Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are parts of arguably the greatest basketball rivalry we’ve ever seen. The two Hall-of-Famers had intertwining careers that led to them first meeting in the national championship game, then facing off in countless Lakers-Celtics battles, and then eventually becoming teammates on the Dream Team and developing a special friendship.
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Outwardly, Magic and Larry were very different and their differences were often framed through their race. Still, Magic played on the West Coast with the Lakers, while Larry played on the East Coast for the Celtics. Magic was always smiling and upbeat, while Larry was intense and serious.
The two always had just as much in common, though, which is what made the rivalry so great. Both grew up in the Midwest, and both played the game with the same flair and unselfishness that made for a supremely entertaining style of play. They were two of the greatest to ever play, and they provided the measuring stick for each other throughout their careers.
Magic and Larry appeared together on Late Show with David Letterman on April 11, 2012, and in that interview, they revealed that although their friendship developed over time, early on in the rivalry, one of them wasn’t interested in being buddy-buddy.
“From the beginning, I wanted to be friends, but Larry didn’t want none of that,” Magic said as the studio audience laughed. “And so I said, ‘OK, if that’s how it’s gonna be, then we have to be like that then.’ I started disliking him, too.”
Larry recognized that Magic’s friendliness had a hidden purpose: to disarm his opponents and hide the fact that he was a killer on the court. The two always had a deep respect for one another, but Larry couldn’t let that interfere with his competitive spirit.
“My thing was when you compete, you’re really not friends. You want to keep an edge.” said Bird, “And I was like that through high school and through college, but Earvin is an outgoing guy. He loves everybody and wants to high-five and he’s got that big smile.”
Magic’s smile became one of the trademarks of the NBA as the leader of the Showtime Lakers, but Larry had other ideas for his signature grin. “My goal was to try and take three of them teeth home with me,” he quipped as Magic clapped and nearly fell of his chair from laughter.
People today bemoan the fact that players are so friendly to one another, often laughing and smiling even immediately after a tough loss. There are still great rivalries, though, with LeBron James vs. Steph Curry being the preeminent one of the past decade.
Magic and Larry helped the NBA become more popular than ever before, and their impact on the game is still felt all these years later. In a lot of ways, LeBron is the modern version of Magic, a gifted scorer who nonetheless looks for ways to make his teammates better and make the best basketball play. On the other side, Steph inherited Larry’s creativity and mantle as the game’s top shooter.
The NBA is at its best when it has a great rivalry, and many would say it was never better than when Magic and Larry were battling throughout the ’80s.
