Magic Johnson turned billionaire this year, but he never forgot his roots and the tough times he went through to get to where he is today. There was a period of his life when he couldn’t even afford a decent car to go to practice.

The 5x NBA champion has a success story fit for the big screen and there have been several attempts made to portray his life. But there are too many stories that made the man, that to capture his full essence would be near impossible. The book Believing in Magic: My Story of Love, Overcoming Adversity, and Keeping the Faith has made a good attempt, and contains some of the finest Magic stories. One such story includes the LA Lakers legend being made fun of for the car he had, while everyone else was rolling around in Mustangs and Camaros.

Magic Johnson’s Deuce and a Quarter was everyone’s refuge

The 64-year-old has lived a life that at times sounds fictional. From his humble beginnings, being raised by parents who had blue-collar jobs, dominating the world of basketball, surviving a life-threatening disease, to becoming a billionaire, you couldn’t make this up. Now Magic has all the accolades, respect, fame, and wealth in the world. However, his journey to greatness wasn’t an easy one. Amidst all the obstacles in life, one thing that remained constant was Magic’s attitude toward life.

Cookie Johnson, Magic’s wife wrote about Magic’s Buick Electra 225 in the book. She recalled all the comments he’d get for driving the car which was called “a Deuce and a Quarter” in Detroit. The said car had a reputation: “It was what your daddy drove when he needed a reliable car to cart around his seven kids and a couple nephews, nieces, and play cousins.” So, whenever Magic would pull up on the “boat,” he’d be ridiculed by everyone around, especially those who had a cool whip back then. However, it never bothered Magic because he was comfortable with his reality.

Then came the testing times, the brutal winters when all those fancy cars would have a frozen engine. Magic’s good ol’ reliable Deuce and a Quarter would be unfazed by the weather and would be up and running in an instant. This brought back the same people who made fun of him and his car, asking for help. Magic would respond, “Oh! Everybody wanna get in the big brown Buick now”, laughing as he said it. Staying true to his nature, young Earvin would extend a helping hand to his friends and teammates, winning their hearts in the process.
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