{"id":53746,"date":"2025-08-17T02:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T09:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/?p=53746"},"modified":"2026-06-16T17:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T00:56:31","slug":"magic-johnson-joins-shaquille-oneal-more-against-deadly-disease-after-personal-health-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/community-news\/magic-johnson-joins-shaquille-oneal-more-against-deadly-disease-after-personal-health-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic Johnson Joins Shaquille O\u2019Neal &amp; More Against Deadly Disease After Personal Health Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"53746\" class=\"elementor elementor-53746\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a277e02 e-flex e-con-boxed cmsmasters-block-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"a277e02\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f48439 cmsmasters-block-default cmsmasters-sticky-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6f48439\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">There\u2019s just something about the Showtime Lakers that instantly pulls you back into their world the moment you think of them. The magic, the flash, the bond\u2014they weren\u2019t just a team, they were an era that defined the Lakers. And when those legends reunite, especially for something meaningful, it hits differently\u2014it makes you proud to be a Laker fan all over again. This time was no different, with\u00a0<strong>Byron Scott<\/strong>\u00a0sharing snapshots from his latest meetup with old teammates, and trust me, we\u2019re about to relive that glory as we swipe through them together.<\/p><div id=\"scroll-1\">\u00a0<\/div><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">Barry Bonds wasn\u2019t just in the room Friday night\u2014he was one of the honorees at the 25th anniversary gala of the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation in Beverly Hills. The event, which raises funds and awareness for cancer treatment, also celebrated icons like Wayne Gretzky and Spike Lee. Bonds got emotional, saying,\u00a0<em>\u201cIt has touched us all,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0as he reflected on losing his father, Bobby Bonds Sr., to lung cancer in 2003. Spike Lee also shared how cancer had touched his life, losing his mother when she was only 41. Even the NBA family came out in support, showing just how universal this fight really is.<\/p><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">Byron Scott gave fans a real treat on Instagram, sharing snapshots from the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation\u2019s 25th anniversary gala. He captioned it,\u00a0<em>\u201cAlways a great time for the Twins Great Cause! The 25th Year Anniversary of the \u2018Harold and Carole Pump Foundation\u2019 Gala is always a reunion of friends old and new! Thank you for having us\u2026until next year!\u201d<\/em><\/p><div id=\"scroll-2\">\u00a0<\/div><div><div class=\"instagram_instagram-container__A0OSr\"><iframe id=\"instagram-embed-0\" class=\"instagram-media instagram-media-rendered\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNcSW_IuvPi\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=184&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com&amp;rp=%2Fnba-legends-basketball-news-magic-johnson-joins-shaquille-o-neal-and-more-against-deadly-disease-after-personal-health-battle%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2103317.7999999523%2C%22ls%22%3A2103164.899999857%2C%22le%22%3A2103314.1999998093%7D\" height=\"602\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-instgrm-payload-id=\"instagram-media-payload-0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">As we swiped through, we spotted none other than\u00a0<strong>Magic Johnson,\u00a0<a class=\"dom-traversal_es-hyperlink-new-brand__bRBfl\" href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/tag\/shaquille-oneal\/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=website_internal&amp;utm_campaign=web_link_2\" target=\"_self\">Shaquille O\u2019Neal,<\/a>\u00a0James Worthy, Michael Cooper,<\/strong>\u00a0and even\u00a0<strong>Rick Barry<\/strong>. Scott also dropped a video of Magic on stage, paying tribute to the greatness of his Showtime Lakers teammates. To top it off, he shared a fun snap with\u00a0<strong>Terrell Owens<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Marcellus Wiley<\/strong>.<\/p><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">Earvin \u201cMagic\u201d Johnson surprised many with his guest appearance at the gala and couldn\u2019t hide how much it meant to him.\u00a0<em>\u201cThese are Hall of Fame dudes. So it\u2019s a blessing to be on the red carpet with them, but also to call them my friends. Because, see, my era, we\u2019re all friends. We all hang out. And so that\u2019s what\u2019s so special about now, we see each other. It\u2019s like a family reunion,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said.<\/p><div id=\"scroll-3\">\u00a0<\/div><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">The Harold &amp; Carole Pump Foundation, started by twin brothers Dana and David Pump in honor of their parents, has been making a huge impact since 2000. Over the years, it has directed more than $13.3 million to Northridge Hospital initiatives like the Carole Pump Women\u2019s Center, the Harold and Carole Pump Department of Radiation Oncology, the Leavey Cancer Center, and several other community charities.<\/p><p class=\"dom-traversal_domBrandPTag__J0noE\" data-athlete=\"false\">\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d7684e e-flex e-con-boxed cmsmasters-block-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9d7684e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e8fef28 cmsmasters-block-default cmsmasters-sticky-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e8fef28\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nba-legends-basketball-news-magic-johnson-joins-shaquille-o-neal-and-more-against-deadly-disease-after-personal-health-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"102\" src=\"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-2.42.59-AM.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-53750\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-2.42.59-AM.png 576w, https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot-2026-06-13-at-2.42.59-AM-300x53.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s just something about the Showtime Lakers that instantly pulls you back into their world the moment you think of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53746"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53753,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53746\/revisions\/53753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepumpfoundation.org\/newsite26\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}