February 9, 1992 is a memorable and important day in NBA and pop culture history.
Magic Johnson came out of retirement three months after testing positive for HIV and won the MVP award of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game.
This was an important moment in history. Magic Johnson was the first superstar athlete to come out as being a carrier of the virus, which was much less known and understood at that time.
Many players were weary of sharing a court with Johnson as they feared the could contract the virus by coming in contact with him.
The most outspoken proponent of these fears was Karl Malone.
“Look at this, scabs and cuts all over me,” Malone once remarked after a Jazz-Knicks game in 1992 when asked about the situation. “I get these every night, every game. They can’t tell you that you’re not at risk, and you can’t tell me there’s one guy in the N.B.A. who hasn’t thought about it.”
Magic would decide not to return to the NBA in 1992 and the decision to allow him to play in the 1992 All-Star Game created one of the more memorable and powerful moments the game and the league has ever seen.
RT Throwback: Magic Johnson Full MVP Highlights 1992 All-Star Game – 25 Pts, 9 Ast, MUST SEE!! https://t.co/nROCpXi1TF
— Matthew Golden (he/him) (?: mgolden7) (@mgolden7) January 31, 2016
Magic would work his Magic on the court one more time scoring 25 points to go along with 9 assists in 29 minutes, en route to the memorable MVP nomination.
You would be hard pressed to find a more moving and meaningful all-star moment than what happened in Orlando that day.
