“Streaks are made to be broken” – When Magic Johnson downplayed the significance of ending Orlando Magic’s 40-game home streak in 1996 originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Coming off two straight losses, the Los Angeles Lakers heaved a big sigh of relief when they dumped the streaking Orlando Magic in a regular-season game on March 26, 1996. The win snapped the Magic’s 40-game home winning streak, but all the Lakers’ superstar, Magic Johnson, cared about was the team coming together.
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Johnson’s sentiments were understandable. The Lakers’ campaign was far from smooth, with the team dealing with adversity. Hence, that win over the Magic was a huge reprieve.
“We take personal pride in winning a big game on the road,” Johnson said via the Associated Press. “Because of all that’s happened, we came together. Cedric [Ceballos] was a big part of that tonight, and we welcomed him back. Streaks are made to be broken. We’re just the team that broke it. We’re happy about it, but we’re happy more that we got a big win against basically the second-best team in basketball.”
Surprisingly praising Ceballos
Johnson hailing Ceballos was a bit surprising, considering it was the 1992 Slam Dunk champion’s first game back with the Purple and Gold. Cedric missed the flight to Seattle on March 21, 1996, and did not play against the Sonics then. Unable to provide an acceptable excuse, the 6-foot-7 player would be suspended for his actions, but missed only two games. It was because of this that Johnson questioned his commitment to the team.
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“We’ll welcome him back, but there will be some questions. We want to know if he’s committed to the Lakers and what we’re trying to do. If he’s not, he shouldn’t come back at all,” Johnson said via the LA Times.
Johnson groped for form
Given his absence for more than four years, it was understandable that Johnson needed time to recall his old form. While doing so, Johnson settled for a backup role initially.
Ironically, it was against Orlando that Johnson briefly became a starter again. He finished with 14 points and 7 assists. It was only his 20th game back since 1991, when he was forced to retire because of HIV. He was demoted to the bench again on April 9, 1996, against the Denver Nuggets.
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Ironically, this was the same game where Nick Van Exel had that forgettable pushing incident on game official Ron Garretson. This was after Nick the Quick was handed a second technical, resulting in his banishment from the game. Van Exel was fined $187,000 and missed seven games for his actions. He would miss the rest of the Lakers’ regular season assignments but returned in time for LA’s first-round clash with the Houston Rockets.
After carefully evaluating the team, Johnson initially desired to return for the 1996/97 season. But in the end, he opted to retire for good and on his terms.
Magic proved that he could still play ball with the younger generation despite already being 36 years old at the time. But with that generation carrying a different mindset, calling it a career was best for the five-time champion. Johnson had high standards; unfortunately, that last Lakers team he played for didn’t meet them.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 17, 2025, where it first appeared.