Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had one of the most entertaining rivalries in NBA history during the 80s. These two legends were responsible for saving the NBA during its worst time and putting it on another level, thanks to their incredible duels on the court.
What made this rivalry even better was that Johnson and Bird were good friends after sharing the court since their college days. They were pitted against each other in almost every aspect of life, and the league took advantage of that, pushing this rivalry whenever they could.
They clashed in the Finals several times, both taking things personally when facing one another. However, as good as everything looked, that wasn’t 100% real, as Magic, who has named Bird the best player he went against, claims that their relationship wasn’t the best during a big part of the rivalry.
Magic Johnson Reveals Big Details Of Friendship With Larry Bird
During his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay, Magic was asked about his relationship with Magic, revealing that the Lakers-Celtics rivalry hurt his friendship with Bird a little (5:28 mark).
“Our relationship was fractured because it was Celtics Lakers. See, we hated them and they hated us. So we could never be friends. (Coach Pat) Riley stressed that. He said if a Celtic goes to the ground, you better not pick him up. We had to hate them to beat them.”
Johnson said that it wasn’t until Converse reunited them that things went a little easier, and everything changed for the better in their friendship.
“It wasn’t until ’87 when Converse wanted to do a commercial with both of us. I flew out to French Lick, Indiana, where he’s from. We shot about half the commercial, and it’s lunch time. I think I’m going to a trailer because we really haven’t broken bread before. As I take like three steps toward the trailer, he said, ‘Magic, I’d like you to have lunch up at the house. My mom has prepared lunch.’
He threw the ‘mom’ in there, so I go to the house. He’s down there and I’m down there. She’s bringing out all the dishes, and she hit him and said, ‘Did you tell him yet?’ He said, ‘No, mom, you tell him.’ She said, ‘Magic, you’re my favorite basketball player.’”
The duels they starred in were memorable and played a big role in making the NBA the phenom it is right now. Without Magic and Bird, there would have been no Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James. These two did a lot for the association, and we couldn’t be more grateful for it.
It’s good that they could make amends after all those years and now remain great friends. Larry even teared up when Magic told him about his HIV diagnosis, so you know these two ended up being closer over time.
