EARVIN `MAGIC' JOHNSON returned to professional basketball on Tuesday night, more than 1,500 days after retiring because he was infected with the AIDS virus. Minutes into the first quarter, Johnson strode onto the court to a thunderous standing ovation and proceeded to dazzle fans and players alike on the way to the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-118 home victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Looking at times as if he had never been away, Johnson - a 10 time NBA all star - showed a sell out crowd of 17,505 that his repertoire of skills remains almost as sharp as ever. He finished with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while playing only 27 minutes.
"This is one of the most exciting days of my life - ever," the 36 year old Johnson said at a post game news conference. "I just came out here to have fun, and I did."
Coming off the bench, the bulked up, 6ft 9in Johnson alternated between power forward and point guard, the position he revolutionised in the years he led the Lakers to five NBA championships.
It was Johnson's first appearance in a regular season NBA game since before November 7th, 1991, when he retired after announcing that he had tested positive for HIV.
Johnson flirted with the idea of a comeback several times, and on Monday, saying "it's now or never", he finally made it official. He signed a $2.5 million contract to play the remainder of the season for the Lakers.
Johnson's return makes him the first athlete playing professional sports to have openly admitted to being infected with the HIV virus - "basketball's most valuable outpatient", as Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Downey put it.
Two seasons ago, another Johnson comeback bid ended abruptly after several players expressed fears about competing against someone with HIV in the rough and tumble - and sometimes bloody - action of the NBA.
But this time, Johnson - who has shown no symptoms of having developed full blown AIDS - believes his peers are educated enough to realise that the risk of contracting HIV in a basketball game are infinitesimal. Experts say the disease is transmitted almost exclusively by sexual contact or blood transfusion.
A number of NBA stars have welcomed him back, and Johnson's first opponents, the Warriors, showed no hesitation about going head to head against him. "The NBA players are smart enough to know that you get the virus from unprotected sex, and we're not going to have unprotected sex on the basketball court, Warriors centre Rony Seikaly said after the game.
As Magic fever spread, tickets for several upcoming Lakers home games quickly sold out, and the price for seats being offered by independent ticket brokers for Tuesday night soared to as high as $300. Turner Network Television immediately dumped its regular programming and scheduled the Lakers Warriors game for a nationwide broadcast.
Johnson is following the same path out of retirement blazed by fellow basketball legend Michael Jordan, who returned this season after a 17 month absence and has led the Chicago Bulls to a sizzling 38-3 record. The game against the Warriors is considered only a warm up for a Johnson Jordan showdown at the Forum on Friday night when the Lakers go up against the Bulls.
Johnson says he wanted to come back so his young children could see him play and to have another chance at winning an NBA championship. He is now expected to turn the Lakers into an instant contender. The team has surged recently, winning four in a row to compile a 25-18 record, putting them in a tie for second place in their division.
His contract is for this season only, and Johnson said he would decide on his future after the playoffs.
