime Lakers’ superstar.

During high school, he tried to do everything Magic did on the court. He copied him in every aspect of the game, so much so, that his friend used to call him Magic Mike.

Michael said on a podcast that he even had a Magic Mike sticker on his car. The idolizing and looking up all took a u-turn when Jordan started making a name for himself.

Also read: “Kobe Bryant called Michael Jordan ‘Mr. Jordan’?! No way!”: When a high school Black Mamba met the Bulls legend for the very first time

Michael Jordan: The young phenom

While Michael may have idolized Magic Johnson, it would not last long. As MJ grew into a player of his own, his name began to grow.

He was fast becoming a superstar and in college, he won the NCAA title with UNC. He was the first athlete to be offered a shoe deal and even a signature shoe by Nike. All of this was before he even stepped foot on an NBA court.

The league quickly took notice, a young phenom was here and he already came with huge expectations on his shoulder.

Other stars in the league didn’t have their own signature shoe. Magic Johnson was one of those stars.

What ensued was something that would start a bitter rivalry between a young boy and his hero.

In this two-part series, we cover the start of a vendetta between the MJs. The next part covers how Magic was the conductor of the freezeout and the start of a vendetta.

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam

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Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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