Lakers News: Magic Johnson Apologizes For Tone-Deaf Tweet Following LA Playoff Elimination

Following the Los Angeles Lakers first round loss to the Denver Nuggets earlier this week, former L.A. superstar Magic Johnson took to social media to give his thoughts on the situation. Johnson posted on X about how the Lakers had nobody to blame but themselves, especially due to load management all year.

The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2024

After this post came out, Johnson came under fire from fans for it being completely wrong. Load management wasn't the issue with the Lakers but the normally present Johnson showed a tone-deaf response.

Johnson has since apologized for the tweet, updating the reason he believed that the Lakers lost.

Laker Nation, I have to apologize to the Lakers organization. It was injuries that plagued the Lakers this season, not load management.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2024

While both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were relatively healthy all season, the Los Angeles role players were in and out of the lineup. Guard Gabe Vincent missed the majority of the season, only to come back a few weeks before the playoffs.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt missed the first part of the year, came back for a short stretch, and then ended up missing the remainder of the season. Center Christian Wood missed a chunk of time and forward Cam Reddish was in and out of the lineup as well.

The Lakers' injury issues did hurt them, especially when playing a tough team like Denver. The hope for the offseason will be to examine what went wrong and fix the issues. This team can't afford another wasted season, especially with James only having a few more left in the tank before he hangs it up.

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