Earvin Magic Johnson Jr is an American former professional basketball player and twotime Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV but returned to play in the 1992 AllStar Game winning the AllStar MVP Award After protests from his fellow players he retired again for four years but returned in 1996 at age 36 to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time Johnson played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association