NEW YORK – Magic Johnson smiled, because of course he did. It’s the smile that conquered a city. It’s the smile that has soothed our anxieties over the decades.

In 1980, the child smiled and told Los Angeles he would lead the Lakers to a championship one night without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In 2012, the old man smiles and declared in Los Angeles that he would bring the Dodgers out of bankruptcy and back to baseball’s promised land.

It’s truly magical: with a legendary Laker as one of the owners, the Dodgers are now the most popular team in Los Angeles.

“The city went crazy because of this team” Johnson said Wednesday eveningdressed in a Dodgers letterman jacket with a block D on one side and the Dodgers logo on the other.

“It was crazy. You think, yes, I’m a Laker, but I’m also a true blue Dodger. Hopefully one day they will win it again, but right now the city belongs to the Dodgers.”

The winning bidder for the Dodgers in 2012 was an entity called Guggenheim Baseball. It meant nothing to Los Angeles. Mark Walter, the money guy, was from Chicago. Stan Kastenthe baseball guy, was from Atlanta.

Johnson put his credibility on the line. He joined them and promised Los Angeles that these guys would be winners. He told Walter and Kasten that there would only be one way to win.

“If we just want to make money, then I’m leaving,” Johnson told Walter. “I don’t want to be part of it.”

The morning after Guggenheim Baseball won the auction, I met with the owners in a conference room about 10 miles from Yankee Stadium. Kasten placed emphasis on player development.

Johnson didn’t. The New York Yankees were his model, the eternal big spenders. The Angels had just signed Albert Pujols.

“The teams are investing” Johnson said that day. “That’s what you do when you put a winning team on the field. We will be no different from those teams.

“Also, we would like to copy the success of the Yankees. If you ask, “Do we want to be the Yankees?” ”, the answer is yes. We want to win the World Series. We want to win.

The Yankees have not won the World Series since. The Dodgers have won twice.

The Dodgers won the National League West every year from 2013 to 2019, rebuilding the minor league system and developing a talent pool unrivaled in the industry. But Kasten, who managed the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals before joining the Dodgers, had never signed a player for $100 million. Neither does Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations.

Finally, starting in 2020, the Dodgers went all-in: Mookie Betts that year, for $365 million; Freddie Freeman, in 2022, for $162 million; Shohei Ohtani last December, for $700 million; Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last December, for $325 million; Tyler Glasnow, last December, for $136.5 million; Will Smith, an extension last March, for $140 million.

The first three hitters in the lineup Wednesday: Ohtani, Betts and Friedman.

The Dodgers’ final two and only draft picks: Smith and Gavin Lux.

The last of their eight pitchers and the Dodgers’ only draft pick: Walker Buehler.

“From the first day I met Mark, he was just like me,” Johnson said. “He wanted to win. He was competitive. And he wasn’t afraid to spend money. I think we showed it to everyone.

“I think that’s why we were able to attract talent. But also give Stan a lot of credit. He said we needed to expand the minor league system, and we did both.

If the Yankees were Johnson’s model, well, look who’s dancing now.

“That’s what the country and the world wanted, for us to play against each other,” Johnson said.

“It’s the most famous franchise, right? To do it against the Yankees, here in New York…”

His voice trailed off, but he smiled again. He had some comparisons to Freeman, the World Series’ most valuable player.

“It was Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant,” Johnson said. “That’s what I compare it to, that level of dominance on the biggest stage. All these guys did it on the biggest stage. All of these guys also did it in a championship series. I’ve never seen a baseball player do it like that.

Johnson raised his voice slightly. For four years now, he and the Dodgers have heard about how their 2020 championship, in a pandemic-shortened season, required an asterisk or other form of punctuation.

“There’s no question mark,” he said. “I hated this whole Covid thing. I didn’t like people saying those things about us, even though we won the World Series. But this time, there’s no doubt: we’re going to have a good time.

And Johnson wouldn’t leave the field at Yankee Stadium without a few kind words to Fernando ValenzuelaWHO died last week. The Dodgers will parade Friday, on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday.

“There have only been a few guys to take over Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant, Kareem, that other guy who wore No. 32 and Fernando,” Johnson said. “When he pitched, we were all watching. If we didn’t see it live at Dodger Stadium, we were watching it on TV.

“He was just the nicest guy. He was humble. I think that’s why everyone loved him. Not only was he dominant as a pitcher, but he was the nicest man. I wish he was here to see this. We have lost a true icon, one of the greatest to ever play in the city of Los Angeles.

This other guy who wore #32 is the biggest winner in the city of Los Angeles. He has won, as a player or owner, with the Lakers, Dodgers, Sparks and LAFC. He took us from show to show, from Showtime to Shotime.