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There are few rivalries in the history of sport that had the intensity, the drama and the mutual respect shared by Larry Bird (left) and Magic Johnson (right). Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier, Jack Nicklaus had Arnold Palmer, but the career-long rivalry between Bird and Johnson produced some of the most epic games in the history of college and professional basketball.
During the 1970s, the National Basketball Association was in deep trouble. Attendance was down, interest was waning and the league revenues were at dangerously low levels.
It was with the arrival of two remarkable rookies, Johnson (with the Los Angeles Lakers) and Bird (with the Boston Celtics) that the entire league's fortunes turned around. The rivalry between Johnson and Bird had begun with the 1979 NCAA Championship game and continued fiercely through the ensuing decade.
During the 1980s, the two would garner more than their share of individual and team accolades. Bird would win Rookie of the Year honors, three MVPS and three NBA championships, and would be named to the All-NBA first team nine times. In the decade, Johnson would help lead the Lakers to five NBA championships while earning two MVP honors and seven All-NBA first team nominations.
Both men saw their careers cut short by illness and injury. For Johnson, it was the stunning revelation that he had contracted the HIV virus. For Bird, it was a series of severe back injuries.
Both men ended up on the NBA's 1996 list of the 50 greatest players ever and both are members of the NBA Hall of Fame.
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