Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson admits he made one big mistake when he abruptly stepped down as the team's president back in 2019, and he's still regretting it up to this day.
During his conversation with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay, Johnson shared that he regrets not calling LeBron James before he went to the media to announce his decision. To recall, Magic shocked the whole world when he resigned as the Lakers' president of basketball operations less than two hours before the team's final game of the 2018-19 season.
Apparently, even LeBron had no idea that Johnson was going to quit. The former exec admitted to his mistake, especially since he had a key role in bringing James to the Lakers that season.
“I regret not calling LeBron and telling him I was stepping down. I really regretted that. I owed him that,” Johnson shared.
Article Continues BelowJohnson also opened up on the reason why he decided to leave the Lakers, noting that he felt that he really didn't have any power to make a change. After all, he wanted to fire Luke Walton, only to be met with opposition.
Magic regrets not calling LeBron before stepping down as the Lakers president of basketball operations pic.twitter.com/t6QoSVhn0g
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) October 25, 2022
True enough, while Magic Johnson's decision was controversial already, the way he did it certainly raised more eyebrows and sparked plenty of concerns for the Lakers organization. It was an unnecessary distraction that LeBron James certainly didn't ask for–not in his first season in LA.
Clearly, though, both sides have moved on. Johnson continues to comment about the daily NBA happenings, while James remains with LA and still hoping to bring them another banner after their 2022 title run.