Celeb Row
Lois Elfman #40

Aug 6 2010 10:54AM

Legend Has It

Although multiple Grammy Award winner John Legend mostly lives in New York, he's been a Los Angeles Lakers fan since the "Showtime" era. He's mixed business with pleasure by twice performing at the NBA All-Star Game, as well as recently performing at the White House for fellow basketball lover President Barack Obama. Legend is currently in the recording studio working on an upcoming album with The Roots. When he hits the road to tour this summer, you may find him playing on a basketball court near you.

Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan?

I was always with Magic because he was my style of person. The way he played, something about that appealed to me personally. But you can't really argue with the fact that Jordan with his skills and pure dominance and the ability to take over a game, he was the greatest. What Magic didn't have when it came to athleticism, he made up for it with his mind and his energy and his leadership. He was quite an amazing player and that's why I became a Lakers fan as a kid.

Are you a guy who travels with a basket so you and your musicians can play anywhere?

We don't travel with a basket, but we will go to the local YMCA quite a bit and try to play. I'm not very good, but I enjoy it.

What position do you play?

Usually a shooting guard. I won't say I'm a great leader on the court [laughing], but I'm certainly the leader on stage. I love being up there and leading and I love having a group of singers and musicians supporting me and us doing things together as a team. It definitely takes a certain amount of leadership and vision to do that-leadership and vision that I don't necessarily have on the basketball court.

Have you ever been at a game and heard your music?

When I'm there, they always play my songs. I take it as a way of them flattering me while I'm there.

The Lakers project an aura of invincibility. What is it like to enjoy them to the fullest and see the sense of power they bring to the court?

If it were too easy it wouldn't be fun to root for them. Every time they've won, they still had to work very hard for it. It's still a challenge when they get into the playoffs. A lot of teams can compete, so it's always fun to watch. The outcome is in doubt to some degree. That's good for the League and makes it suspenseful and interesting for the fans.

You seem to be creatively fueled by collaboration with other artists.

I love the idea of having songs out there that I'm proud of and songs that other people perform that I've written. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when I'm able to not only write hits for myself but for other people. I've been doing a bit more of that lately. I was just in the studio with Jennifer Hudson. I wrote a couple of songs for her.