Fast Break to Line Break: Poets on the Art of Basketball

Why I Wrote the “Magic” Johnson Poem

93 Why I Wrote the “Magic” Johnson Poem QUINCY TROUPE As a young man, I was a basketball player, a point guard, who was also the coach out on the floor. Point guards are good passers, dribblers, and they run the offense. I could pass and dribble, and I was a scorer, too. I wanted to win, to be a champion, and I always played on championship teams. I learned that if I played the game unselfishly, passed to teammates when they were open, everyone would be happy and we would play better as a team. And we did. We played well together because we were all unselfish players. We won because we played together, passed the ball to whoever was open. Those were the keys to winning. When I first saw “Magic” Johnson play, he was a senior in high school. I watched him play in an all-star game. He scored a lot of points, and he also passed the ball a lot to teammates who were open. So he got many assists. He was a good rebounder, too. That impressed me. His team won. It was very important to me that Magic’s team won, because for me he personified the ideal team player. After high school, I watched him during his college Quincy Troupe 94 career. His Michigan State team won the 1979 national championship during his sophomore year, beating the great Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in the finals. Magic turned professional at the end of his sophomore year of college and became Rookie-of-the-Year in his first professional season. He also led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 1980 NBA Championship in his rookie season, beating the Philadelphia 76ers, led by the legendary Julius “Dr. J” Erving in the Championship game. In the title game Magic scored 43 points, hauled in 15 rebounds, dished out 7 assists and had 3 steals. In this game, Magic played point guard, forward, and center, substituting for the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had injured his ankle. This game made Magic a legend in his first year playing in the NBA. It was an unforgettable beginning to what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career. Magic was a very tall point guard, 6 feet 9 inches, while others who played this position were less than 6 feet 4 inches. Being this tall allowed Magic to look over his shorter opponents and see the whole court. This was a huge advantage, and Magic always used it. Magic was also agile and quick. He could pass better than anyone else during his era—and remains one of the greatest passers of all time. He was a skillful dribbler as well. He played a short man’s game with a tall man’s body. He was beautiful to watch on the court. He was a great dancer and a magician: I loved to watch him play because he was literally “poetry in motion.” I’d always wanted to write a poem about a basketball player. I’d tried many times unsuccessfully. Now Magic inspired me to write the poem I’d always wanted to write. One day in 1985, when I was living in New York City, I sat down and started writing the poem. I felt in order to write a successful poem about basketball, the words and language in the poem had to capture the speed of the game: also, the images employed in the poem had to mirror and echo those of the game. The art of free-verse poetry is perfect for capturing something as lyrical, fast, dexterous, athletic, and freeflowing as a basketball game. Free-verse poetry is also perfect for capturing the moves of great players participating in one of the most balletic—if not the most balletic—of sporting games. To excel in the upper echelon of the sport, especially playing in the guard or forward positions, one must possess Why I Wrote the “Magic” Johnson Poem 95 the skills of a great dancer. Usually, the sense of speed, agility, and magic of great basketball players can be best captured by music—jazz or the rhythms of rap. It can also be captured in the words and language of free-flowing poetry. When I first began to write poetry in the early 1960s, I was in the army, living in France and playing basketball both on an...