Lakers legend Magic Johnson celebrates his 54th birthday

Hall of Fame Lakers legend Magic Johnson celebrates his 54th birthday Wednesday.

Johnson won five NBA titles with the Lakers, starting in 1980 at the end of his rookie season. The 6-foot-9 point guard won the NBA Finals MVP and the league’s regular season MVP three times apiece.

Who is the greatest Laker of all time? While Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West may have claims -- it was Johnson who revitalized the Lakers and the NBA in the eighties. Before his arrival, the team had just one title in Los Angeles.

Currently, Johnson is a part-owner of the Dodgers, who have overcome a slow start to the season to win 39 of their last 47 games. At 69-50, the Dodgers can boast a 7.5-game advantage over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.

Johnson sold his part-ownership of the Lakers in 2010. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.