After a contentious and highly entertaining appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Magic Johnson became further embroiled in the drama surrounding the embattled Los Angeles Lakers franchise.

Johnson’s freewheeling appearance on the show, which features Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, covered all manner of topics — including the signing of LeBron James, his myriad of odd moves alongside Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka after signing LeBron as well as his abrupt resignation before the final game of the regular season.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who is close to Magic, recently responded to some of the reaction to Johnson’s appearance on the show in a segment of The Stephen A. Smith show on Wednesday.

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Smith is reacting to some of the accusations that have been lobbed toward Johnson that he was only performing his President duties on a part-time basis — instead opting to just “be Magic” in a way that only Johnson knew how.

In response, Smith’s impassioned plea certainly tugs upon the heartstrings, and there’s no question that Smith can deliver a sermon better than almost any sports pundit currently operating in 2019. Smith knows exactly how to deliver his words with the correct amount of conviction, and the cadence with which he speaks certainly enrapture his audience on a daily, hours-long basis (when does the man sleep?).

As Smith says, even if Johnson made some bad decisions as Lakers President, Smith will be a “warrior” for Johnson — which means that Johnson can get back to Tweeting about his popcorn choices ahead of NBA Playoff games.