'They Call Me Magic' premieres on Apple TV+ on April 22.
More than 30 years after shocking the world by announcing that he had tested positive for HIV and was retiring from the NBA , Magic Johnson is reflecting on the impact he made.
"Think about it back then, announcing HIV -- it most times was a death sentence,” Johnson told ET’s Kevin Frazier at the premiere of the upcoming Apple TV+ documentary series, They Call Me Magic.
“I think that All-Star game actually, Commissioner [David] Stern and I -- the former great commissioner of the NBA -- we actually changed the world because we showed that people could live a healthy, good life even with dealing with HIV or anything else and that I could still perform at a high level."
Prior to hanging up his basketball shoes, in 1992 Magic went on to play in the All-Star game and play as part of the Olympic Dream Team that same summer. Johnson shared that those moments helped him prove that he and anyone else battling the virus were capable of doing anything.
“Our intentions were just to change the world and that mindset and the stigma behind HIV," he told Frazier.
They Call Me Magic is the upcoming Apple TV+ series that highlights the former Los Angeles Lakers star from his days as a college athlete at Michigan State, his championship run on the Lakers and the historic announcement that shaped the world of sports forever.
By his side through it all was his wife, Cookie Johnson, who is one of the many people close to Johnson who appears to tell his story. When it came to what the couple would share, honesty was key.
“We're pretty honest people,” Cookie told ET. “And once we tell the story -- because it’s not just for us. We tell the story because we're hoping somebody else can be helped by the story, so you kind of have to be honest.”
They Call Me Magic premieres April 22 on Apple TV+.
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