In the 1980’s Earvin “Magic” Johnson
revolutionized the point guard position and introduced the NBA to a
flashy brand of razzle-dazzle basketball (aka “Showtime”) the likes of
which nobody had ever seen. His rivalry with Larry Bird, which first
took center stage in the 1979 NCAA Championship game, intensified in the
pros when Magic was drafted #1 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers and
squared off against Bird’s Celtics, rejuvenating the bitterness between
two of the NBA’s most storied franchises. Together, they helped spark a
fan resurgence that took professional basketball fandom to another
level. But it was Magic who led the Lakers to five NBA titles in the
80’s, more than any other team including Bird’s Celtics (3). Magic won
three league MVP awards, the second of which came in 1988-89 when he
averaged 22.5 points, 12.8 assists and 7.9 rebounds. He took the Lakers
to the NBA Finals for the third straight season. Unfortunately, Magic
pulled his hamstrung in Game 2 of the Finals and the Lakers fell to the
“Bad Boys” of Detroit, ending their pursuit of a three-peat.
This offered Magic Johnson Los Angeles
Lakers game-worn home jersey was donned by the Lakers legend during his
outstanding 1988-89 MVP campaign. It has the rare black memorial
armband in honor of Larry Fleisher, one of the founders and longtime director of the NBA
Players Association who passed away May 11, 1989. We were unable to make a
conclusive photo-match to the playoffs, so it was likely worn prior to the addition of the armband due to the significant amount of wear evident. The late-career representation comes in size 44
and has a gold-colored mesh body with purple-and-white striped knit trim
around the neck and arms. "LAKERS" is sewn across the chest in
purple-on-white double tackle twill with "32" applied to the front and
back in the same configuration. His name is arched atop the back number
and sewn directly to the jersey. The front left tail has the appropriate
MacGregor Sand-Knit tagging, which includes size 44, "88" year and 2"
LB strip tags, and another strip tag with "Designed & Tailored
Exclusively for LOS ANGELES LAKERS". The NBA embroidered logo adorns the
left arm stirrup, just below the aforementioned honorary black
armband. The jersey exhibits excellent use, with stretching in the
neck and armpits as well as a moderate but consistent amount of fraying
to the numbers and letters, front and back. It was originally sourced from a notable Lakers collector who lives in Los Angeles.
Includes letter from MEARS graded A5.
[Note: this is the highest grade a post-1988 jersey can achieve without
documented team or player provenance.]