Magic Johnson is once again celebrating his birthday in style, gathering his closest friends for weeks on a superyacht to explore the Amalfi coast.

But this year’s celebration was dampened with the news that Lyric McHenry, the childhood best friend of Johnson’s son EJ, was found dead on a New York sidewalk.

Neither Johnson or EJ, who has called McHenry his ‘best friend since birth’, have made public statements regarding her death.

McHenry was found dead in the early hours of Johnson’s birthday on Tuesday, when his celebrations were already in full swing in the middle of Italy.

Johnson, whose vacation began on July 31, celebrated on the Siren superyacht with wife Cookie, his best friend Samuel L Jackson, the actor’s wife LaTanya, and their friends John and Vicki Palmer.

The former Los Angeles Lakers point guard posted Instagram photos of the celebrations, including one of him posing with dozens of blue balloons.

Another photo showed Johnson smiling with a cake as Cookie and the yacht’s crew beamed beside him, while a video showed him blowing out the candles.

‘Thank you to my amazing wife @thecookiej, my great friends Sam & LaTanya Jackson, John & Vicki Palmer, and the Siren crew for making my birthday a magical day. God is good!’ Jonnson wrote in the caption.

Cookie also wrote a touching Instagram tribute to her husband, calling him the ‘love of my life’ and ‘my soulmate’.

‘I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished this year,’ she wrote in a picture of the couple smiling on the yacht’s deck.

‘No one else can do what you do,’ she added. ‘Enjoy your day love.’

Both Cookie and Jackson also posted a photo of Johnson smiling with his birthday breakfast spread, which included grits, biscuits, bacon, salmon croquettes, waffles, and sausage.

‘Birthday breakfast for The Magic Man!’ Jackson wrote in the caption. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAYBRUH!’

Jackson is always a fixture on Johnson’s yacht vacations, revealing that the basketball superstar organizes them every year.

Last year it was estimated that Johnson and his friends spent around $3million aboard their superyacht.

And the group could very well do that again this year on the Siren, which costs around $700,000 per week.

The yacht comes equipped with an indoor and outdoor cinema, a gym, Jacuzzi, sea-pool, yoga classes, massages, personal trainers, and beauty treatments.

Johnson started his summer vacation with a bang by taking his private plane to Italy with Cookie.

He has shared a slew of pictures throughout the trip, showing him and his ‘fellas’ watching the sunset and posing with Cookie in various Italian cities.

The group have gone to the likes of Portofino and Capri, as well as St Tropez and Antibes in France.

Johnson and Cookie have also been joined on the trip with former NFL player Rodney Peete and his wife Holly, Lita and Leonard Richardson, and Tamiko and Jerry Mosley.

The NBA star even hosted an ‘amazing dinner party’ on the yacht for all his friends, sharing a picture of all of them smiling from a table laid our with roses, candles, and various desserts.

Johnson was still enjoying his birthday on Wednesday, shopping in Capri with Cookie and celebrating at a restaurant by wearing funny glasses and wigs with the staff.

Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding what exactly happened to McHenry continues to swirl.

McHenry, who was 20 weeks pregnant, was found dead on a sidewalk in the Bronx in just a pajama top and her underwear.

Law enforcement sources said she was in possession of cocaine and suspected that her death was the result of a drug overdose.

But McHenry’s family believe foul play could be involved after they discovered her body was found 12 miles away from where she was last seen in lower Manhattan.

While the family knew McHenry was pregnant, they had never heard of her taking drugs.