Magic Johnson has done it again. He has won one more world championship as a team owner. And this time, it’s with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is his third World Series win with the team.
Clearly, Johnson isn’t on the field making it happen, but he certainly has a hand on the team’s winning culture that they cultivate. I can’t merely see these recent wins as happenstance. You see, this was Magic’s ninth championship as part of an ownership group for a team. So, he’s not a stranger to winning as an owner. I see no better time than the present to give the man his just due.
A champion’s pedigree
Johnson has always been a winner since he has been on our television screens since the late 1970s. Winning at the college and professional levels already cemented him as a Hall of Famer. But in the lexicon of sports executives, if there ever were a Hall of Fame for that, he’d be first ballot as well.
Laying the groundwork
It’s been well documented that during Johnson’s time in the NBA as a player, he’d take many meetings while on the road regarding entrepreneurship. His business acumen has truly been a wonder. He has seen success with the likes of Starbucks and his Magic Johnson Movie Theaters, among other endeavors.
To amass the success that he’s had, the legend had to pay attention to a plethora of markets. That’s in addition to keeping very smart advisors around him. His team deserves as much credit as he does for seeking out opportunities that provide him with the greatest opportunity for growth and championships.
When it comes to the Lakers, I believe Johnson wanted a stake in the team that drafted him, mostly out of loyalty to the late Dr. Jerry Buss. It didn’t hurt that, within that tenure, he enjoyed success ushered in by the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. In 2014, he signed on to be a part owner of the Los Angeles Sparks, where he enjoyed another championship won in large part due to the legendary Candace Parker.
Johnson simply knows a winner when he sees one. With his first major league acquisition being the Dodgers, he once again saw the potential for greatness. He became an owner of the team back in 2012, and in 2020, he won his first championship with them as one of their owners. Within this five-year span, the Dodgers have won two more World Series Championships, including this year. That brings their total to three within five years, which allows them to make a plausible dynastic claim.
Victory lap
It was after this last championship win that I just had to tip my hat. I can’t recall any league executive having the amount of success that Johnson has across different sports leagues. The roles in which he functions these days combine worlds that are truly his life’s passions in business and sports. There’s no question that his competitive itch is satiated by winning. And if Johnson isn’t anything else, he has proven to be just that: a bona fide winner.