There has perhaps been no more stunning an announcement than when Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the charismatic Los Angeles Lakers guard who lead the team to five NBA championships, announced that he was HIV positive and would immediately be retiring from basketball in November of 1991. At the time, AIDS was still relatively new and carried an incredible stigma, and Johnson became by far the most famous person to publicly announce that he had contracted HIV. It was a devastating piece of news that shocked not only the sports world but all of the American public.

So it was especially emotional when Magic returned to the court on this day back in 1992 for the NBA All-Star Game. Though he hadn’t played at all during the season, Johnson was still one of the most popular players in the game, and fans showed their support of his struggle by voting him an All-Star. Johnson took the court in Orlando, Florida and absolutely took over, playing 29 minutes, dropping 25 points and dishing out nine assists. It was an incredible comeback performance from one of the game’s most dynamic personalities. And despite the misgivings of some of his All-Star teammates (most notably Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone), he was fully embraced by the other players and given a standing ovation by the crowd in Orlando. The West ended up trouncing the East in that All-Star game by a score of 153-113 and Johnson was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career.

That summer, Magic won a gold medal at the Olympics as part of the original Dream Team and only played a handful more games as a player over the next few seasons. Since his retirement from basketball, he has focused his energy on business (most notably as the proprietor of the Magic Johnson movie theater chain) and on AIDS-related activism. In honor of one of the most dynamic performers in professional sports history, check out Robin Thicke’s “Magic.”

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