When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [157]
"Great players are difficult. They're different, driven. They operate on a different plane. Everyone says, 'I don't want to lose.' Magic and Larry said, 'I'll kill you if I lose.'"
Kurt Rambis, an assistant coach with the Lakers, has never forgotten that Magic's championship performance in 1980 was on tape delay. (He occasionally utilizes that snippet of information to illustrate the growth of the league for today's players.) The role Johnson and Bird played in the rejuvenation of the NBA, he said, has cemented their legacy.
"Their college rivalry pulled an audience toward the NBA that might not ever have come otherwise," Rambis said. "The characteristic that set them apart was their willingness to let someone else hit the winning shot. They didn't need to do it themselves. They were happy to make the pass.
"That was a huge thing. You didn't see much of it then, and you don't see much of that now."
Danny Ainge was one of those fair-weather NBA fans Rambis referred to. Although he was an accomplished college basketball player, Ainge also excelled in baseball and was a draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays. At the time, he had only a passing interest in professional basketball.
"But then I started following the Celtics and the Lakers and Larry and Magic," Ainge said. "They piqued my interest. I started thinking, 'Maybe I should try the NBA.'"
Together, Magic and Larry amassed 39,498 career points, 15,836 assists, 15,533 rebounds, and 3,280 steals. Yet the numbers don't begin to explain their impact on the game. When Bird and Johnson called it quits, the NBA emitted a collective sigh.
"You will never see anyone like them again," declared Bill Walton. "When Larry and Magic retired, the lost art of passing—that elusive team game—went with them."
They are occupied with their growing families now. After Barcelona, the Johnsons adopted a baby girl, Elisa, to join E.J. and Andre, Magic's adult son from a previous relationship. When the family seeks privacy, they sneak off to their elegant oceanfront home in Dana Point, California.
After Barcelona, the Birds also adopted a baby girl, Mariah. She has matched her father's competitive spirit, competing in track and field with the same intensity her father brought to the hardwood.
When the Birds want to escape, they retreat to their ranch in Indiana, with trails for four-wheeling, lakes for fishing, and 100 acres just waiting to be mowed.
Although their children are similar in age, the families do not vacation together. They do not exchange obligatory Christmas cards. When Magic and Larry see each other during the NBA season, the greetings are warm and genuine, but their interaction is fleeting.
It does not matter. As the years roll on, the connection remains unbroken. When the game belonged to them, Magic and Larry shared a bond predicated on fierce competition. Now, with their legacies intact—and forever linked—none of the animosity lingers.
Only respect remains.
* * *
CAREER STATISTICS
Larry Bird
HIGH SCHOOL: Springs Valley, French Lick, Indiana
COLLEGE: Indiana State University
DRAFTED BY: Boston Celtics, 1978 (sixth overall)
CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS: NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986); NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986); NBA MVP (1984, 1985, 1986); nine-time All-NBA First Team (1980–88); All-NBA Second Team (1990); All-Defensive Second Team (1982, 1983, 1984); 12-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1982); NBA Rookie of the Year (1980); Olympic gold medalist (1992); co-captain (with Magic Johnson) of U.S. Olympic Team; elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1998).
ABBREVIATIONS
APG Assists Per Game
AST Total Assists
BLK Total Blocks
BPG Blocks Per Game
FG Field Goals
FGM-A Field Goals Made-Field Goals Attempted
FT Free Throws
FTM-A Free Throws Made-Free Throws Attempted
G Games
MIN Total Minutes
MPG Minutes Per Game
PF Personal Fouls
PPG Points Per Game
RPG Rebounds Per Game
SPG Steals Per Game
STL