In the annals of the NBA, the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson remains immortal as perhaps the most iconic one. The two eternal rivals clashed three times in the NBA Finals, and each time they collided, the NBA world watched with bated breath. The iconic rivalry between the Showtime Lakers and the Boston Celtics not only enriched basketball history but saved the NBA from obscurity. However, Magic and Bird’s relationship went far beyond their on-court clashes.
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When the time came to induct Magic Johnson into the Naismith Hall-of-Fame in 2002, the Lakers legend quite surprisingly turned to his once nemesis to present him with the glorious honor. In the two NBA legends’ 2010 book, When the Game Was Ours, co-authored by Jackie MacMullan, readers learn how Johnson came to pick Bird for the ultimate honor.
In order to present the Hall of Fame honors, the presenter needs to be someone who has already earned been inducted. There was certainly no dearth of Hall-of-Famers in the early 2000s in the Lakers’ opulent basketball clan. Three Lakers greats were eligible for the job. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with whom Johnson had earned five championships and formed the Showtime Lakers, seemed the obvious choice. So were Lakers greats Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. However, Johnson had other plans.
“I wanted Larry[Bird]. When I think back on my career, he’s the first person who pops into my head,” Johnson wrote in When the Game Was Ours.
The 3x Finals MVP called Bird before the induction and asked if he was free in September of 2002, when the enshrinement was slated to happen. The Celtics legend wondered what Johnson was planning. To which Johnson responded, “I was hoping you’d present me in the Hall of Fame.” Awestruck by this desire from his greatest rival, Larry Legend felt honored. He agreed to the request immediately, “Well, I’d be honored.”
During the ceremony in Springfield, the Lakers great showered his former rival and now best friend with a world of praise.
Magic Johnson turned emotional when talking about Larry Bird
When talking about the 3x champion during the 2002 Hall-of-Fame ceremony, Magic Johnson couldn’t hold his emotions back. He took pauses while speaking and reminisced about his ultimate competitor’s greatness which brought the crowd to its feet. The 4x assists leader constantly credited the 3x MVP for bringing the best out of him.
“Larry, you… you are just what a basketball player should be. The biggest reason I am here is because of you. Making me go to the gym every summer. Not only stand for four hours but I figured I better stay for six because I knew you were there for five or six hours yourself. It was tremendous playing against you,” expressed the sentimental 2002 Hall-of-Famer.
It wasn’t just his hooping persona that Magic touched upon. He was also in awe of Bird’s character as an individual. He added, “I am just happy and I thank God I got to know you, not just Bird the basketball player, but Larry Bird, the man. I appreciate you for coming out here doing this.”
The Bird-Johnson rivalry is often ascribed as the reason for the NBA’s resurrection in the 1980s. When the Game Was Ours describes how Bird and Magic became rivals on the court and friends off the court simultaneously. The 1979 NCAA Championship game between Larry Bird’s Indiana State and the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans broke the record of college viewership and gave birth to arguably the NBA’s greatest rivalry.
