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 during the regular season prior to the addition of the armband based on the significant 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. it should be noted that a 1988-89 Magic road purple example with the black armband (from the same source) sold for $9,424 at auction in December 2016.
Includes letter from MEARS graded A5. [Note: A5 is the highest
grade this post-1988 jersey qualified for without documented team or player
provenance.]