Magic Johnson y Larry Bird They saved the NBA in the 80s. Yes, just as you read it. They rescued her. A few years before their first meeting, the American league was approaching bankruptcy. The pavilions were never full and the televisions did not sell like they do now. Many players were also hooked on drugs. All of this meant that there was no audience percentage close to that of today.
In the critical and worrying situation that the NBA, a rivalry appeared that reengaged its audience. Two players who transformed the competition into an electrifying mass spectacle. It was one of the most historic confrontations in basketball. From sport, even. We talk about the rivalry between Magic and Bird.
Before entering the 80s, the NCAA final (1979) between Michigan State and Indiana State was the most watched college league match in history. Magic Johnson, from Michigan, before starting the game that was going to change everything, approached to greet Bird, but found no response from the Indiana player. “I had not gone to distribute hugs, but to win a game”Larry Bird commented years later.
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, during their university years
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The victory of Michigan State, the team in which Magic played, in a game that already indicated that something was changing, fueled what would later reach the league. Interest in watching the NBA multiplied worldwide. A new era had begun. Meetings even began to be broadcast in Europe.
Magic against Bird, the rivalry that saved the NBA
The duels between them represented two totally different styles of play on the hardwood. The white hope of Boston Celtics against the African American smile of Los Angeles Lakers. Magic, a talented point guard of great size, with exceptional ball handling skills and great vision, became unique in his era. Larry, for his part, is a forward with a good shot, outstanding tactical intelligence and a tireless work ethic. This is how Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Larry Joe Bird They changed the history of basketball.
Few encounters have ever existed with more tension than those. And with extra-sports aspects involved, of course. As the temperature of Boston Garden when, by chance, it reached 36 degrees. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and other Lakers players had to be treated with oxygen cylinders. Even referee Hugh Evans suffered dehydration and had to be replaced. That year’s ring, coincidentally, would stay in the Garden.
The two most iconic stars of the NBA were rivals on the court, but they hardly greeted each other outside of it. Until a sneaker ad changed everything. The winding road to their friendship, as comical as it may sound, began with a campaign of Converse.
Both stars wore that brand until one day they set out to produce an advertisement with the two players as the protagonists. “There is not even a chance for me to do an advertisement with him.”“, commented Magic, who finally ended up accepting. The idea that the publicists had was to shoot the commercial in Los Angeles. Despite this, Larry Bird was also clear: he was not going to leave his house to record, much less travel to California, of course.
The Converse ad was a risky bet, of course. The NBA’s fiercest rivalry was barely greeted off the court. “Do you want to shoot something? “Let him come to my house”, explained the Celtics player. Magic Johnson ended up giving in and traveled to French Lick, the small town where Bird grew up. That’s when Larry met Earvin.
Earvin and Larry’s mother’s stew
The ad showed Bird and Magic, wearing the mythical Converse Weapons, competing in various settings, from the basketball court to the trophy room to the living room. At lunchtime, the Lakers point guard was heading to his limousine to rest when he received Bird’s invitation to eat at his house and taste his mother’s famous stew. “Larry’s mother was lovely, she reminded me a lot of mine. “She made sure I didn’t lack anything.”commented the Los Angeles star.
It was there when Johnson brought a smile to his draft partner by asking about his rural life. “That day I met Earvin Johnson; I like him much better than Magic… It was a really nice day,” Larry acknowledged about the announcement recorded with his rival.
Larry Bird, with his friend and rival Magic Johnson, during his farewell to the courts
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After that announcement, the relationship between both NBA stars would change completely. Magic and Bird strived to outdo each otherpropelling his teams to new goals and leaving an indelible mark on basketball history. They faced each other a total of 37 times.little by little until they became friends, with 22 wins for Johnson and 15 for Bird.
Both closed their time in the NBA leaving a historic legacy and possibly the most exciting rivalry in the entire competition. Magic retired with five rings and Bird with threeafter forming a friendship that, although it did not start off on the right foot, would end up being forged thanks to the shocking and daring advertisement of the Converse brand.
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2024-03-14 14:00:00
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