When Magic Johnson took over as the Los Angeles Lakers‘ President of Basketball Operations in 2017, Lakers fans hoped for a return to the glamorous winning culture of the “Showtime” era. Armed with an infectious smile and a legendary NBA legacy, Johnson was “the” guy to do it — on paper, at least.
However, his tenure as the Lakers‘ executive quickly devolved into an administrative nightmare. A number of Lakers staffers exposed a complete opposite of Johnson’s beloved public persona, describing him as a harsh and volatile leader behind closed doors.
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Following Johnson’s departure, a dam of complaints broke loose, with staffers alleging that the Lakers icon was a horrible boss. These claims were encapsulated by an extensive exposé by ESPN’s Baxter Holmes detailing a toxic workplace culture where employees were subjected to intimidation and verbal abuse.
“He had a large stack of resumes sitting on his desk — ‘a thousand’ of them, multiple staffers recall him saying — and he could replace any of them at any time,” Holmes wrote.
“It was shocking,” said one Lakers coaching staff member. “If you’re going to be in this business, you bring enough pressure on yourself. You don’t need more pressure, especially from someone who’s supposed to be an ally.”
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“If you questioned him on anything, his response was always a threatening tone,” said a Lakers front office staffer who interacted with Johnson directly. “He used intimidation and bullying as a way of showing authority.”
Magic denied the allegations
Johnson vehemently denied the rumors of abuse. He adamantly defended his reputation, insisting that he had spent more than three decades in the professional world without facing such bold and baseless accusations.
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Johnson knew his leadership might be demanding, but he felt it was always fair. He implied that the complaints might be just disgruntled responses from underperforming employees who couldn’t handle accountability.
“I never sat in an HR person’s office for 35 years,” he pointed out. “Do you think [Lakers owner] Jeanie Buss will allow me to abuse employees? If that was the case, she would have called me in… It never happened.”
“Nobody has ever called me and said Magic mistreated an employee,” he added. “And that would never happen. I know the truth. Jeanie knows the truth because if I had disrespected somebody, she would have called me into her office. And that never happened.”
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Magic claimed he was backstabbed
While denying the claims against him, Johnson flipped the script, claiming he was the one who had bad experiences during his time as a Lakers executive. Magic was referring to being backstabbed by his front-office peers, specifically targeting Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
The three-time league MVP went as far as labeling Pelinka as the chief architect of a smear campaign and someone who would constantly talk behind his back.
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“I start hearing, ‘Magic, you are not working hard enough. Magic’s not in the office,'” Johnson said on ESPN’s First Take. “People around the Laker office were telling me Rob was saying things. … So I started getting calls from my friends outside of basketball saying those things now were said to them outside of basketball, now just not in the Lakers’ office anymore.”
Ultimately, Johnson’s turbulent era at the Lakers front office ended in a bizarre and unprecedented fashion. On April 9, 2019, he called an impromptu press conference and announced his resignation to a stunned crowd of reporters.
Johnson is still recognized by Lakers fans for playing a pivotal role in recruiting LeBron James to LA. That alone makes his tenure successful, even though the rumors about his leadership style somewhat tarnish it.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.