Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are arguably two of the most important figures in basketball. Bird and Magic revolutionized the NBA when they were drafted in 1978 and 1979 respectively. Over the course of their careers, the pair would win 8 titles and 6 league MVPs for two of the most historic teams in the league’s history.
Magic was the star guard for the LA Lakers, while Bird was arguably one of the most unique players at the time for the Boston Celtics. Despite their rivalry as college opponents and then for the two rival franchises across conferences, the pair became very good friends over the course of their careers. That friendship exists to this day.
Magic played against a lot of greats in his career, including Bird. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, and many others. However, the Laker great maintains that Larry Legend was the greatest opponent he ever had.
“We came in at the same time, we didn’t care about how many points we scored, we just cared about winning. We both had a knack for making our teammates better and we loved the big moment and trying to excel… When the pressure was on, and I tell you Larry Bird is still the greatest I’ve ever played against. He was so super smart and his will win was off the charts. We kinda just grew up together. He ends up in Boston, who the Lakers hate and Boston hate the Lakers, and I end up on LA. It was on from there. It was great drama, great games, and it lived up to all the hype.”
Bird and Magic will be inextricably linked together in basketball history for their domination over the 1980s. The 90s was the era of Michael Jordan, but prior to that, the two sheriffs in the NBA were Bird and Magic.
Both players got to end their primes as teammates on the 1992 USA Olympic Basketball team, where Bird and Magic were the co-captains. While Bird would retire for good, Magic would try to return to the NBA in 1996.
