Yet Another Magic Johnson-Owned Team on Verge of Title This Year

The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar just keeps accruing championships.

Oct 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner Magic Johnson celebrates after winning the 2024 MLB World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Former 12-time Los Angeles Lakers All-Star point guard Magic Johnson could earn his second championship in a non-basketball sport within the last month.

Yes, the 65-year-old hasn't played an NBA game since the 1995-96 season with L.A. — and he hasn't suited up for a basketball game at all since his 5-0 run with Swedish club M7 Borås, now 'Borås Basket,' in 1999. But he has managed to accrue a variety of further titles with savvy sports ownership ventures.

After his Los Angeles Dodgers bested the New York Yankees in five quick games during this year's World Series, Johnson's Washington Spirit could give him an NWSL title this week.

Jeff Kassouf of ESPN writes that the Spirit have advanced to the NWSL final after surviving a 3-0 penalty shootout, after a 1-1 draw, against the New Jersey/New York Gotham Football Club on Saturday at Audi Field, in front of a sold out crowd of 19,000 rabid fans. Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt notched Washington's lone goal, while star goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury saved all three penalty attempts.

"[I] just got a good read," Kingsbury, 32, reflected on her big defensive moment. "And I think it's more just the confidence and having the fans behind me. I was really trying to get them into it because I knew that would give us a great advantage for their penalty takers coming up and trying to make one in front of that wall of fans. Like, I would be scared."

Washington, the No. 2 seed heading into these playoffs, will square off against the top-seeded Orlando Pride in the NWSL championship game on November 23 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

"She's brilliant," Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez said of Kingsbury. "Not because of penalties -- because she's a professional in the way that she faces training sessions every day. It's crazy. I have never seen that before."

Johnson won five NBA titles as a player, and five as a partial owner of the Lakers. He subsequently won a WNBA championship as a part-owner of the Los Angeles Sparks, two World Series as a part-owner of the Dodgers, an MLS Cup as a part-owner of Los Angeles FC. Will he win his second soccer championship in four days? Time will tell. But it would be foolish to bet against Magic Johnson.

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