On June 24th, two multiple-time NBA Champions in Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Larry Bird will receive the lifetime achievement award at the 2019 NBA Awards show in Los Angeles.
The duo will be the first co-recepients of the award after it was previously awarded to Bill Russell in 2017 and Oscar Robertson in 2018.
Larry Bird and @MagicJohnson to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on TNT!
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2019
⭐️ #NBAAwards: June 24, 9pm/et ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/GptRWVCNsU
Not only were the duo part of the illustrious Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers rivalry but they also constituted arguably the greatest one-on-one player rivalry in the history of the NBA.
However, the story of their competition began before they started playing professional basketball.
The duo faced-off in the 1979 NCAA Finals. As of 2016, it remains the highest rated game in the history of televised college basketball.
Larry Bird and Indiana State had entered the National Championship without dropping a single game, going 33-0 all season, but they couldn't close. Magic Johnson, who was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, led Michigan State to the Championship with the 75-64 win.
In "Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals", the 2010 HBO Documentary, Bird calls the game "the toughest loss I ever took."
After that final, Johnson was picked No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 Draft while Bird joined the Boston Celtics, who had picked him sixth overall in the 1978 Draft. Bird played out his final year with Indiana State and joined the Celtics in 1979.
In their first four seasons in the league, from 1979 to 1983, Magic and Bird traded individual and team accolades.
Magic had won two NBA Championships and had been named the Finals MVP in both - 1980 and 1982. On the other hand, Bird had one title in 1981 with no Finals MVP to show for but he had pipped Magic in the 1979 Rookie of the Year race.
Their real rivalry began in 1984.
Over four NBA Finals, from 1984 to 1987, Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics met thrice atop the mountain to decide the NBA Champion with Magic winning two of the three super competitive contests.
1984 NBA Finals
Result: Boston Celtics 4-3 Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP: Bird - 27.4 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 steals on 48.4% shooting.
Magic's averages: 18.0 points, 13.6 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals on 56.0% shooting
1985 NBA Finals
Result: Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Boston Celtics
Magic's averages: 18.3 points, 14.0 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals on 49.4% shooting.
Bird's averages: 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 44.9% shooting.
1987 NBA Finals
Result: Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Boston Celtics
Finals MVP: Johnson - 26.2 points, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals on 54.1% shooting.
Bird's averages: 24.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 44.5% shooting.
During these Finals matchups, Larry Bird won three consecutive league MVP's (1984-86), becoming only the third player since Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to do so.
On the other hand, Johnson won his three league MVP's over a four-year span (1987, 1989, 1990).
At the front and center of the Lakers-Celtics spirited contests from the 1980's, the Bird-Magic rivalry attracted crowds and attention. More crowds meant a rise in TV ratings which helped revive the league.
