When we look back in the annals of basketball history, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson will always be linked to each other. The NCAA rivals brought their rivalry to the NBA and saved the dying league. The 80s were dominated by their matchups, with the duo winning a combined 8 championships in that period.
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But unfortunately, injuries and illness derailed the historic rivalry, with Magic retiring in 1992, and Bird leaving in the following season. During Bird’s retirement, Boston pulled out all the stops, even closing down the Boston Garden to honor arguably their franchise’s greatest-ever player. Magic was also present during the proceedings.
Johnson soon took the stage for the duo’s much-awaited sit down. Johnson had ditched his suit, for Laker’s sweats but underneath awaited a surprise. Reciprocating Bird’s gesture from his retirement. Magic revealed that he had a Celtics shirt underneath. In their book,’ When the Game Was Ours’, the duo vividly recalls the night. An excerpt from the book reads,
“As the two legends bantered onstage during the ceremony, Bird suddenly lunged towards Magic and ripped open the Lakers warm-up jacket to reveal Celtics green. The Boston fans howled with delight. Magic, matching Bird’s gesture from his own retirement, presented him with a piece of the Forum floor signed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor.”
While presenting the gift, Johnson even jokingly added, “All those other guys you don’t care about” when talking about the Lakers legends that had signed the piece of hardwood. Bird laughed in response.
During the ceremony, Magic crowned his Boston rival as “the greatest player” he ever faced. A statement that raised a lot of eyebrows. But Magic wasn’t alone in calling Bird the greatest, Jerry West agreed as well.
Jerry West liked Larry Bird’s game a lot
Jerry West bleeds purple and Gold. So it was a big deal when the Lakers legend picked Bird over Magic when naming his favorite player in the league during a 1984 Sports Illustrated interview. Magic’s former coach even doubled down on his take, pointing out how Bird was the perfect player, a genius, and possibly a better ball handler and protector of the ball. Adding to his praise, West said,
“Bird whets your appetite for the game. He’s such a great passer and he doesn’t make mistakes. Magic handles the ball more, and he makes more mistakes because he has it more.”
West even admitted that if he wanted to model the perfect player, he would do so after Bird and not Johnson. But West did admit that it was a toss-up, further adding that,
“We’re all fond of different kinds of books, different types of movies. The one that best approaches the kind of game I would recommend a young player model himself after is Bird. He’s a genius on the basketball floor.”
In the end, both Bird and Magic left an undeniable mark on the game of basketball. Their rivalry was the height of theatrics. Punches were thrown, fights broke out, and fans were treated to a lot of trash talk and hard fouls. But as the duo exited the stage, none of that animosity remained, and the two legends were soon inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame together, once again taking their place in history, side by side.
