{"id":1384083,"date":"2021-07-11T14:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-11T18:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1384083"},"modified":"2021-08-11T12:24:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T16:24:28","slug":"larry-bird-was-so-shaken-magic-johnson-hiv-diagnosis-he-didnt-want-to-play-boston-cletics-next-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/larry-bird-was-so-shaken-magic-johnson-hiv-diagnosis-he-didnt-want-to-play-boston-cletics-next-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Larry Bird Was So Shaken by Magic Johnson's HIV Diagnosis That He Didn't Want to Play in the Boston Celtics' Next Game: &#8216;I Didn't Have Anything That Night'"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sometimes the world of sports will produce moments that transcend fandom and become legitimate parts of history. One of those occurred in November 1991, when <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/magic-johnson-has-survived-nearly-30-years-with-hiv-thanks-to-a-once-experimental-drug-cocktail\/\">Magic Johnson told the world that he had tested positive for HIV<\/a> and was immediately retiring from basketball. That news understandably shook just about everyone in the Association, including <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/Larry-Bird\/\">Larry Bird<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/larry-bird-famous-rivalry-with-magic-johnson-included-trash-talk\/\">Larry Legend and Magic had started out as rivals<\/a>, the two men developed quite the bond during their time on the hardwood. They became so close that after Johnson's diagnosis, Bird found himself in an unprecedented situation: playing in a basketball game when he didn't want to be on the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-magic-johnson-and-larry-bird-started-out-as-rivals-before-becoming-friends\">Magic Johnson and Larry Bird started out as rivals before becoming friends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson: Best Player Rivalry Ever? | The Jump | ESPN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/usaUKP_RYJE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From a fan's perspective, rivalries can seem like insurmountable obstacles; the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, for example, simply <em>can't<\/em> be on the same side. On a personal level, though, Magic and Bird proved that things could change over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two stars first did battle during <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/we-can-thank-larry-bird-and-magic-johnsons-1979-finals-clash-for-march-madness\/\">the 1979 NCAA title game<\/a>, when Johnson's Michigan State Spartans defeated Bird's Indiana State Sycamores. While the latter was stung by the defeat, even saying that it was &#8220;impossible&#8221; to forget what happened (H\/T <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/basketball-men\/article\/2019-01-20\/40-years-after-first-bird-vs-magic-showdown-1979-indiana-state\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NCAA.com<\/a>), that wasn't the last he'd see of Magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether by chance or by fate, Bird joined the Boston Celtics, and his college rival headed west to become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. That placed the two stars in constant conflict. Larry Legend was the class of the Eastern Conference, Magic ruled the roost on the opposite coast, and only one of them could claim the NBA title each season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite that ongoing duel, though, Bird and Johnson managed to <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/magic-johnson-and-larry-bird-truly-despised-each-other-changed-unexpected-way\/\">set their differences aside and become friends<\/a>. While filming a Converse commercial in French Lick, Indiana, the Celtics star invited his counterpart over for a home-cooked meal. Over lunch, Magic also learned that he was Bird's mother's favorite player, cementing their friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-magic-johson-s-hiv-diagnosis-shook-his-friend-to-the-core\">Magic Johson's HIV diagnosis shook his friend to the core <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Announcement: Magic Johnson\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xMMWLS8D4OU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When Johnson told the world that he had tested positive for HIV, it seemed impossible to believe. One of the top talents in all of basketball was leaving the hardwood behind because of an invisible and, at the time, highly stigmatized issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understandably, those close to the Lakers star were shaken by the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Magic's agent (Lon Rosen) calls me and tells me about the announcement ahead of time. I said, &#8216;I gotta talk to him right now.' And Lon goes, &#8216;I don't know. He's going through all this stuff right now.' And I said, &#8216;I don't care. I gotta talk to him right now.' And he put me through to him,&#8221; Bird explained in a 2012 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/espn\/story\/_\/id\/7651958\/talking-bird-magic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESPN<\/a> interview with Rick Reilly. &#8220;Man, that really hit me. It really hit me hard. That was the first time in my life I played in a game that I didn't want to play (vs. Atlanta). I didn't have anything that night.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it doesn't exactly match up with Bird knowing &#8220;ahead of time,&#8221; the Celtics did play the Hawks the day after Johnson's announcement. The forward shot 5-of-14 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and finished the contest with 17 points. He also struggled in Boston's next game, which came three days after Magic's press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-larry-bird-wasn-t-the-only-nba-star-affected-by-the-news\">Larry Bird wasn't the only NBA star affected by the news<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kobe Bryant: I never heard of Michael Jordan\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5R_HEXTnuqo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Given his relationship with Magic, it's understandable that Bird didn't want to take the court after hearing the news about his friend's health. He wasn't the only big-time NBA talent to be shaken up by the news, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/michael-jordan-distraught-cried-magic-johnson-hiv-diagnosis\/\">Michael Jordan, for example<\/a>, spoke to Magic from a car phone and told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1991\/11\/09\/johnsons-hiv-caused-by-sex\/4a2cbe05-384a-4cb4-87c3-dd5509674add\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Washington Post<\/a> that he was &#8220;almost driving off the road.&#8221; Kobe Bryant was only a teenager at the time, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kobe-bryant-eat-week-magic-johnson-announced-hiv-diagnosis\/\">but he was still affected<\/a>. In a conversation with Graham Bensinger, the future NBA star explained that he &#8220;was devastated&#8221; by the news and confirmed that he missed meals for a week after that famous press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly 30 years later, though, Johnson is still going strong. While his HIV diagnosis may have (mostly) ended his basketball career, the Lakers star also <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/magic-johnson-remembers-how-david-stern-helped-change-the-world\/\">helped change public perceptions around the disease<\/a> and showed that it wasn't an automatic death sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some things are simply bigger than basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Stats courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/birdla01\/gamelog\/1992\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Basketball Reference<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/larry-bird-biggest-impact-nba-rulebook-not-court\/\">Larry Bird\u2019s Biggest Impact on the NBA Came in the Rulebook, Not on the Court<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Larry Bird loved basketball, but after learning of Magic Johnson's HIV diagnosis, he didn't really want to play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":1384110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[62310,4825],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - 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He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history \u2014 likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center \u2014 he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope \u2014 both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.","sameAs":["","JoeKozlowski_","","",""],"jobTitle":"Joe Kozlowski | Sports7 Writer","email":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384083"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1384083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1397711,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384083\/revisions\/1397711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1384110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1384083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1384083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1384083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}