Magic vs. Bird: How Basketball’s Greatest Rivals Became Friends
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird spent years measuring themselves against each other. Then a sneaker commercial and lunch in Indiana changed their relationship.
Athletes World
• Boston Celtics Larry Bird and Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson sharing a laugh midcourt.
• Licensed Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy
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For years, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird barely spoke. They watched each other’s results, battled for championships and were more comfortable as rivals than friends.
Then Converse brought them together.
During a commercial shoot in Bird’s hometown of French Lick, Indiana, in the mid-1980s, Bird invited Magic to his family home for lunch. Away from packed arenas and the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the two discovered they had more in common than their public images suggested. (Los Angeles Times, 1987)
Then Converse brought them together.
During a commercial shoot in Bird’s hometown of French Lick, Indiana, in the mid-1980s, Bird invited Magic to his family home for lunch. Away from packed arenas and the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the two discovered they had more in common than their public images suggested. (Los Angeles Times, 1987)
