The Lakers and Celtics’ rivalry is the longest and most heated in NBA history. The disdain between the two was at its peak in the 1980s. The Magic Johnson-led Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics met thrice in the NBA Finals, with the latter hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy after their first battle in 1984. The defeat left the Lakers superstar crestfallen, who isolated himself to deal with the loss.
Advertisement
In 1985, Sports Illustrated did a story about the aftermath of LA’s loss. According to Johnson’s mother Christine, the loss devastated the Lakers guard. He was upset about his performance in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the Boston Garden.
The superstar finished the game with 16 points, 15 assists, five rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. However, he shot only 5-of-14 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Christine called her son to console him but he was shattered and refused to talk about the game. She told Sports Illustrated,
“When I called to see how he was, he said, ‘Momma, I just can’t talk about it.’ I guess he was just so filled with hurt.”
The more Johnson thought about the series loss, the worse he felt. The guard said he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was solely responsible for the defeat,
“I sat back when it was over, and I thought, ‘Man, did we just lose one of the great playoff series of all time, or didn’t we?’ This was one of the greatest in history. Yet all you read was how bad I was… We made five mistakes that cost us the series, and I contributed to three of them.”
To make matters worse, the media also pinned the blame for the Lakers’ series loss on Johnson. It severely affected the guard and even altered his personality slightly. His mother said,
“If you noticed, before when he was playing he used to smile a lot but now he doesn’t smile as much. It’s just a sign of his new determination. I see him settling down now and becoming more of a man.”
A year later, the superstar guard got his revenge. He played a critical role in the Lakers’ 4-2 series win over the Celtics in the Finals and redeeming his reputation. In 1987, he led LA to another win over Boston in the championship series and was named the Finals MVP.
The loss in 1984 was the first major setback of Johnson’s illustrious career. However, he bounced back and answered his critics in style.
