What do you think about the Laker team now?

You follow the box scores of the games every day?

Just the Lakers.

You're kidding.

That is really a compliment.

I was pleased to see you smile at the top bar show because once the game starts, you have a game face.

You don't smile much out there.

I don't think you have to do things for money anymore. Correct. What's up, Laker fans? Welcome to the Laker Film Room podcast, brought you by the Blue Rour podcast network. I'm Pete, joined by Darius and Mike. And today we're excited to continue our basketball god series. This is the second. Our first one was on Shaq, the god of power. And this one will be on another Laker, and it was Darius's choice.

And one of the many ways we've connected over basketball is I see the Magic Johnson influence

all over how you talk about the game and how you see it.

Phrases like passing guys open and using your eyes to move the defense, all of these

things are as someone who is also raised by magic. And that's a very unique experience growing up

that way. I see that all over your perception of the game. So humor me, if you will, before we get

into the analysis, take me back to what

nine-year-old Darius Soriano thought about Magic Johnson as he was falling in love with the game.

I mean, it was before that. I'm a little bit older than you a year or two, I think. I think two years,

yeah. Yeah. So my first basketball memories are of the Showtime Lakers, and there was no bigger figure in that than Magic Johnson, right? Right next to him was probably Chick-Hern. And then right next to him was probably Pat Riley, right? And so there was this sort of three-headed monster that represented Showtime basketball, but Magic, the guy on the court.

He was the one that made me fall in love not just with basketball, but with a very specific

kind of basketball, a generous type of game and a generous player and a player who played with charisma and with

flair and he made the game fun. To me, there is like nothing better when you're a kid. And Mike has

young kids. I know that they play sports. And one of the things that you really want to inspire in your kids if they go into sports at all is fostering that love of the game.

Because if they love the game, they will want to do it more than any way that you could push them into something as maybe parents can.

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