"I will always be indebted to him for that" - Magic Johnson reveals wild Mickey Arison story as Miami Heat owner gets elected into Hall of Fame

On the heels of Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison being named to the 2025 Class of Naismith Hall of Fame, Magic Johnson has shared a hilarious story about the Carnival Corporation chairman. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday, Magic Johnson recalled Arison hosting the 1992 Dream Team on his yacht in Barcelona.

While the Miami owner was having fun at the time, after the air conditioning went out on Arison's yacht, Magic Johnson ended up leaving with a valuable lesson that continues to motivate him to this day.

"Funny story, the air conditioning went out while we were out there and Micky just brought in his second yacht. That moment was life-changing for me because it helped me to think and dream bigger.

"Sometimes all the motivation you need is to see someone else who’s successful and I will always be indebted to him for that. Micky Arison and Denzel Washington are the reasons I’ve been yachting now for over 30 years!"

Arison - along with Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Billy Donovan, Danny Crawford and the 2008 U.S. Olympic team - will be enshrined during Enshrinement Weekend in September.

The weekend will kick off with an event on Friday in Connecticut, with the Hall of Fame induction on Sept. 6 in Massachusetts.

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Magic Johnson expresses optimism surrounding Lakers' chances of a deep playoff run while giving credit to bench players

Since Luka Doncic's arrival, the LA Lakers have quickly ascended the Western Conference standings.

With five regular season games left, including Sunday versus OKC Thunder, the Lakers are third in the West, half a game ahead of the Nuggets and one game ahead of the Timberwolves.

Before Los Angeles clashed with the Golden State Warriors earlier in the week, Magic Johnson took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his thoughts on the Lakers's chances of making a deep playoff run.

“Laker Nation, I’m really excited about the outstanding play from our bench lately. Both Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith had six threes and ended up with 20 points in the win versus the Rockets. If they can keep hitting threes at that pace, the Lakers will have a deep run in the Playoffs!”

LA has shot 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in their last ten games. However, over the previous four games, where they went 3-1, the Lakers improved to 39.0 percent. Though Dorian Finney-Smith struggled in the loss to Golden State, he made a season-high six 3-pointers in the win over the Houston Rockets.

With the postseason right around the corner, only time will tell whether LA is in for a deep playoff run.