'I needed something good to happen': Magic Johnson revisits '92 All-Star nod

Magic was back.

On Feb. 9, 1992, Magic Johnson touched the hardwood for the first time since announcing his retirement in November 1991, and he put on a show.

Johnson earned MVP honors after helping the West to victory with a game-high 25 points and nine assists.

During an interview Tuesday with ESPN, the retired legend described how that game affected him, considering he'd announced his HIV status only months earlier:

I needed something at that time. You know, when the game that you love is taken away from you - and you've been playing it since you were a little boy - now all of a sudden I can’t play it any longer. I needed a pick-me-up. I needed something good to happen in my life to say, "Earvin, you're gonna live for a long time, and you're gonna beat this." And that game did that for me.