Earvin Johnson Jr was born on August 14, 1959 in Lansing Michigan. Johnson got his nickname name "Magic" from his performances in high school at Everett high school in Lansing. Magic attended Michigan State university and as a sophomore won a national championship in basketball. Magic Johnson is a hero because he is courageous, he is inspirational, and he is very hard working.
One thing that makes Magic a hero is the fact that he is very courageous. Magics tough upbringing and greatly impoverished family is an example of his courage and strength. Magic grew up with working class parents and nine siblings (Reed). Magic once said "I grew up poor, but I didn't have poor dreams" (Whitaker). Another thing that shows Magics courage is the way he
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An example of this is his dedication to basketball throughout his life (Palm). From his performances in high school and college Magic was selected first overall in the 1979 nba draft by the Los Angeles Lakers (Reed). Throughout his time in the nba Magic won five nba championships and three most valuable player awards (Palm). He also broke the nba all time assists record with over 10,100 assists (Reed). Although he retired in 1991 Magic won an Olympic gold Medal in 1992, and briefly returned to the nba in 1996. In addition to this Magic is a member of the basketball hall of fame. Another great example of magics hard work is the business he has built and the businessman he has become. Magic founded his business, Magic Johnson Enterprises, after his retirement, and it now has a net worth of over a 700 million (Palm). His first business endeavor was his purchase of a sporting goods store in 1994. The store only lasted one year before it failed. In 1994, Magic bought a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for 10 million dollars. He later sold this stake in the team but did remain vice-president of the team (Whitaker). Johnson purchased 125 Starbucks locations in poor urban areas. He did this after convincing Starbucks ceo that they could do good business even though these locations were very poor. This was the case because consumption of goods in poor locations is very high. Magic investment worked out and all of the stores had above average sales. In 2015 Magic purchased a majority part of Equitrust life insurance company (Palm). The company manages over 15 billion in annuities. Now Magic is the fifth highest paid retired athlete earning over 22 million dollars ("Forbes"). Magic's hard work on and off the court both make him a
In a year were so many great athletes are no longer with us, Payne Stewart, Wilt Chamberlain, Joe DiMaggio, Walter Payton, the man we thought would have passed away first is still among us, Magic Johnson. Rick Reilly does a remarkable job on this praising article on Magic. Reilly talks about how fit magic is. "He can bench 325 pounds. Weighing 245, he's about 20 pounds heavier than he was in his prime, but now he's ripped." He is still playing basketball in different celebrity appearances, and plays quite well in them although he is way older than everyone there. What really impressed me the most about Magic is influence as a black businessman. Reilly showed me, as well as America, a different side of Magic that is not seen on Sports Center. "He owns five Starbucks and has plans to open 10 more, nearly all of them in black neighborhoods, including one in Crenshaw and one in Harlem." Magic is willing to put money into the ghettos when other white investors are not. He owns many different businesses, from a TV company to a bank. What is truly amazing is he hires all black people to build and work his businesses. "Magic feels like many black athletes forget where they came from, I try not to." When I read this I was really stunned. He made a fortune taking risks that many other people won't try. He is living his life to the fullest and using his HIV experience to educate great number of people.
The source that I used, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography” by Biography.com no authors are listed is a great source that gave me a lot of information that will help me with my reader response essay. I came across this website by entering my search question into Google. After looking through a dozen of articles “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography” had the most detailed information of all the links. This article gave me a lot of information that will be correlating to my search question which is this: What major influences did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have in his basketball career? The “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography” article had three sections that broke
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is a gifted guard whose shooting, passing and athletic abilities earned him a spot on the All-NBA First Team and who helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals in 1995, only his second season in the league. The 6-7 Hardaway combines height, ballhandling and an accurate outside stroke into an exciting all-around game, although his scoring tailed off in his final two seasons with Orlando and he was traded to Phoenix prior to the 1999-2000 season. A native of Memphis, Tennessee Hardaway always seemed destined for roundball success. He was Parade magazine's National High School Player of the Year in 1990, when as a prep senior he averaged 36.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.8 blocks. He chose to attend nearby Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) but had to sit out 1990-91 in order to become academically eligible. Hardaway, who achieved a 3.4 cumulative grade point average in college, ripped up the Great Midwestern Conference for two seasons. As a junior in 1992-93 he averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists; shot .477 from the field; recorded 2 triple-doubles; and set a school single-season record for points with 729. He was named conference Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American, and a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards. The Orlando Magic, who had secured Shaquille O'Neal with the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, won the NBA Draft Lottery again in 1993. The team took Michigan's Chris Webber with the No.
Shortly before the deadline Larry finally signed with the Boston Celtics for $650,000, making him the highest paid rookie in NBA history. Larry's collegiate rival Earvin 'Magic' Johnson had also entered the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only did they fight for the National Championship a year before, but their rookie seasons they were both in the run for Rookie of the Year. Magic may have taken the NCAA title but Larry took the Rookie of the Year award and was voted into the Eastern Conference All- Star team in the 1979- '80 season.
Steve Nash is considered one of the greatest point guards in the first decade of NBA, and he already became a national hero in Canada based on his tremendous achievement as a professional basketball player. However, according to his interview, Nash was considered a player without sufficient talent to be even a good college player in the United States. No college was willing to offer him a scholarship initially, because he was a Caucasian player from Canada. Caucasian players were widely considered as athletic inferior to African players, and Canada was also considered a country that has few talented basketball players. This is a typical stereotype about Caucasian basketball players in NBA, and usually
In this essay I have only shown three, but there are so many more and the traits of a hero are not only restricted to people who save lives, chase bad guys, or change the world. He overcame constant pressures with his determination, led a whole team with his outstanding leadership, and never gave up thanks to his passion. He is a hero to many, no cape, or superpowers needed. So now it’s up to you, is he, or is he not, a
Readers tend to idolize protagonists of stories. Atticus Finch, Huckleberry Finn, Harry Potter – they are all characters that possess a positive tone from the author. In pieces of writing associated with fantasy, however, it would only be more suitable to call these characters, heroes. Particularly in high fantasy, the hero ventures on an aptly named “hero’s journey.” However, the hero will always discover the “call to adventure” at the beginning of the story. At that point, the protagonist realizes that he or she possesses a unique ability. In high fantasy, that ability generally involves magic. Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea serves as a prime example of this notion. The protagonist, Ged, goes on a journey to quench his thirst for better understanding of wizardry. Another example of fantasy would be L. Frank Baum’s “The Dummy that Lived,” in which a fairy’s mischievous acts lead to a chain of trouble for the victim. Both Le Guin and Baum use magic in high fantasy literature to symbolize the need for maturity in a protagonist, or the creature casting the spell, and therefore promote the importance of responsibility to those who hold great power.
...MVP twice, NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA scoring champion, All-NBA First Team six times, All-NBA Second Team twice, NBA All-Defensive First Team 4 times, NBA All-Rookie First Team, 2012 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, 2012 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, Cleveland Cavaliers all-time leading scorer, Naismith Prep Player of the Year 2013, and USA Mr. Basketball for two consecutive years.
Beowulf clearly showed that he was truly a hero because he had wisdom and fortitude. There are many types of heroes and Beowulf may not be a hero like Superman or Spiderman, but there is no doubt that Beowulf was a hero beyond compare. Many of the above examples heroism were closely related, this is because a true hero needs to be able to have the wisdom to know what to do and fortitude to do it.
A man who spent 20 years trying to get home. A father who took his own life for his family. A woman who risked her life to free strangers. True heroes give anything they can for the sake of other, something as small as a helping hand, or something as big as losing their own life. Heroes aren't bullies, they won't push you down just for their entertainment, they will pull you up back onto your feet. There are many types of heroes we all consider, Odysseus and Harriet Tubman are obvious while Rumpelstiltskin isn't as clear to see. Most of the time, heroes are not the stereotypical ones found in stories; real traits that define a hero are love towards one another, selflessness for others, and a strong devotion for what they believe in.
What makes a hero a hero? In western movies such as The Searchers and Stage Coach, they portray the issue of masculinity and the hero in an exceptional way. In each of these movies the main character is represented with the traditional appearance of masculinity, toughness, and honor. Rarely does the hero smile or only smiles in the face of confrontation. He has courage and is daring, therefore not fearing anything. Most of the time revenge is the motivating force behind the hero’s actions. At first, Django is the helpless slave that is chained and broken, but through the teaching of Dr. King Shultz, Django takes the role of hero very quickly and transforms from a needy slave to a cultured, well-mannered, and brutal bad–ass that soon becomes the real focus of the film. Shultz...
The NBA is well known for the number of amazing professional athletes it has had over the years. Some of the most gifted and talented individuals come through the NBA and one of the better-known superstars is none other than Kobe Bryant. For years people have wondered what makes Bryant so successful. The main contributors that lead to Kobe Bryant’s success is his hard work and dedication, his mindset, his natural ability’s and talent, and the people that have helped him throughout his life. Kobe Bryant was very successful in the NBA because of the amount of hard work he has put in, the people in his life, his relentless determination and his god given natural abilities.
Heroes are brave people who overcome their own pride and insecurities to face the complex conditions presented to them. They put themselves on the front line to defend a moral cause. Dr. Martin King Jr. is an example of a hero because of his bravery for speaking out against racism during a time when this was considered very dangerous. He kept fighting because he believed it was something that had to be done for the good of his race and the entire country. He con...
When I think of a hero I immediately think of someone who is strong, intelligent, handsome, and daring. Upon closer examination, many different qualities than these become apparent. Courage, honesty, bravery, selflessness, and the will to try are just a few of the overlooked qualities of a hero. The definition of heroism changes with the context and time. Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vise versa.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson did not earn his nickname of “Magic” for nothing. In 13 season playing for the Los Angeles Lakers he averaged a career double-double with 19.5 points and 11.2 assists per season (The Announcement). This led his team to many championships and put Magic in talks as one of the greatest point guards of all-time. Sadly this career was cut short by a terrible disease that developed in the 1980’s called HIV. This has now made him an advocate for HIV awareness and also pushed him to form organizations to help find a cure for the HIV virus. During this time in history HIV was emerging all over America and for someone of Magic’s caliber to get it shocked the whole nation. Through Magic getting this disease and rising above it showed that it was possible to live through this terrible disease. Magic Johnson overcame the world by facing the adversity of his diagnosis, by facing the critics of how he got the disease, coming back to the sport he loved, and becoming a figure to help cure HIV.