We met at UCLA during a day of pickup runs. I was there stretching,?getting ready to play, and he walked in. That was my?first time—?and I think last time—playing with Magic. That was pretty sweet.?More than that, it was good to talk with him. I revere the players?who made the game what it is, and cherish the chances I had to pick?their brains. Anything that I was seeing or going to see, any type of?defense or offense or player or team—they had already encountered?years before. I talked with them to learn how to deal with those?challenges. After all, why reinvent the wheel when you can just talk?to the wheels that were created before? Magic Johnson was a?special player, and I learned a lot of especially important lessons?from his game.

Namely, I studied his ability to use his body off?the dribble— the?spin move off?the dribble—and the best way to throw a bounce pass.?I always admired Magic’s cross-court bounce passes. I wondered?how he was able to throw them and eventually learned. The secret?was the backspin he put on the ball, which allowed him to zip the?ball through the defense and have it bounce up softly into a striding?teammate’s hands. The other key to his passing game was?anticipation. Magic would throw passes before people would even?realize that they were open. He could do that because he could read?defenses and see plays as they were unfolding. He left teammates in?perfect positions to score—and defenses dumbfounded.