{"id":1577284,"date":"2023-09-21T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T15:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1577284"},"modified":"2023-09-21T11:00:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T15:00:49","slug":"at-one-point-larry-bird-actually-felt-sorry-for-magic-johnson-during-their-heated-nba-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/at-one-point-larry-bird-actually-felt-sorry-for-magic-johnson-during-their-heated-nba-rivalry\/","title":{"rendered":"At One Point, Larry Bird Actually Felt Sorry for Magic Johnson During Their Heated NBA Rivalry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There has never been a bigger and more important personal rivalry in sports than Larry Bird<\/a> and Magic Johnson.<\/a> The two met in the epic 1979 NCAA men's title game<\/a> and carried that intense competitiveness into the NBA, where it lasted throughout the 1980s. Either Bird's Boston Celtics or Magic's Los Angeles Lakers reached the NBA Finals in every year of the decade. They squared off in the championship round three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bird and Magic guided the league to new heights. They captivated the nation and then helped make the NBA a global game. The Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry was reignited by the Bird vs. Magic rivalry.<\/a> The teams despised each other, yet there was an instance during this stretch when Bird admitted he felt sorry for the Lakers All-Star point guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson came into the NBA at the right time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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