Staying sharp in the NBA for the entire duration of the regular season and playoffs is no easy task. 82 games, and possibly more, is a long grind, and even the best players go through dry stretches. That’s when it becomes necessary to find a spark in other ways. Lakers legend Magic Johnson, for one, had a secret trick that has only recently come to light.
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Vlade Divac played alongside Magic on the Lakers between 1989 and 1991, by which point the Showtime era was nearing its end. Still, the team remained a regular postseason contender, with Johnson being a major reason why. He knew how to get inside the heads of his teammates just as well as he did his opponents.
Divac, in a recent conversation with EuroLeague, revealed that he and the rest of the Lakers locker room at the time saw Magic as much a coach as a teammate.
“He was a coach on the floor. He was thinking about, not just for himself, but for the entire team. We had a game in New York. He went to buy a newspaper for the purpose of reading in front of us. You know, 82 games in the league, it’s very hard to play on the same level. So he tried to motivate the guys,” stated Divac.
Divac, with a big smile on his face, then disclosed that Magic managed to poke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by coming up with fake headlines to make him play better. “He was reading the paper and said, ‘Oh, Patrick Ewing said he’s the No. 1 center in the league.’ And he’s looking at the big guy and he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get you.'”
Sounds like classic Magic Johnson. His antics on the court were just as wild as his insane life off it, but that’s why he’s a five-time NBA Champion. He and Kareem, in particular, have a long history dating back to his rookie season, and moves like almost always worked.
“Maybe the greatest era of basketball in American history.”
Lakers Shrine | Showtime ✨ pic.twitter.com/V8DGL35xzV
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 14, 2023
“He used, like, motivation for players. Obviously, Kareem, next day, 40,” added Divac, drawing a big laugh from the group, including Bulls legend Toni Kukoc, who was also part of the interview.
Stories like these show what made Johnson truly special. Flashy passes aside, he understood how to keep his teammates sharp through the grind of a demanding season. Knowing how to push without tearing guys down was a rare gift, and Magic thrived on it. That’s part of why the Lakers stayed dangerous even in the later Showtime years.
For Kareem, that little nudge clearly worked, and for Divac, it remains a story worth laughing about decades later. Magic was building an edge that went beyond the box score. That kind of leadership can’t be faked, and it’s why his impact stretched far beyond his own highlights. In the end, he made everyone around him feel capable of being legendary, too.
