The rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird is often credited for putting the NBA on the map and resuscitating the league. As narrated in the book, ‘When the Game Was Ours‘, the NBA could not afford a primetime slot on National TV and had to use the rivalry between the mentioned players to promote the games. This did not sit well with the commissioner – David Stern.
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Due to the racial and drug-related problems in the 1970s, the NBA struggled to captivate the American public. Even with stars like Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the ratings for the games were not up to expectations. David Stern needed a hook to provide the fans.
The hook came through the Magic-Bird rivalry that was initiated in college and carried onto the pros. It helped that both the players were part of big market organizations, namely the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. It was must-watch television. The popularity of the league started to increase in the 1980s. Michael Jordan carried it forward, and NBA eventually became a global brand.
David Stern felt the promotion of the rivalry was unfair
Even though the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird was helping the league, the NBA commissioner was not a fan of the idea. As written in the book, ‘When the Game Was Ours’, David Stern felt it was unfair to other superstars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the like. Here is an excerpt from the book:
“In 1982 the NBA couldn’t afford to buy a 30-second spot to promote its Saturday games on CBS and was dependent on the network for a “charity promo” on Thursday nights. As Johnson and Bird rejuvenated the fortunes of NBA franchises, the network was happy to use them as their advertising hook. It was “Come see Magic and the Lakers and Larry and the Celtics,” a marketing strategy that did not sit well with the new commissioner. “I was happy for the publicity,” Stern said, “but I didn’t think it was so fair to Kareem and McHale and Parish and Worthy.”
The league was in a dire state back in the 1970s, and not for the lack of talent. Former legends like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain contributed a lot to the development of the game. So did the players mentioned by the commissioner. However, these two Hall of Famers changed the game, and the league owes them a huge debt.
The rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird
The Magic-Bird rivalry spanned for over a decade. Both of them won three MVPs during that span. Bird won in 1984, 1985, and 1986, while Magic bagged the award in 1987, 1989, and 1990. The Lakers and Celtics faced each other thrice in the finals in the 1980s, with Boston winning one and Los Angeles the other two.
Things that happened in 1984:
Kareem broke the record. MJ entered the League. David Stern started as commissioner. LeBron James was born.
I wrote/ copyrighted about LeBron James. https://t.co/Xi8ASNOlbv pic.twitter.com/nq3VbpCHHE— Wayne Pounds (@WaynePounds1) February 13, 2023
Between 1980-89, either one of the two teams made it to the finals. This was the level of dominance they displayed, and a rivalry of this magnitude hasn’t been seen in the NBA since. Other rivalries that come to mind are Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James-Stephen Curry. It is safe to say that none of them come close to Magic and Bird.
