Magic Johnson Leaves ESPN’s 'NBA Countdown'
Magic Johnson is no longer going to be part of TV show NBA Countdown next season.
Johnson has been with NBA Countdown for five years. The retired professional basketball player, who used to play point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, publicly announced his departure from the said sports show on Twitter on Saturday.
"Thank you to the NBA players and coaches who reached out to convince me to stay on ESPN," Johnson posted on Twitter. "You don't know how much that means to me," he added.
"I want to thank the fans for the calls, emails, and text messages asking me to stay and that you will miss me on ESPN, thanks for the love and support," Johnson also tweeted.
"Sometimes, you don't know how popular a show is until you leave and see the response of the fans," Johnson said. "ESPN is definitely my family, and hopefully, I will be a guest on many ESPN shows as I am a big fan of the network, its shows, and executive team," he added.
NBA Countdown is a 30-minute pre-game show that airs before each NBA telecast. It was first aired on December 2002 and has been running ever since. Johnson became an analyst in 2008 until his departure in October 2013. The current analysts of the said sports show are Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, Doug Collins and Doris Burke. These analysts are pretty new faces. Rose and Simmons joined the show in 2012, while Collins and Burke became a part of the show in 2013.
Even though Johnson will not be returning to NBA Countdown, we are sure that he will remain busy with all his side hustles. We all know that Johnson has had several business dealings. He was a part-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers for years before he sold his ownership stake in 2010. He is also a part of a group of investors that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. The Dodgers has reportedly made it to the National League Championship Series (NLCS). Johnson's departure from ESPN is probably influenced by his business with the Dodgers, or maybe not. What do you think?