Where do Magic Johnson and Devin Booker's Tigers ties come from?
Magic Johnson, the retired NBA guard who played for the Los Angeles Lakers, was born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1959 and went to Everett High School there. MLB.com reported on August 20, 2014 that he called himself a "huge baseball fan since I was a kid in Lansing." The same quote has him recalling that the Boys & Girls Club used to take kids to Detroit Tigers games, and that his two heroes then were Gates Brown and Willie Horton. The Tigers won the World Series in 1968, the year he turned 9. It is an outlet's report of his words, so the tie is listed as reported rather than confirmed.
Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1996 and attended Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan, before Moss Point High School in Moss Point, Mississippi. Sports Illustrated reported on January 18, 2025 that he said, "I've been a fan of all of them, Detroit Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers and obviously the Lions." The Tigers are one of the Detroit teams in that list, and the tie is listed as reported. Both Booker and Magic Johnson were born in Michigan, and both ties are dated to childhood.
Questions people ask
Which athletes are Tigers fans?
Magic Johnson and Devin Booker are both reported as Tigers fans, by MLB.com in 2014 and Sports Illustrated in 2025.
Which athletes grew up Tigers fans?
Both are dated to childhood: Johnson said he was a fan since he was a kid in Lansing, and Booker's tie is listed as since childhood.
Which athlete is the most famous Tigers fan?
Nothing here ranks the two players, but Magic Johnson's report names specific Tigers heroes, Gates Brown and Willie Horton, from his boyhood trips to games.