When Magic Johnson announced he was stepping down from his post as the Lakers president of basketball operations, one the reasons he cited for leaving was wanting to tweet more without getting in trouble for tampering.
Quitting a job that paid you millions of dollars because you wanted to tweet is, truly, an iconic thing to do and true to his word, Magic has been very much online since leaving. As we learned during his First Take appearance, there was more to it than just wanting to be able to tamper and tweet that drove him out of the Lakers organization, but it still played a role and that is truly an incredible thing.
The best part of this is that Magic’s tweets are legendary for being extremely bland and often reading like a very basic recap of whatever thing he just watched, which makes them perfect for anyone that has happened to miss anything that’s happened in the NBA Playoffs. Magic may no longer be with the Lakers, but he still loves watching some NBA basketball, and his Twitter timeline over the past month serves as a very effective recap for what’s happened through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
So, for anyone that may be tuning in late or missed the action in one of the conferences up until this point, let Magic get you caught up on all the goings on in the Association.
The first day of the playoffs saw some fairly shocking results in the East, while the defending champs rolled. Magic loved every minute of it.
I’ve had a great Saturday watching the NBA playoff games! The Nets shocked the Sixers and the Magic did the same to the Raptors. Golden State played like champs today.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 14, 2019
Magic wasn’t very active in the first round, instead spending his time at, no joke, like 10 speaking engagements (get that bread!), a Dodgers game for Jackie Robinson Day, watching boxing, and other things. However, he was very excited for the second round, particularly in the East.
The eastern conference second round matchups, Raptors vs. Sixers and Celtics vs. Bucks, will be some of the best in history. You can’t pick a favorite because the teams are so evenly matched.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 25, 2019
You have everything that you want in the eastern conference playoffs; great coaching, great scorers, great offense, great defense, and star power.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 25, 2019
Magic was very excited by the star power on display in the second round in both conferences.
NBA Playoff stars are playing like superstars! Damian Lillard Tuesday, Kevin Durant last night, and Kawhi Leonard today. The NBA Playoffs are a must see!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 28, 2019
I can’t wait to see superstars Kyrie Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo try to lead their teams to victory tomorrow.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 28, 2019
Followed by the series we’ve all been waiting on! Chris Paul and James Harden vs. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 28, 2019
He was dialed in for Game 2 of Sixers-Raptors, giving some love to Jimmy Butler and the Sixers bench.
Tonight the Sixers evened the series with the Raptors led by Jimmy Butler with 30 points. Their defense was outstanding and the Sixers bench outplayed Raptors bench.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2019
He was back for Game 4 of that series, this time making sure everyone knew that Kawhi Leonard was having a great series.
I don’t know who will win the series with Toronto’s victory over Philadelphia to even it up, but I do know that Kawhi Leonard has been dominating the series and put on a show today scoring 39 points!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 5, 2019
Magic then had some praise for Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic as the Nuggets took care of business against the Blazers.
Jamal Murray scored 6 straight free throws in the closing seconds and had a game high 34 points to lead the Nuggets over the Trailblazers!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 6, 2019
Nikola Jokic has really caught my eye with his 2 triple doubles in this series against Portland!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 6, 2019
By this time, Magic was fully locked in on the playoffs and was back at it again two days later to heap praise on Giannis Antetokounmpo, this time avoiding a tampering fine in the process.
Giannis Antetokounmpo aka The Greek Freak is showing the whole league why he is such a special player scoring 39 points to lead his Bucks 3-1 over the Celtics. He will be dominating the NBA regular season and playoffs for many years to come!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2019
He also enjoyed James Harden’s performance in Game 4, and put the Harden-Kevin Durant matchup up there with some all-time greats.
James Harden's 38 points tonight had the Warrior players on ice skates! He led his Rockets to an even series, 2-2.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2019
Kevin Durant vs James Harden reminds me of some legendary player matchups like: Michael vs Isiah, Michael vs Clyde Drexler, Michael vs Reggie Miller, Kobe vs Allen Iverson, Shaq vs Tim Duncan…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2019
I can't forget matchups like Larry Bird vs Dr. J, Larry vs Dominique Wilkins, Larry vs Charles Barkley, Charles vs Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon vs Shaq, and Hakeem Olajuwon vs David Robinson. Classics!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2019
After more speaking engagements, Magic was brought back to Twitter by Stephen Curry’s 33-point explosion in Game 6 against Houston to push them to the Western Conference Finals.
Steph Curry is not only one of the greatest shooters we’ve ever seen, he is one of the greatest clutch players the game has ever seen. 33 points in the second half to lead his Warriors over the Houston Rockets…Incredible!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 11, 2019
Golden State showed why they are one of the greatest and most entertaining teams of all time. The splash brothers were splendid and Draymond Green just showed the world again why he is one of the best all-around players in all of basketball.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 11, 2019
He also was impressed by C.J. McCollum’s effort in Game 7 against the Nuggets to push Portland to the conference finals.
CJ McCollum had a huge game for the Trailblazers with 37 points over the Nuggets to advance to the Western Conference finals!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 12, 2019
I’ve always liked Trailblazers Coach Terry Stotts and want to congratulate the entire Trailblazers organization for advancing to the Western Conference finals! Golden State will have their hands full with CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 12, 2019
The next night he had many thoughts about Game 7 of the Sixers-Raptor series, including Kawhi’s incredible game-winner.
Kawhi Leonard…wow wow WOW. 4 bounces and it goes in!! What a shot to win the game for the Raptors!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 13, 2019
Kawhi Leonard played like a superstar scoring 41 points in a game 7 victory over the Sixers.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 13, 2019
The Philadelphia 76ers can only blame themselves for losing to the Raptors due to poor execution on offense in the last 3 minutes.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 13, 2019
Johnson was fired up after Game 2 of the WCF, excited to see the Warriors looking like the old Warriors led by Curry and Draymond Green.
Steph Curry was playing like the old Steph Curry before KD joined the Warriors tonight! He had 39 points, 8 rebounds, & 8 assists.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 17, 2019
Draymond Green and Steph Curry were the best two players on the floor tonight for the world champion Warriors. 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 blocks for Draymond…WOW!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 17, 2019
He was back for Game 3 after a night off to enjoy a Janet Jackson concert, and once again had lots of love for Curry and his fellow Spartan.
With Steph Curry’s 36 points, Draymond Green’s 20-13-12 triple-double, and Klay Thompson’s incredible defense, the Warriors three superstars led them to another win in the series.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 19, 2019
I love watching Draymond Green because he has all of the intangibles: competitiveness, toughness, high basketball IQ & he’s a great leader, defender, & passer. We’ve seen it all displayed in this series against Portland. BTW, he went to a great college, MSU! 😂 #SpartanNation
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 19, 2019
Then, after his appearance on First Take lit the internet on fire on Monday, he was back on Tuesday with his Skinny Pop popcorn to offer a lot of thoughts on Game 4 of the ECF.
Getting my skinny pop popcorn ready for Milwaukee versus Toronto! I think I’m going to go with sea salt & pepper.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 21, 2019
Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, scoring 25 points and leading the Raptors to a win last night, is quietly having a good series!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 22, 2019
The Raptors bench dominated the Bucks bench last night with Norman Powell scoring 18, Serge Ibaka scoring 17, and Fred VanVleet scoring 13.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 22, 2019
The Bucks’s explosive offense has been missing the last two games. That’s why this series is tied at 2-2.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 22, 2019