Original subtitles

Announcer: THE FOLLOWING IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION

OF HBO's "SPORTS OF THE 20th CENTURY."

THEY TALK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY SOMEWHERE.

IF I GO TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY,

"MAGIC, MAGIC, WHERE'S MAGIC?"

I MEAN, IT'S THE SAME EVERYWHERE.

Magic Johnson: WE DON'T HAVE TO SEE EACH OTHER.

WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY HELLO. WE DON'T HAVE TO CALL EACH OTHER.

Larry Bird: THAT'S MY MAIN COMPETITION.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT.

Johnson: YOU KNOW YOU GOT THIS TIGHT BOND WITH THIS CAT.

AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE HIM

FOR A YEAR OR TWO.

BUT YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE LINKED TO HIM.

Bird: WE GOT THIS CONNECTION THAT'S NEVER GONNA BE BROKEN.

I MEAN, RIGHT TO OUR GRAVES.

THEY'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW.

Narrator: IT ALL BEGAN HERE IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH,

ON THE NIGHT OF MARCH 26, 1979.

IT WAS THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP.

INDIANA STATE VERSUS MICHIGAN STATE--

A GAME THAT STILL RANKS AS THE HIGHEST-RATED COLLEGE FINAL

EVER ON TELEVISION.

A GAME THAT'S NOW REMEMBERED AS A PROLOGUE

TO A RIVALRY THAT TRANSFORMED A SPORT

AND INTERTWINED TWO LEGACIES.

BUT ON THAT NIGHT, MARCH 26, 1979,

THE FIRST TIME MAGIC JOHNSON AND LARRY BIRD

EVER WENT HEAD-TO-HEAD ON A BASKETBALL COURT,

THEY WERE SIMPLY TWO YOUNG MEN TRYING

TO WIN A VERY BIG BALLGAME.

THIS IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST GAME I'LL EVER PLAY IN MY LIFE.

I JUST FEEL LIKE I'M REPRESENTING NOT ONLY MYSELF, MY TEAM,

BUT WE'RE REPRESENTING OUR SCHOOL AND OUR TOWN TERRE HAUTE.

IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE REALLY FOR ME.

I WON THE STATE TITLE BACK IN MY HOME STATE.

THEN MY NEXT ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS GOING TO THE NCAA

AND PLAYING IN A GAME LIKE TONIGHT IN THE FINALS.

Narrator: THEY WERE TWO STARS THROWN TOGETHER

BY THE COSMOS TO COMPETE,

BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM HAD BEEN GROOMED FOR THE SPOTLIGHT.

IN HIS CASE, IT SEEMED SINCE BIRTH.

Steve Springer: I THINK HIS UPBRINGING IN EAST LANSING

REALLY PUT THAT SMILE ON HIS FACE IN THE BEGINNING, AND IT NEVER CAME OFF.

Narrator: BORN AUGUST 14th, 1959,

EARVIN JOHNSON GREW UP IN LANSING,

THE GRITTY INDUSTRIAL CAPITAL CITY OF MICHIGAN.

RAISED UNDER THIS LITTLE ROOF,

HE WAS ONE OF CHRISTINE AND EARVIN JOHNSON SENIOR'S 10 KIDS.

CHRISTINE WAS A SCHOOL CUSTODIAN,

WHILE EARVIN SENIOR WORKED TWO JOBS

NEARLY AROUND THE CLOCK.

MY FATHER GOT UP EARLY EVERY MORNING, 6:00 OR SO,

AND HE WENT TO WORK ON HIS TRASH HAULING TRUCK

EVERY SINGLE DAY.

AROUND NOON HE WOULD COME HOME, CATCH A NAP,

AND THEN HE WORKED FOR GENERAL MOTORS FOR 30 YEARS.

AND HE WON AN AWARD FOR NEVER BEING LATE

AND NEVER MISSED A DAY.

Narrator: AS A YOUNGSTER, EARVIN DISPLAYED

HIS OWN STRONG WORK ETHIC ON THE BLACKTOP.

I WAS OUT THERE ALL DAY LONG.

BEFORE WE WENT TO SCHOOL--

THE BUS LEAVES AT 7:00, 7:30.

I WAS OUT THERE AT 6:00, 6:30 WORKING ON MY GAME.

MY MOTHER SOMETIMES HAD TO BRING ME FOOD,

OR SHE WOULD HAVE ONE OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS--

"GO GET THAT BOY SO HE COULD EAT SOMETHING."

FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE, EARVIN KNEW WHAT HE WANTED TO DO.

HE HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT.

Johnson: MY DREAMS WERE TO PLAY IN THE NBA

AND BECOME A BUSINESSMAN.

Narrator: THE FIRST STOP IN HIS JOURNEY--

NEIGHBORHOOD BASKETBALL POWERHOUSE SEXTON HIGH.

Johnson: I KNEW THE PLAYERS. I KNEW THE TRADITION.

I WANTED TO BE A PART OF THAT,

AND IT WAS ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN,

WHICH WAS AT THAT TIME PREDOMINANTLY BLACK.

Narrator: BUT WHEN LANSING, LIKE MANY CITIES IN THE MID '70s,

BEGAN BUSING TO DESEGREGATE ITS SCHOOL SYSTEM,

EARVIN'S JOURNEY TOOK AN UNEXPECTED DETOUR--

TO A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE SCHOOL ACROSS TOWN.

MY FIRST DAY AT EVERETT HIGH SCHOOL

WAS MY FIRST TIME I REALLY HAD TO UNDERSTAND

THERE WAS A RACE PROBLEM.

NOBODY WHITE

WOULD SPEAK TO ANYBODY BLACK

AND NOBODY BLACK WOULD SPEAK TO ANYBODY WHITE.

A LOT OF RACIAL TENSION. A LOT OF FIGHTS,

RIOTING.

THEY DIDN'T WANT MINORITIES THERE.

Springer: HE KIND OF SHRUGGED IT OFF,

AND BASICALLY HIS ATTITUDE WAS,

"OKAY, WELL, I'LL OVERCOME THIS."

George Fox: WHENEVER THERE IS ANY RACIAL PROBLEMS,

THE PRINCIPAL WOULD GET EARVIN

AND GO TALK TO THESE KIDS.

I CAN JUST SEE HIM WITH HIS BIG HANDS--

"JUST CALM DOWN." HE'D BREAK UP FIGHTS.

Evelyn Johnson: TALK WITH HIS FRIENDS, TELL THEM, "LET IT GO.

WE CAN'T FIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.

LET'S JUST CHILL. LET'S PLAY BASKETBALL."

Narrator: AND THERE WAS NO DISPUTE OVER EARVIN JOHNSON'S ABILITY

TO PLAY BALL.

HIS TALENT WAS SO GREAT

THAT SOON AFTER HIS VARSITY DEBUT,

A LOCAL REPORTER DAZZLED BY HIS EXPLOITS

GAVE THE BUDDING STAR A NICKNAME.

Johnson: IN THE BEGINNING, I THOUGHT IT WAS FOOLISH AND DUMB.

I DIDN'T KNOW NOTHING ABOUT A NICKNAME.

THEN WHAT HAPPENED WAS YOU START SAYING, "WAIT A MINUTE.

IT FITS MY GAME."

HANGING OUT WITH MY BOYS ON THE STREET CORNERS,

WE USED TO SING TEMPTATIONS SONGS.

THEY STARTED SAYING, "HEY, MAN, MAGIC, THAT'S COOL."

AND THEN PEOPLE ON THE STREET STARTED SAYING, "HEY, MAGIC."

AND I SAID, "HMM."

HE BOUGHT INTO IT, AND I THINK HE THOUGHT

HE HAD TO KIND OF LIVE UP TO THAT NAME.

AND I MUST SAY THAT HE DID.

♪ YOU GONNA CHANGE YOUR STYLE NOW THAT YOU'VE REACHED THE TOP... ♪

Fox: HE LOVED IT, THE MORE ATTENTION HE GOT.

HE WANTED ATTENTION FROM ANYBODY HE COULD GET IT FROM.

YEAH, IT DOES. I REALLY LOVE THE GAME,

AND I JUST WANNA WIN.

♪ SUPERSTAR, GOOD GOD... ♪

Announcer: He jams it through-- Earvin Johnson.

EARVIN LOVED TO DRESS--

NICE SANSABELT PANTS

AND OVERCOATS WITH THE FUR AROUND THE COLLAR.

ALWAYS HAD TO HAVE HIS AFRO BLOWN OUT.

HE HAD TO LOOK THE PART,

PLAY THE PART.

EARVIN WAS THE FIRST GUY TO HAVE A POSSE.

HE NOT ONLY HAD A POSSE OF A LOT OF BLACK KIDS,

HE HAD A LOT OF WHITE KIDS HANGING AROUND HIM.

SOME OF MY WHITE FRIENDS WAS LIKE,

"WE'RE HAVING A KEGGER TONIGHT. WHY DON'T YOU COME ON BY?"

AND I'M SAYING, "WHAT'S A KEGGER?"

SO HE SAID, "WELL, WHAT IT IS,

WE GET THIS BIG KEG OF BEER AND YOU JUST GO FOR IT."

"OKAY, WELL, WHAT TIME DOES THE KEGGER START?"

'CAUSE REGULAR PARTY TIME

IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD IS 10:00, 11:00.

"THE KEGGER STARTS AT 7:00."

I SAID, "THE PARTY STARTS AT 7:00?"

I SAID, "OKAY, MAN, I'M GONNA COME TO THE KEGGER."

WE HAD A GOOD TIME. THE MUSIC WAS KIND OF BAD,

BUT WE HAD A GOOD TIME, YOU KNOW?

Narrator: HIS SENIOR YEAR, JOHNSON DID AT EVERETT

WHAT HE HAD PLANNED TO DO AT SEXTON--

WIN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.

AND WHEN IT CAME TO CHOOSING A COLLEGE,

HE DECIDED TO STAY WHERE THE LOVE WOULD BE ASSURED--

HOME IN LANSING.

NEXT YEAR I WILL BE ATTENDING MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.

( crowd cheers and applauds )

Narrator: AT M.S.U.,

MAGIC'S STAR QUICKLY WENT NATIONAL,

BUT ATOP THE COLLEGE GAME,

HE SOON DISCOVERED A CERTAIN PRESENCE BESIDE HIM.

Johnson: THE FIRST TIME I SAW LARRY BIRD

WAS ACTUALLY IN A MAGAZINE,

SAW HIS STATS--

BLOWN AWAY BY HIS STATS.

BUT LET'S SEE IF HE CAN REALLY DO IT

AGAINST US.

AND THAT'S ALWAYS A MINDSET OF BLACK PLAYERS

IF HE'S A GREAT WHITE PLAYER.

Narrator: IN 1978, AFTER HIS FRESHMAN YEAR,

MAGIC WOULD QUICKLY FIND OUT

WHEN BOTH HE AND BIRD WERE CHOSEN TO PLAY

FOR TEAM USA IN THE WORLD INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT.

THEY WOULD PUT LARRY BIRD AND I

ON THE SAME TEAM TOGETHER TO SCRIMMAGE, RIGHT?

IT WAS BLOWING MY MIND BECAUSE HE'S DOMINATING JACK GIVENS,

PLAYER OF THE YEAR IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL.

LARRY BIRD IS EATING HIM ALIVE.

I COULDN'T WAIT TO CALL HOME TO TELL MY BOYS

THIS DUDE NAMED LARRY BIRD IS FOR REAL.

THIS IS THE BADDEST WHITE DUDE

I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

I THOUGHT HE WAS VERY GOOD. THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

ACTUALLY, I THOUGHT HE WAS PROBABLY THE BEST GUARD ON THE TEAM.

Announcer: Earvin Johnson-- look at that!

What a play!

WE DIDN'T GET TO PLAY A LOT, BUT YOU COULD TELL.

Johnson: I THINK OUR FIRST GAME WAS IN KENTUCKY.

WE GOT ABOUT A 10-, 12-POINT LEAD.

MAN, THEY PUT US IN.

WENT TO 25, 30 JUST THAT FAST.

Announcer: Fast break again, three on two.

Griffith...

A steal by Larry Bird...

TAKE US OUT, THE LEAD GO BACK DOWN,

PUT US BACK IN, THE SHOW STARTED AGAIN.

WHEN YOU PLAY WITH MAGIC, THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

YOU WANNA MAKE THAT EXTRA PASS. YOU WANNA GET THAT REBOUND

AND START THE BREAK.

WE CAME DOWN A COUPLE TIMES, I GO BEHIND MY BACK,

NO LOOK TO HIM, HE NO LOOK BACK TO ME.

AND I'M LAYING IT UP. I'M SAYING, "OH, MAN!"

There's that last play. Magic Johnson going in, drops off to Bird.

Bird puts it back off, inside to Johnson.

Super basketball.

THIS GUY GOT GAME.

Jackie MacMullan: THEY HAD SOME WONDERFUL MOMENTS ON THE COURT,

BUT THEY PROBABLY SPOKE TO EACH OTHER FOUR,

MAYBE FIVE TIMES DURING THAT ENTIRE TIME PERIOD.

AND IT WAS MORE LIKE, "HELLO. HOW ARE YOU THIS MORNING, LARRY?"

"I'M GOOD, MAGIC. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?"

"DON'T REMEMBER. HAVE A NICE DAY."

Announcer: BUT SUCH CURTNESS WAS HARDLY STRANGE

COMING FROM LARRY BIRD,

WHO WAS NOT ONLY ONE OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S BEST PLAYERS,

BUT ALSO ITS BIGGEST ENIGMA.

I THINK HE WAS A MYSTERY TO THE EXTENT

THAT HE WANTED TO BE A MYSTERY.

HE DIDN'T ENJOY DOING INTERVIEWS.

HE DIDN'T GO OUT OF HIS WAY TO DO THEM. HE WASN'T GOOD AT THEM.

HE WAS KIND OF LIKE, "HEY, THIS IS WHO I AM. YOU WANNA KNOW WHO I AM?

WATCH THE GAME. THAT'S WHO I AM."

Man: I START TO READ MATERIALS THAT YOU'RE VERY QUIET

AND YOU DON'T ENJOY TALKING TO NEWSPAPER PEOPLE.

WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS OF NEWSPAPER PEOPLE.

THERE'S PEOPLE THAT TRY TO PUSH YOU.

PEOPLE TRY TO GET THINGS OUT OF YOU,

THINGS THAT DON'T EVEN PERTAIN TO BASKETBALL.

THEY'RE THE TYPE OF PEOPLE I LIKE TO STAY AWAY FROM.

HE DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HIS FAMILY.

HE DIDN'T WANT HIS MOTHER TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT OR HIS SIBLINGS

TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT.

YOU GOTTA REMEMBER WHERE LARRY CAME FROM.

LARRY WAS RAISED IN A TWO- OR THREE-ROOM HOUSE

ON A RAILROAD TRACK.

THEIR FAMILY PROBABLY LIVED ON $50 A WEEK.

HE WAS RAISED TOUGH.

Announcer: LARRY JOE BIRD GREW UP IN SOUTHERN INDIANA

IN THE TWIN TOWNS OF FRENCH LICK AND WEST BADEN.

"THE VALLEY," AS LOCALS CALL IT,

WAS A TOUGH WORKING-CLASS AREA.

TINY AND REMOTE,

IT WAS ONE OF THE POOREST PLACES IN THE STATE.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT PEOPLE MADE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT EVERYBODY HAD A FAMILY CAR.

I WAS IN MY OWN COCOON. I WAS IN A SMALL TOWN WITH THE PEOPLE I KNEW,

AND I THOUGHT I WOULD LIVE THERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Announcer: ARRIVING PEARL HARBOR DAY, 1956,

LARRY WAS THE FOURTH OF SIX KIDS BORN

TO GEORGIA AND JOE BIRD.

EARLY ON, HE AND HIS OLDER BROTHERS

EARNED A REPUTATION AROUND THE VALLEY.

Mark Bird: WE WERE ALWAYS CONSIDERED TROUBLEMAKERS.

WE WERE EITHER FIGHTING AMONGST OURSELVES

OR THERE WAS ALWAYS ONE OF US FIGHTING SOMEBODY.

LARRY WAS ALWAYS ONE THAT KIND OF INSTIGATED THINGS.

IF I COULD GET MY BROTHER IN A FIGHT WITH SOMEBODY HIS AGE,

I WAS AS HAPPY AS HELL, 'CAUSE I LIKED TO SEE HIM GET BEAT UP,

AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT WAS.

IF I GOT IN SCRAPE WITH SOME KID,

AND MY BROTHERS DIDN'T COME TO MY SIDE,

THEY KNEW THAT WHEN HE GOT HOME, MY DAD WAS GONNA WHIP 'EM.

Mark Bird: LARRY AND MY DAD

WERE BEST OF FRIENDS.

THEY DONE EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

WHEN MY DAD WOULD GO OUT TO MY GRANDMA'S HOUSE,

LARRY WOULD ALWAYS GO WITH HIM. THEY'D GO FISHING,

DO A LOT OF THINGS TOGETHER.

Announcer: BUT JOE BIRD ALSO HAD A DARKER SIDE,

STEMMING FROM A TRAUMATIC TOUR OF DUTY IN KOREA.

MacMullan: LARRY REMEMBERS WAKING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

HEARING HIS FATHER'S BLOODCURDLING SCREAMS

FROM THE NIGHTMARES HE HAD HAD FROM THE WAR.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FATHER IN THE WAR AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

HE WAS NEVER ABLE TO QUITE GET RID OF

WHATEVER THOSE DEMONS WERE.

Narrator: A TALENTED CRAFTSMAN,

JOE BIRD STRUGGLED TO HOLD STEADY JOBS.

AND EVEN WHEN HE WAS WORKING,

HIS DEMONS WOULD, ON OCCASION, DRIVE HIM TO THE BOTTLE.

MacMullan: THERE WERE TIMES WHEN JOE WENT OUT WITH THE GUYS

AND HAD A FEW BEERS, AND THE WAGES DIDN'T COME HOME THAT NIGHT.

THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN EVERY DAY.

IT HAPPENED ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT WHEN MONEY'S AS TIGHT AS IT WAS

FOR THE BIRDS, ONCE IN A WHILE WAS A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR THEIR FAMILY.

Bird: MY MOM SOMETIMES WORKED LATE.

SOMETIMES SHE HAD TWO JOBS, BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS.

I WORKED AT SCHOOL DURING MY LUNCH HOURS,

WORKED AT THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE,

PUT UP HAY IN THE SUMMER.

IF YOU WANTED MONEY, YOU HAD TO GET IT ON YOUR OWN.

Narrator: TO YOUNG LARRY, ACTIONS SPOKE LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Mark Bird: HE WAS VERY QUIET,

KIND OF HUNG TO HIMSELF A LITTLE BIT.

I SAW LARRY TAKE AN "F" IN AN ENGLISH CLASS

BECAUSE HE HAD TO GET UP IN FRONT OF HIS PEERS AND GIVE A SPEECH.

"I WON'T DO IT."

HE JUST COULD NOT GET UP IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS AND TALK.

HE WAS THAT SHY.

OF COURSE, NEXT THING YOU KNOW, WHEN HE KNEW IT WAS TIME

FOR ALL OF US TOGETHER AT THE GYMNASIUM, THERE HE'D BE.

THE MINUTE HE'D GET A BASKETBALL IN HIS HAND,

THINGS WERE TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

BASKETBALL WAS JUST--

IT CAME TO ME, SEEMED LIKE EASY.

I DIDN'T HAVE THE QUICKNESS. I DIDN'T HAVE JUMPING ABILITY.

I JUST THOUGHT THE GAME OUT.

Narrator: BY HIS SENIOR YEAR AT SPRINGS VALLEY HIGH,

LARRY BIRD HAD SPROUTED INTO A STAR.

BUT BIRD WAS FROM THE VALLEY,

HARDLY A HOTBED OF TALENT

IN THE BIG-TIME WORLD OF INDIANA HOOPS.

THE FIRST THING THEY SAY, "WELL, THEY DON'T PLAY NOBODY DOWN THERE.

HE'S FROM FRENCH LICK.

THEY DON'T PLAY NOBODY."

I THINK THAT PUT A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER,

ALWAYS HAVING TO PROVE WHO HE WAS AND HOW GOOD HE WAS.

Narrator: HE WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR INDIANA UNIVERSITY'S BOBBY KNIGHT

TO COME CALLING LATE HIS SENIOR YEAR.

AND FOLKS IN THE VALLEY

COULDN'T HAVE BEEN PROUDER.

THEIR LOCAL HERO WAS HEADING 60 MILES NORTH

TO PLAY BALL FOR ONE OF THE BEST COLLEGE TEAMS IN THE LAND.

Bird: ONCE I GOT TO I.U.,

IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE THAT I WAS

OUT OF MY COCOON.

HAD OVER 30,000 STUDENTS.

DAD DIDN'T HAVE THE FUNDS.

FIRST WEEK AND A HALF,

I THOUGHT, "MAN, THIS AIN'T GONNA WORK."

Narrator: HE LEFT AFTER 24 DAYS.

Bird: LET MY MOTHER DOWN.

SHE DIDN'T TALK TO ME FOR TWO MONTHS,

BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAID. TO THIS DAY, I DON'T CARE.

Narrator: BACK IN FRENCH LICK,

BIRD TOOK TO WORKING FOR THE CITY,

HAULING TRASH AND PAINTING PARK BENCHES.

MEANWHILE, BY THAT WINTER,

HIS FATHER'S DEMONS HAD TAKEN HIM

TO AN EVEN DARKER PLACE.

MacMullan: BY THIS POINT, JOE AND GEORGIA WERE DIVORCED.

AND HE WAS BEHIND IN HIS PAYMENTS TO THE FAMILY.

THE POLICE CAME BY, AND OF COURSE, THEY ALL KNEW HIM.

SO JOE SAID, "HEY, I NEED A FEW HOURS TO GET MY AFFAIRS TOGETHER

BEFORE YOU TAKE ME AWAY," SO HE CALLED GEORGIA

AND HE SAID, "YOU GUYS WILL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME,

AND I'M GONNA TAKE MY LIFE," AND HE PUT THE PHONE DOWN

AND HE KILLED HIMSELF. HE SHOT HIMSELF.

Mark Bird: WHEN DAD PASSED, IT HURT LARRY.

I MEAN, THAT WAS HIS BEST FRIEND--

WAS GONE NOW,

BUT LARRY DIDN'T SHOW IT A LOT.

Jim Jones: HE JUST DIDN'T SAY MUCH.

YOU KNOW, HE JUST KIND OF HELD IT WITHIN.

I NEVER HEARD HIM SPEAK OUT ABOUT IT

AT ALL.

Larry Bird: I WAS MAD WHEN I HEARD ABOUT IT.

AND I WAS MADDER

AFTER THE FUNERAL

BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE SORT OF

CUT OUT ON US DURING A TOUGH TIME,

BUT HE WENT THROUGH A LOT IN HIS LIFE.

HE DID WHAT HE HAD TO DO.

MacMullan: IF BILL HODGES HADN'T BEEN AS PERSISTENT

AS HE HAD BEEN, LARRY BIRD MIGHT HAVE NEVER EXISTED IN ANY OF OUR MINDS.

I BELIEVE THAT WITH ALL MY HEART. I REALLY DO.

Narrator: IT WAS BILL HODGES, A YOUNG COACH

FROM INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

WHO CONVINCED BIRD TO GIVE COLLEGE HOOPS ANOTHER SHOT.

SO WITH A PROMISE TO HIS MOM TO GRADUATE,

BIRD HEADED TO TERRE HAUTE AND I.S.U.,

A SCHOOL THAT NEVER SO MUCH HAD BEEN TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT.

Bird: ONCE I STARTED PLAYING, IT WAS THE SAME OLD THING--

IT WAS A SMALL SCHOOL, AND WE AIN'T PLAYING AGAINST ANYBODY,

WHICH IS FINE. STILL DOMINATED.

♪ WHEREVER HOOSIERS GATHER ♪

♪ THEY NO LONGER TALK OF WEATHER ♪

♪ INDIANA HAS A NEW STATE BIRD ♪

♪ NOW HIS CLAIM TO FAME ♪

♪ IS JUST THE WAY HE PLAYS THE GAME ♪

♪ INDIANA HAS A NEW STATE BIRD ♪

♪ IT'S NOT THE CARDINAL NOW ♪

♪ HEY, LARRY, TAKE A BOW ♪

♪ INDIANA HAS A NEW STATE BIRD. ♪

Narrator: BY THE TIME HE HAD LED TINY I.S.U. AS A SENIOR

TO A 33-0 RECORD

AND A SPOT IN THE '79 TITLE GAME,

LARRY BIRD HAD BECOME, ALONGSIDE MAGIC JOHNSON,

THE TALK OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL.

JUST A YEAR AFTER SHARING THE COURT ON TEAM USA,

THEY WERE BACK TOGETHER, AND THE DAY BEFORE THE BIG GAME,

MAGIC COULDN'T WAIT TO GREET HIS OLD PLAYMATE.

Magic: INDIANA STATE WAS PRACTICING.

AND WE WERE WAITING IN THE TUNNEL. WE GOT THERE EARLY.

I WANTED TO DEFINITELY SAY HELLO TO LARRY.

WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH,

IT WAS LIKE NOBODY WAS SAYING NOTHING.

I WANTED TO GO TOWARD 'EM.

LIKE HIS GUYS MADE SURE THAT HE DIDN'T SAY NOTHING,

AND THEN THEY KIND OF STARTED SNICKERING.

LIKE MICHIGAN STATE, YOU IN TROUBLE.

WE'RE GONNA KILL YOU GUYS TOMORROW.

I PROBABLY DID SNUB HIM.

I DON'T REMEMBER IT, BUT I'M SURE I DID.

I DIDN'T...

WANT ANY, YOU KNOW,

LIKE I CALL IT "LOVE FEST"--

HUGGING AND SLAPPING HIGH FIVES WITH OPPONENT.

YOU WERE THERE FOR A REASON. YOU'RE THERE TO WIN A GAME.

THAT JUST SAID, "IT'S ON NOW."

Bryant Gumbel: IT IS INDIANA STATE AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE.

I'M BRYANT GUMBEL, AND THE FANS HERE ARE GOING BANANAS.

LET'S FACE IT. IF LARRY BIRD WERE BLACK AND CAME FROM CHICAGO,

IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN AS BIG A DEAL.

THEY WERE POLAR OPPOSITES.

ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE. ONE OUTGOING, ONE SHY.

THAT WAS THE CHARM OF THE ATTRACTION.

THE BIRD AGAINST MAGIC, ALL OF THE SUPERLATIVES HAVE BEEN USED

AND BELIEVE ME, ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN WARRANTED.

Narrator: HEADING INTO THE TOURNAMENT, MAGIC WAS THE BIGGER STAR,

BUT BY TIPOFF IT WAS BIRD,

HAVING HARDLY MISSED A SHOT IN THE SEMIFINAL,

WHO WOULD BECOME THE FOCUS

OF FANS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY OF MICHIGAN STATE.

WE ACTUALLY HAD TWO MEN ON LARRY EVERYWHERE HE WENT.

Announcer: There he is, Dick.

They have him sandwiched in completely.

I'M SURPRISED THEY DIDN'T PLAY A BOX ON ONE-- FOUR GUYS ON LARRY,

AND ONE ON THE OTHER FOUR, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF TALENT.

IF YOU STOP LARRY, YOU PRETTY MUCH STOP THEM.

Look at the pressure around him-- two, three men.

And he's short.

I DIDN'T PLAY WELL AT ALL. BIGGEST GAME OF MY LIFE, I DIDN'T PLAY WELL.

Way short.

I THINK OUR LENGTH AND OUR SIZE,

OUR JUMPING ABILITY,

WAS ABLE TO BOTHER HIM.

Turn, hanging, can't score.

Bird: I DIDN'T SHOOT WELL.

MISSED THREE FREE THROWS.

Announcer: Larry Bird has had a cold shooting night.

I BATTLED 'EM, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE IT.

Announcer: Oh!

Oh, there's a pass!

It's all over.

Michigan State University--

National Champions 1979.

MAGIC, NOT ONLY WERE YOU ONLY A LEADER ON OFFENSE,

I THOUGHT YOU DID A GREAT JOB ON LARRY BIRD IN THE ZONE, DENIED HIM THE BALL.

YES, COACH GAVE US

A GOOD GAME PLAN

TO GO AGAINST LARRY BIRD.

AND ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS GO OUT AND DO IT.

- THAT'S WHAT WE DONE. - CONGRATULATIONS, SUPER BALLGAME.

Bird: IT WAS OVER. THAT WAS MY FOUR YEARS.

IT WAS DONE.

IT STILL HURTS.

WHEN YOU WIN 33 IN A ROW, YOU WALK INTO A GAME,

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT,

BUT I EXPECT TO WIN.

WE DIDN'T WIN.

TOUGHEST LOSS I EVER TOOK.

I KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAUNT HIM FOREVER.

'CAUSE WE WERE GONNA SEE EACH OTHER A LOT.

THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION IN ITS 33rd SEASON

IS TROUBLED BY DIMINISHING CROWDS

AND DECLINING TELEVISION RATINGS,

SIGNS THAT FAN INTEREST MAY BE WANING.

Narrator: IF COLLEGE BASKETBALL WAS FLOURISHING AT THE END

OF THE 1970s, THE PRO GAME WAS CRUMBLING.

AFTER THE GOLDEN ERA OF BILL RUSSELL

AND JERRY WEST IN THE 1960s,

A MERGER WITH THE A.B.A. IN 1976 HAD LED NOT ONLY

TO NEW TEAMS, BUT A NEW TEMPERAMENT.

IT WAS A NEW LEAGUE WITH NEW TIMES WITH RENEGADES,

WITH INDIVIDUALS.

THERE WAS AN ARGUMENT MADE, PLAUSIBLY, I THINK,

THAT IT WAS TOO BLACK A LEAGUE

FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE LATE 1970s.

Cedric Maxwell: YOU THINK ABOUT THE KNICKERBOCKERS AT THE TIME,

THE RUNNING JOKE WAS IT WAS THE NIGGER-BOCKERS.

THAT'S WHAT IT WAS. IT WAS THE "N" WORD.

IT'S TURNING OFF A LOT OF WHITE CUSTOMERS

THAT ARE COMING TO THE GAME.

Woman: WHY?

I THINK THERE'S A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE WHITE AND THE BLACK,

AND I DON'T ENJOY

GOING TO BASKETBALL AND SEEING ALL BLACK PLAYERS.

I MEAN, WHEN THEY SAID TOO BLACK,

THEY MEANT NOT JUST IN TERMS OF COLOR,

BUT IN TERMS OF STYLE--

"LET ME GET MINE AND THE HELL WITH YOURS."

Michael Cooper: BASKETBALL FOR US WAS ABOUT THE BEST MOVES.

YOU WANT IT TO BE THAT BIG PLAYER THAT EVERYBODY TALKED ABOUT.

YOU WANTED TO BE THE ONE.

YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS OR TEAM PLAY.

Narrator: AND THOSE WERE JUST THE ISSUES

ON THE COURT.

MacMullan: THE NBA HAD THIS IMAGE OF AN ALL-BLACK LEAGUE

WITH A BUNCH OF GUYS WHO DID DRUGS.

THE TEAMS WERE LOSING MONEY, AND THEY HAD NO SPONSORS.

AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH A DEATH KNELL RIGHT THERE.

IT'S A KNOWN FACT THAT

YOU NEED YOUR WHITE SUPERSTARS.

YOU JUST NEED MORE WHITE BALLPLAYERS ON THE TEAM FOR THE WHITE FANS

TO IDENTIFY WITH.

Narrator: AND IN THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE BOSTON CELTICS,

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE LEAGUE APPEARED TO BE GETTING.

THERE'S HOPE HE CAN HELP SOLVE PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL'S DIFFICULTIES,

WHICH SOME SAY ARE COMPOUNDED BY A QUESTION OF BLACK AND WHITE.

Woman: THE GREAT WHITE HOPE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY HARD TO SAY

BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT WHITE PLAYERS AROUND,

AND I JUST HOPE THAT I CAN JUST FIT IN AS WELL

AS SOME OF THEM THAT HAVE FIT IN.

HE RAN AWAY FROM THAT DESIGNATION.

HE MADE IT VERY CLEAR,

ALMOST FROM DAY ONE,

THAT HE WAS NOT THE GREAT WHITE HOPE.

THE GREAT PLAYERS ARE THE BLACK PLAYERS, AND THEY'RE THE BEST.

Narrator: SUCH DEFERENCE MEANT LITTLE TO BLACK CELTICS

LIKE CURTIS ROWE, SIDNEY WICKS

AND CEDRIC MAXWELL,

WHO LOOKED AT BIRD AND SAW NOT THE GREAT WHITE HOPE,

BUT ANOTHER CASE OF GREAT WHITE HYPE.

Maxwell: HE DIDN'T IMPRESS ME NO MORE THAN ANY OTHER

WHITE GUY I'VE EVER SEEN PLAY BEFORE.

I THINK THAT YOU WOULD SAY THAT MOST BLACK PLAYERS

AT THE TIME WERE RACIST,

IN THE SENSE THAT WE DID NOT THINK

THAT YOU COULD FIND A WHITE GUY

WHO COULD PLAY BETTER THAN ANY BLACK GUY.

Bird: WHEN I WALK IN THE FIRST DAY OF CAMP,

THEM GUYS WERE ON THE FLOOR STRETCHING,

AND "HERE COMES THE WHITE SAVIOR.

HERE COMES THIS, HERE COMES THAT."

I SORT OF ENJOYED IT, 'CAUSE I KNEW I WAS GONNA BATTLE 'EM ALL DAY.

BUT CURTIS AND SIDNEY DIDN'T LAST LONG.

THEY DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT THROUGH THE FIRST PRACTICE.

THEY WERE CUT. SO THEN IT WAS JUST CEDRIC.

I'M THINKING, "HE'S SLOW. HE CAN'T GET OFF A SHOT.

HE'S NOT THAT STRONG.

THIS IS GONNA BE A LAYUP."

BAM! KNOCKS DOWN A JUMP SHOT.

IT'S OKAY. MAYBE THAT WAS LUCK.

GETS THE BALL AGAIN.

BAM! KNOCKS DOWN ANOTHER JUMP SHOT.

NOW I'M THINKING LIKE, "OKAY, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT?

I'M GONNA 'D' THIS GUY UP. I'M GONNA SHOW HIM WHAT IT'S LIKE."

20 FEET AWAY.

BAM! 25 FEET AWAY. BAM!

MY MIND JUST--

"DAMN, THIS WHITE GUY CAN PLAY."

Narrator: IT WAS A GOOD THING TOO.

THE STORIED CELTICS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE WINNINGEST TEAM IN NBA HISTORY,

BUT THEY WERE FRESH OFF THEIR WORSE SEASON

IN 30 YEARS.

AND IN BIRD, THEY HAD A PLAYER

WHO WAS NOT ONLY SUPREMELY TALENTED,

BUT TOUGH ENOUGH TO TAKE ON ANY CHALLENGE.

Bird: I ALWAYS PLAYED LIKE EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WAS AGAINST ME.

THOUGHT EVERYBODY WAS AGAINST ME,

USED TO THINK UP THINGS TO GET ME RATTLED BEFORE A GAME.

HE KNEW HOW TO FIGHT. I KNOW THAT FROM OFF THE FLOOR.

ONE NIGHT SOMEBODY WAS GIVING ONE

OF HIS BUDDIES A HARD TIME,

AND LARRY WENT OVER AND SAID, "HEY, THIS IS MY FRIEND."

THIS GUY WAS A PRETTY GOOD SIZED GUY.

THEY GO OUT BACK AND THE GUY TURNS AND SAYS SOMETHING TO LARRY,

AND I MEAN, LARRY HIT THIS GUY AND I CAUGHT HIM.

HIT HIM SO HARD, I GO, "WHOA!"

HE WAS FROM THE OLD SCHOOL. THAT'S HOW HE PLAYED.

Announcer: Larry Bird plays it to the hilt, baby.

I PLAYED THE GAME HARD, PLAYED ROUGH.

MacMullan: THERE WAS NO FRILLS ABOUT HIM.

HE CAME IN. HE THREW ELBOWS.

THERE WAS NOTHING SMOOTH ABOUT LARRY.

NEW ENGLANDERS LIKE THAT. THEY'RE HARDWORKING PEOPLE.

THEY LIKE THAT THAT'S HOW PEOPLE VIEW THEM. AND THAT'S WHAT LARRY WAS.

Larry Bird-- follows his own shot.

Oh, what a play!

Narrator: THEY ALSO LIKE WINNERS.

WHEN BIRD LED THE CELTICS TO THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

IN JUST HIS SECOND SEASON,

HE WAS FINALLY ONE OF THOSE TOO.

Narrator: BOSTON LOVED LARRY BIRD.

IT JUST WASN'T SO CLEAR AT FIRST HOW MUCH BIRD LOVED THE CITY BACK.

THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE I'D RATHER BE-- FRENCH LICK.

THANK YOU.

MAN, LARRY WAS ALMOST AGORAPHOBIC IN HIS TREATMENT

OF ANYTHING OUTSIDE HIS HOMETOWN.

Maxwell: HE WANTED TO BE THE WIZARD OF OZ.

HE WANTED TO INTIMIDATE PEOPLE

AND KEEP THEM AT BAY.

"THE FURTHER WE ARE AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, THE MORE I LIKE IT."

Bird: I HAD A NICE LITTLE HOUSE.

I HAD MY LITTLE YARD.

I WANNA GO FROM THERE TO PRACTICE, BACK.

IF WE HAD A GAME COMING UP, I WANNA GO THERE,

TO THE GAME AND BACK HOME.

IT WAS ALL BASKETBALL.

MY WHOLE LIFE WAS BASKETBALL.

Maxwell: IF HE WAS JUST SITTING THERE, IT WAS JUST ME,

YOU WERE LOOKING AROUND MUMBLING,

TRYING TO FIND THINGS THAT WE HAD IN COMMON THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT.

WE START TALKING ABOUT BASKETBALL, ABOUT PLAYERS,

YOU KNOW, IT WAS GREAT.

U.S. HISTORY? NO.

WE FORCED PASSES. WE MADE ERRORS DOWN THE STRETCH.

DAILY EVENTS? NO.

I MADE THE SHOT AND FROM THEN ON, WE WAS UP BY TWO.

AND THEY HAD TO GET BACK IN THE GAME, WHICH THEY DID.

POLITICS? NO.

TRY NOT TO DO ANYTHING I CAN'T DO OR DO NO MORE THAN WHAT I CAN DO.

I JUST DO MY BASIC GAME.

Narrator: HE PROUDLY DUBBED HIMSELF "THE HICK FROM FRENCH LICK."

AND HE LOOKED EVERY BIT THE PART,

BUT THOSE WHO PLAYED HIM FOR SIMPLE

DID SO AT THEIR OWN PERIL.

ONE OF THE GREAT WAYS I THINK OF WINDING UP WITH NO MONEY IN YOUR POCKET

IS TO THINK LARRY BIRD IS DUMB.

SYNTAX IS NOT INTELLIGENCE.

UNLETTERED IS NOT STUPID.

HE'S GOT A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR.

HE JUST DIDN'T SHOW THAT TO PEOPLE.

THAT DIDN'T MEAN HE DIDN'T HAVE IT.

Narrator: HE DID, HOWEVER,

ALLOW THE PUBLIC ONE SMALL INDULGENCE.

YOU COULD COME OUT ON SATURDAY AND WATCH HIM MOW HIS LAWN.

Maxwell: HUGE CROWDS STOOD AND STOPPED.

LARRY BIRD'S CUTTING GRASS IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE.

HE'S MOWING HIS LAWN

IN THE SPRINGTIME.

MacMullan: LARRY IS ABOUT DOING THINGS HIMSELF.

I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MADE HIM SO BELOVED IN BOSTON.

Narrator: BUT AS BIRD NAVIGATED THROUGH HIS NEW WORLD,

HE STILL HAD ONE EYE FIXED ON A FAMILIAR FOE

IN A FARAWAY LAND.

Johnson: WHAT TRIPPED ME OUT WAS, I'M RIDING, RIGHT?

I'M RIDING IN THE LIMO.

I'M SEEING ORANGE TREES AND LEMON TREES

IN PEOPLE'S FRONT YARDS.

SAID, "STOP. I GOTTA GO PICK AN ORANGE."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" I SAID, "NO, I GOTTA DO THIS."

AND SO I RAN UP LIKE A SCARED LITTLE KID,

GRABBED IT AND RAN BACK TO THE LIMO.

I NEVER SEEN AN ORANGE TREE.

I HAD NEVER SEEN A LEMON TREE.

I WAS FASCINATED.

Narrator: WHEN 20-YEAR-OLD EARVIN JOHNSON

ARRIVED IN LOS ANGELES IN THE FALL OF 1979,

HE WAS A WORLD AWAY FROM LANSING,

THE ONLY HOME HE'D EVER KNOWN.

HE WAS THE NUMBER-ONE PICK OF THE L.A. LAKERS--

A ONCE DOMINANT FRANCHISE STUCK IN MEDIOCRITY.

IN THE STOIC KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR,

THE LAKERS HAD TALENT.

WHAT THEY LACKED WAS ENERGY.

EARVIN MAGIC JOHNSON WAS ONLY TOO HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT.

♪ HELLO ♪

- ♪ Hello ♪ - ♪ SUNSHINE. ♪

LIT THE PLACE UP. CHANGED THE FRANCHISE.

CHANGED THE TEMPERAMENT. CHANGED HER FROM THE VERY FIRST GAME.

Announcer: Sky-hook, up and good!

Lakers win!

HERE IT WAS THE FIRST GAME OF A LONG SEASON

AGAINST THE LOWLY CLIPPERS

AND MAGIC WAS EMBRACING KAREEM AS IF...

THEY'D JUST WON THEIR 10th STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP.

IT WAS LIKE, "MAN, THIS IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF DUDE."

♪ I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU SEARCHIN'... ♪

FROM THE DAY HE ARRIVED,

HE BECAME THE PRINCE OF THE CITY.

HE REMINDED ME OF A GUY WHO WAKES UP WITHOUT AN ALARM CLOCK,

AND THAT'S WHAT I USED TO ALWAYS SAY.

I WANNA BE HAPPY ENOUGH TO WAKE UP WITHOUT AN ALARM CLOCK,

'CAUSE I WANT TO GO INTO MY WORLD.

♪ HELLO ♪

- ♪ Hello ♪ - ♪ SUNSHINE... ♪

Pat Riley: HE HAD "IT"-- WHAT "IT" IS.

AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, THE IT WAS NOT HIS ABILITY,

OR HIS SIZE.

THE IT WAS HIS ATTITUDE, WAS HIS LEADERSHIP, WAS HIS MIND.

I MEAN, I DON'T HAVE TO TALK

ABOUT GAME 6 AT PHILADELPHIA.

Narrator: IN HIS ROOKIE SEASON,

MAGIC HAD HELPED LEAD THE LAKERS TO THE NBA FINALS

AGAINST THE PHILADELPHIA 76ers.

IN GAME 6, WITH AN INJURED ABDUL-JABBAR BACK HOME IN L.A.,

MAGIC PLAYED ALL FIVE POSITIONS,

SCORED 42 POINTS, GRABBED 15 REBOUNDS

AND DISHED OUT SEVEN ASSISTS,

LEADING THE LAKERS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

IN JUST FOUR YEARS, HE HAD WON TITLES IN HIGH SCHOOL,

COLLEGE AND THE PROS.

MAGIC, WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT MAKES YOU PERFORM LIKE THIS

IN THESE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES?

WELL, I DON'T KNOW. JUST, I LOVE TO WIN.

ACROSS THE MASTHEAD OF "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES"

THE NEXT DAY, IT SAID, "IT'S MAGIC!"

Springer: HE WAS A STAR WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED HERE,

COMING OFF THE NCAA GAME.

AND QUICKLY DURING THAT FIRST SEASON,

HE BECAME ONE OF THE STARS IN TOWN,

BUT THAT GAME PUT HIM ON ANOTHER LEVEL.

THAT MADE HIM THE STAR IN TOWN.

Johnson: IT'S FUNNY HOW I WANTED TO MEET THE CELEBRITIES,

BUT THEY WANTED TO MEET ME. I WAS, LIKE, SHOCKED.

LIKE, "WOW, YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

Narrator: HE WAS YOUNG, FAMOUS,

AND AFTER LAKERS' OWNER JERRY BUSS SIGNED HIM

TO A 25-YEAR $25 MILLION CONTRACT,

VERY RICH.

THE KID FROM LANSING WAS READY

TO SAMPLE A DIFFERENT KIND OF FRUIT.

HIS PLAYBOY BOSS KNEW ALL THE RIPEST TREES.

I SAID, "OH, I'M HANGING WITH HIM."

WHEN THEY WERE COMING INTO THE BOX,

AND HE HAD 10, 20 OF 'EM,

AND "LOOK, EARVIN, WHICH ONE YOU WANT?"

I WAS LIKE, "OH, OKAY, IT'S LIKE THAT?"

AND THEN HE SAID, "I'M GONNA TAKE YOU TO THE PLAYBOY MANSION."

"WHAT-- THE MANSION?!

NO, YOU'RE KIDDING." HE SAID, "YEP."

SO I WENT THERE.

MY FIRST TIME I'M BACKING UP LIKE, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M IN."

BUT I'M BACKING UP AWAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE I'M SCARED TO DEATH.

PROBABLY 10 GUYS TO 100 WOMEN, YOU KNOW?

EVERYBODY THINK IT'S SEX-DRIVEN, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT.

YOU HAVE DINNER, THEN YOU WATCH THE LATEST MOVIE.

AND THEN OF COURSE, I DON'T WANNA EVER SAY THAT SEX WASN'T INVOLVED.

IF YOU MEET SOMEBODY, THAT'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, YOU WANTED TO DO.

AND YOU DID THAT,

BUT IT'S REALLY A GREAT EXPERIENCE

TO GO UP THERE.

SO, YEAH, I HAD FUN THERE.

HE CAME TO L.A. LIKE THE PIED PIPER.

PEOPLE WERE GIVING HIM THIS AND GIVING HIM THAT,

BUT HE STAYED PRETTY GROUNDED TO THE GAME.

EVERYBODY WAS GETTING HIGH THEN,

BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN

SMOKE A JOINT AROUND MAGIC.

HE HAD REAL OLD SCHOOL,

DOWN-IN-THE-TRENCHES WORK ETHIC,

AND THAT WAS HONED IN HIM

BY HIS DAD, EARVIN JOHNSON SENIOR.

MAGIC WAS ALWAYS THIS GUY.

YOU KNOW? HE NEVER DID NONE OF THAT,

SO I DID EVERYTHING FOR HIM.

Narrator: MAGIC JOHNSON WAS LIVING ON A NATURAL HIGH.

HE WAS STARRING IN THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME--

POINT GUARD OF A HOLLYWOOD TEAM

WITH AN OFFENSE CALLED "SHOW TIME."

HE EVEN HAD THE ALTER EGO PERFECT FOR THE PRODUCTION.

"MAGIC" WAS HIS STAGE NAME.

EVEN HE WOULD LAUGH ABOUT IT.

♪ I'm feeling 7Up, feeling, feeling... ♪

HE ALWAYS SAYS THERE'S TWO PEOPLE.

THERE'S EARVIN JOHNSON FROM EAST LANSING

AND THERE'S MAGIC JOHNSON FROM HOLLYWOOD.

EARVIN JOHNSON IS ANOTHER GUY.

YOU KNOW, HERE'S MAGIC OVER HERE,

AND HERE'S EARVIN OVER HERE.

EARVIN'S THIS FUN-LOVING GUY.

GERONIMO!

OH!

MAGIC WAS SO SERIOUS

AND DEDICATED TO HIS GAME.

AND HE WAS A CRAZY, CRAZY COMPETITOR

AND A CRAZY MAN.

Charles Pierce: EARVIN, I THINK,

IS THE SMILING KID FROM LANSING.

I THINK EARVIN DIED ABOUT 25 MINUTES

AFTER THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.

EARVIN DOESN'T HAVE THE EGO THAT MAGIC HAS.

MAGIC GOT A CRAZY EGO

AND WINNING IS EVERYTHING.

Johnson: AND EARVIN WANTED TO, ALONG WITH MAGIC,

CONQUER L.A.

Narrator: AFTER HAVING LED THE LAKERS

TO TWO NBA TITLES IN THEIR FIRST FOUR YEARS IN TOWN,

MAGIC AND EARVIN WERE WELL ON THEIR WAY.

MacMullan: I THINK MAGIC WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH LARRY BIRD.

HE WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM ON THE WORLD INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

AND LARRY JUST WASN'T VERY RECEPTIVE.

I THINK HE WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM DURING THE FINAL FOUR.

LARRY WOULDN'T EVEN GO OVER AND SHAKE HIS HAND.

SO NOW MAGIC'S SAYING, "WELL, WHAT'S WITH THIS GUY?

EVERYBODY LOVES ME. HOW COME YOU DON'T LOVE ME?"

THEN THEIR ROOKIE YEAR, THE FIRST TIME THEY PLAY EACH OTHER,

THEY HAVE A VERY HARD FOUL...

...AND THEY HAVE TO BE SEPARATED A LITTLE BIT.

AND MAGIC'S LIKE, "THE HECK WITH THIS GUY.

YOU DON'T LIKE ME? FINE. ALL RIGHT, GOOD. I DON'T LIKE YOU EITHER."

HE'S A VERY COMPETITIVE PLAYER, AND I'M A VERY COMPETITIVE PLAYER,

AND WE GO HEAD TO HEAD AND WE GO FOR BLOOD ALMOST.

THE VIBE, IT WAS NASTY. IT WAS UGLY.

WE DIDN'T LIKE EACH OTHER.

I'M THE ONE THAT DID ALL THAT, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH.

I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BE HANGING AROUND HIM. THAT WAS MY MAIN COMPETITION.

Narrator: AND HE COULDN'T ESCAPE THE MEMORY OF LOSING TO HIM

IN 1979.

IT ATE AT HIM BAD THAT HE DIDN'T WIN

THAT NATIONAL TITLE AGAINST MAGIC.

THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT JUST BURNED HIM.

MacMullan: IT WAS ONE THING FOR THEM TO BE IN THE '79 CHAMPIONSHIP.

MAGIC HAD THE BETTER TEAM. EVERYBODY AGREED WITH THAT.

MAGIC HAD THE BETTER GAME, FINE.

NOW YOU GET TO THE PROS-- LARRY HAS THIS INCREDIBLE YEAR...

Announcer: Bird, a runner, it's good!

...BUT THERE HE IS WATCHING IN A CLUB

WHILE MAGIC JOHNSON WINS A CHAMPIONSHIP.

HE'S THINKING, "ALL RIGHT, I'M BEHIND TWO TO NOTHING NOW."

I WATCHED THAT GAME,

AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

I ALWAYS WANTED TO PLAY AT THAT LEVEL.

Narrator: BUT WHAT BIRD COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE KNOWN

WAS THAT HE HAD INSPIRED MAGIC'S PERFORMANCE

WHEN HE WAS NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR EARLIER THAT SAME DAY.

MacMullan: THE P.R. PERSON FROM THE LAKERS SAYS,

"EARVIN, THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR VOTING HAS COME OUT."

MAGIC SAYS, "OKAY, WHO WON?" HE SAID, "WELL, LARRY BIRD WON."

AND MAGIC SAYS, "WELL, WAS IT CLOSE?" AND HE SAID, "OH, NO."

MacMullan: HE WENT OUT THAT DAY,

YES, TO TRY TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP,

BUT ALSO TO PROVE IT TO ONE LARRY BIRD-- "YOU KNOW WHAT?

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR."

EVEN THOUGH I WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP,

I STILL WANTED TO WIN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TOO.

WHEN HE WON THAT CHAMPIONSHIP, I WAS PISSED.

I WANTED ONE.

Narrator: BUT EVEN AFTER HE HAD WON ONE THE NEXT YEAR,

HIS OBSESSION ONLY GREW DEEPER.

Bird: I'D GET UP IN THE MORNINGS AND SEE WHAT HE DID,

'CAUSE THEIR GAMES CAME ON LATE. THEN YOU LOOK AT THE BOX SCORE.

I HAD TO HAVE HIM THERE FOR SOME REASON.

IT WAS LIKE A CRUTCH, SOMEBODY I CAN COMPARE MYSELF TO.

Johnson: I HATED WHAT WAS BEING SAID,

THAT LARRY WAS BETTER THAN ME.

I'M JUST A GUY WHO CAN CONTROL THE GAME.

MY FIRST FOUR, FIVE YEARS THAT BOTHERED ME A LOT.

I DIDN'T TELL NOBODY IT BOTHERED ME, BUT IT DID.

Narrator: THEIR COMPETITIVE DISLIKE EMERGED

FROM A GREATER TRUTH-- THAT ON THE COURT

THEY WERE DOPPELGANGERS,

TEAM-ORIENTED STARS

WHO CARED ABOUT WINNING ABOVE ALL ELSE,

BASKETBALL SAVANTS

WHO FUSED THE SUBSTANCE OF THE '60s WITH THE STYLE OF THE '70s

TO CREATE A NEW AND EXCITING,

YET SELFLESS WAY TO PLAY THE GAME IN THE 1980s.

YEAH, I'M GONNA PASS,

BUT I'M GONNA PASS IN A WAY TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A JACKASS.

THEY WERE SO SIMILAR IN THE WAY THEY COMPETED.

THEY WERE TWO HALVES OF THE SAME BRAIN--

THE SAME CRAZINESS TO EXCEL.

I SEEN THAT THE FIRST COUPLE DAYS I WAS WITH HIM.

Johnson: BASKETBALL I.Q. OFF THE CHART.

Bird: SEEING THE GAME A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN MOST PLAYERS.

Johnson: PLAYING THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY WAS EVERYTHING.

Bird: A LOT OF GUYS CAN JUST SCORE, JUST REBOUND.

A LOT OF GUYS CAN JUST MAKE PLAYS. WE COULD DO IT ALL.

LARRY AND MAGIC COULD CONTROL THE GAME WITH 12 SHOTS.

IT WAS AMAZING. THEY'D BE 7 FOR 12. THEY'D HAVE 20 POINTS,

15 REBOUNDS AND 12 ASSISTS.

AND YOU'D GO, "THE GUY SHOT THE BALL 12 TIMES

AND WAS THE BEST PLAYER ON THE COURT BY FAR."

I THINK IT WAS TOUGH AT FIRST. I DON'T THINK EITHER ONE OF THEM

WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY HAD ANY EQUAL ANYWHERE IN WHAT THEY DID,

BUT THEY SURE AS HELL DIDN'T WANNA RECOGNIZE

THAT THEIR EQUAL HAPPENED TO BE THAT OTHER GUY.

THAT'S WHY WE HATED EACH OTHER. WE KNEW WE WERE MIRRORS OF EACH OTHER.

Pierce: I THINK FOR A WHILE THE TWO OF THEM HAD

TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THAT.

Narrator: THEY HAD BEGUN CHANGING THE GAME,

BUT WITH CONTINUED LOW TELEVISION RATINGS,

AND TAPE-DELAYED FINALS,

THE LEAGUE WAS STRUGGLING TO GET THE WORD OUT.

WHEN THE NBA AND CBS SIGNED A NEW TV DEAL,

BEFORE THE 82-83 SEASON,

THE RESCUE PLAN WAS SIMPLE--

SELL MORE BIRD AND MAGIC.

AND SELL THEM NOT JUST AS BALLPLAYERS,

BUT AS ARCH-RIVAL CHARACTERS

IN THEIR OWN DRAMATIC SAGA.

MacMullan: YOU GOT THIS SLICK SHOW TIME AFRICAN-AMERICAN GUY OUT WEST,

AND YOU GOT THE LUNCH BUCKET FLOPPY-HAIRED WHITE GUY

WITH THE BRUISES ALL OVER HIS BODY.

IT'S CENTRAL CASTING. IT'S PERFECT.

I MEAN, THIS WAS, LIKE, MADE IN HEAVEN.

IN 1979, THIS IDEA OF MAGIC AND BIRD WAS CREATED.

AND SO THAT WAS SORT OF A NO-BRAINER.

WE'D HAVE A DOUBLE-HEADER. IT WOULD BE THE CELTICS PLAYING FIRST.

AND THE LAKERS PLAYING SECOND. THAT'S THE WAY WE DID IT.

Narrator: AND WHEN THE CELTICS AND LAKERS BOTH REACHED THE FINALS

JUST A YEAR INTO THE NEW TV DEAL IN 1984,

IT APPEARED THE SUPERSTAR INVESTMENT

WAS ABOUT TO PAY OFF.

Springer: IT WAS HUGE. IT WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST MOMENT

THE NBA HAD UP TO THAT POINT.

YOU HAD BOSTON AND L.A., EAST AGAINST WEST.

IT HAD ALL THE ELEMENTS OF A CLASSIC SHOWDOWN.

Narrator: INCLUDING WHAT WAS BECOMING

THE MOST INESCAPABLE ELEMENT OF ALL.

DID WE KNOW THAT BLACKS AND WHITES WERE LINING UP, THE WHITES WITH THE CELTICS,

THE BLACKS WITH OF COURSE WE KNEW THAT.

Narrator: EVEN IN THE CELTICS' OWN BACKYARD.

MacMullan: THEY LAND AT LOGAN AIRPORT AT THE '84 FINALS,

AND HE'S GETTING ACCOSTED BY VARIOUS PEOPLE

WHO WERE TELLING HIM LARRY'S GONNA TAKE HIM DOWN.

BUT THIS ONE OLDER AFRICAN-AMERICAN GENTLEMAN COMES UP TO HIM,

HE GOES, "MAGIC, I WANNA WISH YOU WELL. GOOD LUCK. CRUSH THE CELTICS."

AND HE SAID, "OH, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

HE SAID, "WELL, I'M FROM BOSTON."

AND HE SAID, "YOU'RE FROM BOSTON AND YOU'RE ROOTING FOR THE LAKERS?

I THOUGHT EVERYBODY HERE WAS CRAZY ABOUT THE CELTICS."

AND HE LOOKED RIGHT AT HIM. HE SAID, "NOW WHY WOULD I ROOT FOR THOSE WHITE BOYS?"

Man: NIGGER, GO HOME!

Narrator: BOSTON AFTER ALL WAS A TOWN STILL SCARRED

BY THE UGLY BUSSING CRISIS OF THE MID '70s,

A VIOLENT PERIOD OF URBAN UNREST DURING WHICH WHITE

HAD BEEN PITTED AGAINST BLACK.

THE RESULTING TAINT ON THE CITY NATIONALLY

COUPLED WITH A BOSTON ROSTER LITTERED WITH WHITE PLAYERS

AFFIRMED TO MANY BLACK AMERICANS

THAT THE CELTICS WERE NOT THE TEAM FOR THEM.

EVEN TODAY, PEOPLE SAY, "YOU PLAYED WITH THE CELTICS.

I HATED YOU AT THAT TIME.

I WANTED MAGIC TO WIN.

I DIDN'T WANT THAT DAMN LARRY BIRD TO WIN."

WE HAD ALL THESE BLACK PLAYERS,

BUT THEY LOOKED AT US, BECAUSE WE HAD LARRY BIRD LEADING US,

AS A TEAM THAT WAS WHITE.

Narrator: THEY WERE PERFECT ARCHETYPES FOR WHAT WAS BECOMING

THE BIGGEST STORY IN SPORTS

BUT FOR THE REAL LIFE PLAYERS

THE NARRATIVE WAS MUCH SIMPLER.

Johnson: IT'S FINALLY GONNA HAPPEN.

WE GET TO GO HEAD TO HEAD AGAIN.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF ROLLING THAT BALL OUT THERE AND LET'S GET IT ON.

Brent Musburger: Welcome to the Boston Garden

and the start of the NBA World Championship Series.

I'm Brent Musburger.

IN EACH OF THE LAST FOUR NBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

EITHER MAGIC OR BIRD HAS COMPETED,

BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE TWO HAVE GONE

HEAD TO HEAD FOR THE TITLE.

BEAT L.A.! BEAT L.A.! BEAT L.A.! BEAT L.A...

MAN, WE JUMPED OUT ON 'EM THAT FIRST GAME.

AND WE WON IN BOSTON.

Narrator: AND WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE TO GO IN GAME 2,

THE LAKERS WERE CLOSING IN

ON A COMMANDING SERIES LEAD.

Announcer: And it's picked off. And he lays it up and in.

It's all tied up...

FROM THAT POINT ON, THINGS BEGAN TO CRUMBLE.

Down to nine seconds. Magic holds the ball.

Magic trying to work on Maxwell.

Magic has still got it. It's down to two seconds, one second.

He's gonna have to shoot it. He doesn't get it off.

He doesn't get it off!

JOHNSON DRIBBLING THE TIME OUT.

COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Narrator: THE LAKERS REGAINED THEIR STRIDE

IN GAME 3,

ONLY TO BE RUDELY KNOCKED OFF IT AGAIN IN GAME 4.

- And now let's watch it.

Cooper and the Celtics and now the bench is empty.

WHEN KURT RAMBIS GOT TAKEN OUT...

WE STARTED FIGHTING INSTEAD OF PLAYING.

Kareem-- swings the elbow

and now is yelling at Larry Bird

jaw to jaw.

Johnson: AND IT MADE US REALIZE

WE WERE NOT MENTALLY TOUGHER THAN THE CELTICS.

MAGIC'S JUST NOT HIMSELF.

They'll be sure they won't let the time run out

as they did in game 2.

Parish steals the ball and the Celtics call a timeout.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE EARVIN DIDN'T DO

WHAT PEOPLE EXPECTED HIM TO DO.

Tied at 123.

- He misses the first.

Johnson misses them both. Celtics want a timeout.

Despondent Magic Johnson goes to the bench.

Bird-- turnaround, hits.

Narrator: GAME 5 WENT TO THE CELTICS.

GAME 6 TO THE LAKERS.

Narrator: IT WAS LIKE 1979 ALL OVER AGAIN.

DOWN TO ONE GAME FOR BIRD AND MAGIC.

IF EVERYBODY HAD TO LOOK AT IT,

PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SAID THIS IS GONNA BE A SEVEN-GAME SERIES.

I THOUGHT WE'D SWEEP 'EM IN FOUR,

BUT THIS WENT A LITTLE BIT LONGER.

NOW WE JUST HAVE TO DO IT IN SEVEN.

THAT'S THE ONLY TIME I EVER FELT THAT

AIN'T NO WAY THEY'RE WALKING OUT OF HERE WITH A WIN.

- P.A. Announcer: Magic Johnson... - NO WAY.

Lakers had several chances,

and here's Larry Bird shucking down the court.

Bird. How does he do it?

Now Johnson with the ball.

The Lakers trying to cut it to one.

And he loses it.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA World Champions!

Johnson: I PRIDE MYSELF IN BEING THE GUY

WHO'S GOING TO WIN IT FOR US

AND DELIVER UNDER PRESSURE.

AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

I HOPE HE WAS HURT. I HOPE IT KILLED HIM.

HE MADE SOME BAD PLAYS DOWN THE STRETCH

AND NOBODY IN THERE WAS HAPPIER THAN ME.

NOT ONLY WINNING THE GAME MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD,

BUT JUST KNOWING THE OTHER GUY'S SUFFERING,

AND YOU KNOW HE WAS.

I REMEMBER AFTER THE GAME THAT BOTH HE AND I WERE

IN THE SHOWERS CRYING

AND STAYED IN THERE FOR ABOUT 35, 40 MINUTES.

IT WAS HARD, BECAUSE NOT ONLY HAD WE LOST TO THE BOSTON CELTICS,

HE HAD LOST TO HIS NEMESIS LARRY BIRD.

Johnson: I THINK HE JUST MADE ME JUST LIKE HIM MORE,

BECAUSE HE WAS THAT GOOD.

AND I THINK YOU'D BE JEALOUS.

YOU'RE JEALOUS A LITTLE BIT.

LARRY, DOES THIS GET YOU EVEN WITH MAGIC

FOR WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN MICHIGAN STATE AND INDIANA STATE

- WE'RE PROFESSIONALS NOW,

BUT I WON THIS ONE FOR TERRE HAUTE.

WELL, IT WAS A BIG DEAL.

I REMEMBER ASKING QUINN BUCKNER ABOUT IT AFTERWARDS.

THEY HAD A CELEBRATION IN DOWNTOWN BOSTON

AFTER THEY WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND YOU KNOW,

IT WAS UNUSUAL FOR LARRY TO HAVE THESE LITTLE OUTBURSTS

AS QUINN WOULD CALL THEM.

ABOUT 11:30 AT NIGHT, FINALLY, HE TURNED TO QUINN,

HE GOES, "I GOT HIM. I FINALLY GOT HIM."

AND HE WAS TALKING ABOUT MAGIC.

Narrator: THE LEAGUE WAS REJOICING, TOO.

GAME 7 OF THE '84 SERIES WAS ONE

OF CBS' HIGHEST-RATED TELECASTS OF THE YEAR.

AND THE HIGHEST-RATED GAME THE NBA HAD EVER PRODUCED.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, WHETHER IT WAS AT CBS

OR MADISON AVENUE,

THE SPORTSWRITERS AROUND THE COUNTRY

BECAME THE PHENOMENON. WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?

THE ABSOLUTE FOUNDATION OF THIS RESURGENCE WAS

THE CELTICS AND THE LAKERS--

LARRY BIRD AND MAGIC JOHNSON.

Narrator: BUT MAGIC WAS IN NO MOOD

TO BASK IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

I TOOK A MEDIA BEATING.

"TRAGIC MAGIC,"

"THIS IS WHY WE SAY LARRY BIRD IS BETTER."

IT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME EVER IN MY LIFE

I WAS DEPRESSED.

AND I DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE TO SEE ME.

IT WAS SOMETHING I NEVER DEALT WITH IN MY LIFE.

Cooper: THAT PARTICULAR SERIES, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES,

REDEFINED HIS WHOLE CAREER BECAUSE HE NEVER STOPPED WORKING AFTER THAT.

Narrator: MAGIC WAS ON A MISSION

TO PROVE TO HIMSELF AND THE WORLD

THAT WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS, HE WAS STILL THE ONE IN CONTROL.

AND AFTER HIS LAKERS RAN THROUGH THE '85 SEASON,

HE QUICKLY GOT WHAT HE WANTED--

ANOTHER SHOT AT BIRD AND THE CELTICS.

THEY WON THE EAST. WE WON THE WEST.

SO IT'S LIKE, EVERYBODY JUST GET READY,

SIT BACK AND LET'S ENJOY IT.

Narrator: BUT THAT SMILE BELIED THE INTENSITY

OF THE CLASH THAT AWAITED.

Maxwell: IF I HAD A GLASS OF WATER,

AND ANY OF THOSE GUYS HAD BEEN ON FIRE,

I WOULD HAVE DRANK THE WATER AND WATCHED THEM.

THEY CALLED US CHOKERS AND SISSIES.

WE DIDN'T LIKE THAT, AND THEY THOUGHT LESS OF US.

I KNEW THEY DID.

IN '85, WE PLAYED 'EM FOUR TIMES IN EXHIBITION SEASON

FOR SOME REASON. I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY SCHEDULED THAT.

BY THE FOURTH GAME, THERE WAS AN ALL-OUT BRAWL.

Musburger: They call this one of the greatest rivalries

in all of sports-- the Celtics and the Lakers. And if that is true,

IT IS THE MOST ONE-SIDED RIVALRY IN ALL OF SPORTS.

Eight times these two have met for the NBA Championship,

and eight times the Celtics have won.

P.A. announcer: At guard, in his sixth year,

from Michigan State, number 32-- Magic Johnson.

Narrator: BUT IN THE '85 FINALS, MAGIC CHANGED THE SCRIPT.

OVER SIX GRUELING GAMES,

HE MASTERFULLY CONTROLLED THE PACE WITH ALL AROUND BRILLIANCE.

Announcer: He has a triple-double again.

Narrator: BEHIND THEIR POINT GUARD,

THE LAKERS FINALLY KNOCKED OUT THE CELTICS,

WINNING THE CLINCHING GAME IN THE BOSTON GARDEN.

Three in six years. L.A. comes to Boston

and wins the world title!

REDEMPTION FOR ONE MAGIC JOHNSON.

IT'S A LONG YEAR LAST YEAR TO WAIT FOR THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW.

Narrator: MAGIC HAD EVENED THE SCORE

WITH BIRD ON THE NBA FLOOR.

BUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR RIVALRY

AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS STILL JUST TAKING HOLD.

"YOU'RE CRAZY."

I SAID, "YOU'RE CRAZY.

I'M NOT SHOOTING NO COMMERCIAL WITH LARRY."

SO I SAID, "OKAY, WHAT, WE'RE GONNA SHOOT IT IN L.A.?"

- I WOULD NEVER HAVE WENT TO L.A. TO FILM IT.

IF YOU WANT TO SHOOT A COMMERCIAL, COME TO MY HOUSE.

I WAS LIKE, "OH, NO!"

Johnson: ONE STOPLIGHT.

AND I THOUGHT LANSING WAS SMALL.

I THINK THE PLAN WAS, "I'M GONNA GO HERE,

I'M GONNA DO WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO,

AND I'M TRYING TO GET UP OUT OF HERE." MY PLAN WAS THAT.

Narrator: EVEN AFTER CONVERSE HAD CONVINCED MAGIC AND BIRD

TO FILM A SNEAKER AD TOGETHER IN THE SUMMER OF '85,

A QUESTION REMAINED.

HOW WOULD THE TWO HATED RIVALS ON THE COURT

GET ALONG OFF OF IT?

I DON'T KNOW HOW HE'S GONNA REACT. I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GONNA REACT.

WE DIDN'T EVEN SHAKE HANDS, SO HOW ARE WE GONNA DO A COMMERCIAL TOGETHER?

Narrator: THE AD WAS TO BE FILMED AT THE HOME BIRD BUILT FOR HIS MOM.

IT FEATURED A FULL-LENGTH BASKETBALL COURT,

THE DAY'S FIRST LOCATION.

Johnson: SO THEY SAY, OKAY, YOU'RE PLAYING ONE ON ONE.

AND I'M LOOKING AT LARRY. HE'S LOOKING AT ME LIKE, "IS THIS REAL?

ARE WE PLAYING PLAYING?"

'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THIS IS MAGIC AND BIRD.

I COULD JUST HEAR LARRY STARTING IN ON,

"WELL, YOU BRING IT TO THE BASKET, I'M GONNA SEND IT 30 ROWS UP."

SO THE GUY WAS LIKE, "NO, NOT LIKE THAT. A FUN GAME."

WE WERE BOTH LIKE, "OH, OKAY."

LIKE YOU COULD SEE THIS RELIEF COMING OVER BOTH OF OUR FACES.

Narrator: THAT BRIEF DETENTE LED

TO THE NEXT STAGE-- DIALOGUE.

Johnson: WE SAT DOWN NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

"HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER?" "IT'S GOING GOOD. HOW WAS YOURS?"

"IT'S GOING GREAT."

I SAID, "MAN, THIS IS A NICE SPREAD YOU GOT."

Bird: HE'S ASKING ME, "IS THIS WHERE YOU PLAY?"

I SAID, "YEAH, I PLAY HERE IF IT'S NOT WINDY.

IF IT'S RAINY OR WINDY, I GO TO THE GYM,

BUT THIS IS WHERE I DO ALL MY WORK."

"I SEE THAT TRACTOR, YOU WORK ON THE TRACTOR?"

HE SAID, "MAN, I WORK ON THIS TRACTOR EVERY DAY."

"LARRY BIRD WORKS ON A TRACTOR?" HE SAID, "YEAH."

IT'S JUST THEM TWO WALKING AND TALKING.

AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THEY'D STOP AND ONE OF THEM WOULD SAY SOMETHING,

AND THEN THEY'D START LAUGHING.

THEN THEY SAID, "OKAY, BREAK. IT'S LUNCH BREAK TIME."

I WAS GOING TO MY TRAILER.

HE SAID, "NO, MY MOTHER HAS PREPARED LUNCH FOR US

UP AT THE HOUSE."

Bird: WE WENT UP TO THE HOUSE, AND WE SIT DOWN THERE

AND WE TALKED, AND MY MOM, MY BROTHERS,

THOUGHT THE WORLD OF HIM.

HIS MOTHER WAS SO NICE,

MAKING SURE I HAD ENOUGH TO EAT.

I JUST SAW MY MOTHER. IT WAS CRAZY.

Bird: HE CHARMED HER. YOU COULD SEE IT.

BUT THAT'S MAGIC. HE MAKES EVERYBODY FEEL WELCOME AND WARM,

AND HE'S A CON MAN.

Narrator: AND WHILE MAGIC CHARMED GEORGIA BIRD,

IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE WHO INTRIGUED HER SON.

HE MET EARVIN AT LUNCH.

EARVIN IS A GOOD DUDE.

I LIKE EARVIN A LOT BETTER THAN MAGIC.

I WAS JUST SO HAPPY TO FINALLY BE EARVIN WITH HIM

BECAUSE MAGIC WAS LIKE,

"I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO GET TO KNOW THIS GUY."

BUT EARVIN GOT A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT FAMILY,

HOW HE GREW UP.

WE JUST WE JUST BECAME

TWO RELAXED GUYS JUST TALKING.

THAT DAY WAS GREAT. IT WAS A GREAT DAY. BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Narrator: STILL FOR BIRD, EVER THE COMPETITOR,

THAT'S ALL IT WAS-- JUST ONE DAY.

MAGIC THINKS THE NEXT YEAR, "OKAY, WELL, NOW WE'RE GREAT FRIENDS.

SO AFTER THE GAME, WE'RE GONNA GO OUT. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BEER."

AND LARRY'S LIKE, "NO, YOU'RE RIGHT.

I KNOW YOU BETTER. YOU'RE A GOOD GUY,

BUT I STILL DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU."

HE'S A HAPPY-GO-LUCKY GUY.

IF ME AND HIM GOT TO BE REALLY GOOD FRIENDS,

GO OUT ON THE COURT, HE COULD STILL PLAY THE SAME GAME. I COULDN'T.

THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.

Narrator: BUT WHEN THE AD HIT THE AIRWAVES,

FOR OTHERS THE PERCEPTION CHANGED.

Riley: I SAW THOSE LIMOUSINES GOING THROUGH THE CORNFIELDS

AND I SAID, "NO, THEY DIDN'T SELL THEMSELVES OUT."

I HEARD CONVERSE MADE A PAIR OF BIRD SHOES

- FOR LAST YEAR'S MVP. - YEAH.

WELL, THEY MADE A PAIR OF MAGIC SHOES FOR THIS YEAR'S MVP.

OKAY, MAGIC, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT.

Riley: THIS IS REALLY A BUSINESS THING.

AND MAYBE THAT'S WHERE THE BUSINESS THING STARTED TO GET BIGGER

AND BEGAN TO TRUMP WHO THEY BOTH REALLY WERE.

MacMullan: IT POLARIZED THE WHOLE IDEA

OF LUNCH BUCKET VERSUS HOLLYWOOD,

WHITE VERSUS BLACK.

JUST CEMENTED ALL THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM.

KIDS WEREN'T WEARING BLACK GYM SHOES

'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LARRY BIRD CAMP.

YOU WORE YOUR WHITE CONVERSE.

Narrator: THE BASKETBALL RIVALS HAD MORPHED INTO CULTURAL WARRIORS,

AND RACE MORE THAN EVER

HAD BECOME AN UNAVOIDABLE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.

YO!

Narrator: BUT NOTHING ABOUT BIRD AND MAGIC HAD EVER BEEN

AS SIMPLE AS BLACK AND WHITE.

ONE OF THE BIG REASONS THIS RIVALRY BECAME SO EMBLEMATIC

OF SO MANY THINGS IS BECAUSE IT WAS AN EASY DICHOTOMY FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.

BUT IT'S CRAZY TO SIMPLIFY IT AS SAYING,

"WHITE PEOPLE LIKE BIRD AND BLACK PEOPLE LIKE MAGIC,"

BECAUSE 13% OF THE COUNTRY IS BLACK.

IT WASN'T LIKE 87% OF BASKETBALL FANS PREFERRED THE CELTICS.

- WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE BASKETBALL PLAYER? - MAGIC JOHNSON.

- WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE STAR? - EDDIE MURPHY.

ALL YOU EVER TALK ABOUT IS "NIGGER THIS" AND "NIGGER THAT."

AND ALL YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE ARE SO-CALLED NIGGERS.

IT'S DIFFERENT. MAGIC, EDDIE, PRINCE

ARE NOT NIGGERS. I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT BLACK.

I MEAN-- LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF.

HAS THE "N" WORD EVER BEEN USED

BY A WHITE PERSON TO DESCRIBE EARVIN? I DOUBT IT.

Narrator: BUT AS MAGIC ENJOYED HIS IMAGE

AS A CROSSOVER STAR, IT WAS BIRD,

THE ONE-TIME GREAT WHITE HOPE, WHO HAD FURTHER EMERGED

AS THE POLARIZING RACIAL FIGURE

DUE IN PART TO THAT ERA'S INCREASINGLY CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL CLIMATE.

Pierce: ROLLING BACK INSTITUTIONALLY, IT'S LIKE THE ACHIEVEMENTS

OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WERE GOING ON APACE FROM ABOUT 1975 ON,

BUT THE TRIUMPH OF THE MOVEMENT THAT ROLLED THEM BACK

TOOK PLACE IN THE 1980s.

AND I THINK THERE WAS PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY AWARE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY

OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF SUBLIMATED FRUSTRATION.

AND I THINK ONE OF THE WAYS IT GOT SUBLIMATED WAS INTO BASKETBALL.

AND I THINK LARRY, THROUGH NO FAULT OF HIS OWN,

WAS THE RECEPTACLE

WITHIN WHICH THE LINGERING RESENTMENTS SOMEHOW FLOATED.

Narrator: AND AFTER BIRD LED THE CELTICS

TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1986,

HIS THIRD IN THE PROS, WINNING HIS THIRD STRAIGHT MVP AWARD,

IN THE PROCESS, THE RESENTMENT GREW.

I ALWAYS FELT THAT THE PRESS

WAS BIASED IN FAVOR OF LARRY BIRD.

IT ALWAYS FELT TO ME LIKE

THEY WERE GONNA MAKE LARRY THE HERO.

YOU'D SEE SOMEBODY SCORE,

AND LARRY WOULD BE IN A CAST IN A SUIT ON THE BENCH,

AND THEY'D SAY "LARRY BIRD MADE THAT POSSIBLE

A COUPLE WEEKS AGO WHEN HE TOLD THAT GUY HE COULD DO IT,

AND HE JUST DID IT."

"THEY GONNA GIVE THIS MOTHERFUCKER THE ASSIST, AND HE'S NOT IN THE GAME?!"

NOT TO BE RACIST, BUT WE HAVE A WHITE GUY WHO'S THE BEST IN THE WORLD,

AND IT'S PREDOMINANTLY A BLACK SPORT NOW.

AND YOU GOT A GUY LIKE LARRY BIRD, WHO CAN'T RUN, WHO CAN'T JUMP,

BUT CAN DO EVERYTHING OUT THERE.

THAT DON'T MEAN NOTHING TO ME.

IT DON'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME.

IT NEVER HAS. I DON'T KNOW WHY.

I MEAN, AM I DOING SOMETHING WRONG HERE?

Narrator: BIRD MAY HAVE SOUGHT

TO AVOID THE CONVERSATION ENTIRELY,

BUT THE MORE HE WON, THE LESS HE COULD ESCAPE IT.

Announcer: Now there's a steal by Bird,

underneath to DJ, and he lays it in.

What a play by Bird!

Narrator: IN 1987, AFTER BOSTON BEAT THE DETROIT PISTONS

TO ADVANCE TO THE FINALS FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR,

PISTONS ROOKIE DENNIS RODMAN CALLED BIRD OVERRATED

BECAUSE HE WAS WHITE.

HIS TEAMMATE ISAIAH THOMAS THEN CHIMED IN

WITH SOME THOUGHTS OF HIS OWN...

I CAN REMEMBER

IN THE LOCKER ROOM,

I THINK IT WAS JACKIE MacMULLAN COME UP TO ME

AND SAID ISAIAH JUST SAID BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

AND I GO, "SO?"

HE DIDN'T CARE. HE DIDN'T CARE.

EVERYBODY ELSE AROUND HIM CARED VERY DEEPLY

IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS, AS IT TURNED OUT, AHEAD.

I MEAN, THE MEDIA MADE OUT LIKE IT WAS SOMETHING.

BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER TO ME

WHAT ISAIAH OR DENNIS RODMAN SAID,

AND IT STILL DON'T.

HAS NO BEARING ON WHAT I DO IN MY LIFE.

HE DOESN'T SEE RACE. HE REALLY DOESN'T.

AND HE COULD HAVE.

THIS GUY GREW UP POOR, WHITE

IN SOUTHERN INDIANA.

SOUTHERN INDIANA, THE HOME, BY THE WAY,

OF THE MODERN KU KLUX KLAN.

HOW HE MANAGED NOT TO BE AFFECTED

BY THE CULTURAL MILIEU THAT HE GREW UP IN

IS, I THINK, A MIRACLE. TO ME IT'S INEXPLICABLE.

WHEN I WAS IN ABOUT SIXTH OR SEVENTH GRADE,

I COULDN'T WAIT TILL SCHOOL WOULD BE OVER.

'CAUSE I KNEW OVER ON THE COURTS

THE WAITERS FROM THE HOTEL WOULD BE OVER THERE.

THEY WERE BLACK, OLDER,

AND THEY LET ME PLAY.

I ALWAYS LOOKED AT THAT AS I GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY AGAINST A BLACK MAN,

AND THEY TREATED ME GOOD.

I COULDN'T WAIT TO PLAY AGAINST THE BEST.

AND AT THAT TIME, THEY WERE THE BEST.

Narrator: AND IN 1987,

AS BIRD VIED WITH MAGIC TO BE THE BEST,

THE FLAP OVER ISAIAH THOMAS'S RACIALLY FUELED REMARKS

FORCED BIRD TO ADDRESS HIS LEAST FAVORITE TOPIC

AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME.

I HAD TO GO TO A PRESS CONFERENCE

WHEN WE WERE IN L.A. TRYING TO GET READY TO PLAY THE LAKERS,

AND TELL PEOPLE I DIDN'T CARE. THIS DON'T BOTHER ME.

THE MAIN THING IS IF THE STATEMENTS OR WHATEVER WAS SAID

DOESN'T BOTHER ME, I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BOTHER ANY OF US.

FROM PLAYING ALL YEAR, TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE FINALS,

TO PLAY AGAINST MAGIC, THIS WAS A DISTRACTION.

Narrator: BIRD WAS FACING OFF AGAINST MAGIC

FOR THE THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS.

AND IF THEIR RELATIONSHIP HAD SOFTENED,

THE DETERMINATION TO BEAT EACH OTHER HAD NOT.

Narrator: AS GAME 4 PROVED,

THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION BETWEEN THEM WAS HIGHER THAN EVER.

BIRD PLAYED AWESOME DOWN THE STRETCH OF THAT GAME.

Narrator: TRAILING 2-1 IN THE SERIES,

THE CELTICS WERE DOWN BY ONE POINT IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF THE GAME,

BUT LARRY BIRD WOULDN'T BE EASILY VANQUISHED.

Announcer: Open is Ainge.

Bird goes for three!

LARRY! LARRY! LARRY! LARRY!

Narrator: WITH SEVEN SECONDS LEFT, THOUGH,

THE LAKERS STILL HAD LIFE.

THREE YEARS EARLIER IN THE '84 FINALS,

MAGIC HAD FLUBBED A SIMILAR SITUATION.

BUT THIS WAS A DIFFERENT MAGIC,

ONE WITH A WHOLE NEW BAG OF TRICKS.

Johnson: MY MAN SWITCHED TO KAREEM

AND KEVIN McHALE JUMPED OUT TO ME.

AS SOON AS I SAW KEVIN, I SAID, "OH, I'M TAKING HIM."

Riley: MAGIC PUTS IT ON THE FLOOR.

A COUPLE HEAD AND SHOULDER FAKES

AND HE RAISED UP IN THE AIR

AND THERE WAS NOBODY THAT WAS GONNA GET THAT SHOT.

Magic with a hook shot, scores with :02.

Chuck Klosterman: I REMEMBER AFTER THEY CALLED TIMEOUT, THINKING,

THERE'S STILL A SHOT HERE. THE CELTICS MAY STILL WIN THIS GAME.

Riley: THEY SET UP A GREAT PLAY.

BIRD WALKED WORTHY ALL THE WAY UP,

FORCED A DENIAL ALL THE WAY UP.

WE DONE IT BEFORE. CLEAR EVERYBODY OUT,

GO TO THE BALL AND BREAK THE CORNER.

HE CAUGHT IT HERE AND AS HE CAUGHT IT,

ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS TURN AND JUST TURN,

AND HE JUST LET THIS THING GO.

Bird fires it.

HAD A WIDE OPEN LOOK. COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

AND I'M STANDING RIGHT THERE, IT IS STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW.

- DEAD ON.

And the Lakers have won...

THEY WERE LUCKY BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT ON A LINE.

HE LOOKED AT ME LIKE,

"HOW DID YOU EVER LEAVE ME THAT WIDE OPEN?"

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.

CHANGED THE WHOLE SERIES.

Narrator: THE LAKERS WON THE SERIES IN SIX.

AND IN THE AFTERMATH OF A YEAR IN WHICH MAGIC HAD WON HIS FIRST MVP,

THE RIVALRY SUDDENLY TOOK ON A NEW TONE.

Bird: MAGIC'S JUST A GREAT BASKETBALL PLAYER.

HE'S THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN.

UNBELIEVABLE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

I WAS SHOCKED THAT HE SAID IT, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,

"MAYBE THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA THAT'S NOT GONNA INCLUDE HIM."

IT WAS THE PASSING OF THE TORCH A LITTLE BIT.

Narrator: AFTER VANQUISHING BIRD IN '87,

MAGIC WASN'T DONE WINNING.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE SQUARED OFF IN THE FINALS

AGAINST HIS GOOD FRIEND ISAIAH THOMAS AND THE PISTONS.

Narrator: BEATING THEM TO BECOME THE NBA's FIRST REPEAT CHAMPIONS

IN TWO DECADES.

BY THE DAWN OF THE '90s, HE'D WON FIVE TITLES,

PLAYED IN EIGHT FINALS

AND EQUALED BIRD'S MVP TALLY OF THREE.

BUT THE MORE MAGIC WON,

THE LESS EARVIN SEEMED TO BE AROUND TO REAP THE SPOILS.

Johnson: ONCE I TASTED THE CHAMPAGNE

AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP, I WANTED MORE OF THAT

AND MORE OF THAT.

SO MAGIC KEPT GROWING BECAUSE WE WERE SUCCESSFUL.

AND THE PERSONA AND ALL THAT

CAME WITH THAT.

♪ THRILLIN'... ♪

Narrator: THE PRINCE OF L.A. WAS NOW THE KING...

- ♪ CHILLIN'... ♪ - AND IN HOLLYWOOD,

BEING ROYALTY HAD ITS PERKS.

WOW!

WHAT WAS EARVIN JOHNSON'S VICE?

NOW YOU KNOW MY PUBLICIST WANTS ME TO SAY WINNING.

BUT WOMEN LOVED EARVIN.

BACK THEN BEFORE VOICEMAIL, THEY USED TO HAVE THESE MAIL SLOTS

IN THE HOTELS WHERE YOU'D LEAVE YOUR KEY.

WHEN WE'D GET INTO A TOWN, EARVIN'S MAIL SLOT WOULD BE SO PACKED.

AND IT WOULD BE JUST SUSAN AND A PHONE NUMBER,

LINDA AND A PHONE NUMBER, JOYCE AND A PHONE NUMBER.

THAT WAS EVERY CITY, EVERY TIME.

Johnson: I WAS ON TOP OF MY GAME AS MAGIC,

SO I NEEDED ALL THAT AROUND ME AT THAT TIME--

THE WOMEN, THE THIS, THE THAT-- HOLLYWOOD.

MAGIC WAS LIVING IN A CONTEXT OF SYBARITIC EXCESS

FROM THE MINUTE HE WALKED IN THE DOOR.

AND HE DEVELOPED A SWEET TOOTH FOR IT.

SEX WITH SEVERAL WOMEN AT THE SAME TIME?

YEAH.

LIKE I SAID, WOMEN HAVE DIFFERENT FANTASIES.

SOME WANNA BE WITH TWO, THREE AT A TIME.

ONE TIME I HAD SIX AT ONE TIME.

I REALLY DO BELIEVE HE LOOKS UPON MAGIC JOHNSON

AS A MOVIE CHARACTER HE PLAYED.

I THINK EARVIN GOT OVERWHELMED IN L.A.

BY WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A STAR.

THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE-- THAT THE MAGIC EGO

SWALLOWED EARVIN A LITTLE BIT.

BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE I COULDN'T

WIN FIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS WITHOUT THAT.

THROUGH ALL OF THIS HAZE OF WOMEN AND MONEY

AND FAME AND FORTUNE, HE STILL KEPT BASKETBALL AT NUMBER ONE.

HE NEVER SEEMED TO LOSE THAT FOCUS.

Dan Dyrek: LARRY HAD TWO JOBS HIS LAST SEVEN YEARS OF PLAYING.

IT WAS PLAYING BASKETBALL AND THEN IT WAS HIM BEING COMMITTED

TO TAKING CARE OF HIS BACK.

Narrator: HE HAD FIRST HURT IT IN 1985,

BUILDING THE DRIVEWAY AT HIS MOM'S HOUSE BACK IN FRENCH LICK.

Dyrek: LARRY DECIDED TO DO IT HIMSELF.

THIS IS LARRY BIRD, THE SUPERSTAR, OUT THERE,

BREAKING HIS BACK LITERALLY SHOVELING GRAVEL.

AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A PROCESS.

Johnson: I WOULD SEE HIM ON TV LAYING DOWN

AND THEN THEY TOLD ME HE HAD TO LAY DOWN ON PLANES,

DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT. AND I WAS LIKE, "WOW."

Narrator: AS MAGIC SOARED THROUGH THE PRIME OF HIS CAREER,

BIRD WAS BREAKING DOWN.

HIS DETERIORATING BACK AND PUNISHING STYLE OF PLAY

PROVING AN EXCRUCIATING MIX.

MacMullan: FROM '88 TO '92,

IT WAS PAINFUL TO WATCH. IT WAS PAINFUL TO COVER.

LARRY IS QUITE ORNERY WHEN HE'S NOT FEELING WELL,

WHICH MEANS HE WAS ORNERY FOR THOSE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

HE COULD MANAGE THE PAIN IN A WAY

THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE CAN DO.

THERE'D BE DAYS HE'D COME IN THE OFFICE AND HE COULDN'T STAND UP STRAIGHT.

Narrator: BUT EVEN AFTER TWO RUPTURED ACHILLES TENDONS

AND SURGERY ON HIS BACK IN 1991,

BIRD KEPT GOING TO WORK,

PRODUCT OF A LESSON LEARNED MANY YEARS BEFORE

SEEING THE SWOLLEN ANKLE OF A MAN LONG SINCE GONE.

WE DON'T KNOW IF IT BROKE OR NOT, BUT IT LOOKED BROKE TO ME.

HAD TO GO TO WORK, AND HE HAD TO GET HIS BOOT ON IT.

AND IT TOOK EVERYTHING I HAD TO HELP HIM GET THAT BOOT ON HIS FOOT.

HE STOOD UP LIMPING AND HE SAYS, "I'LL SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND,"

'CAUSE HE WAS WORKING CONSTRUCTION AT THE TIME.

AND I WAS PRETTY AMAZED HE COULD FIGHT THROUGH THAT ALL WEEK

AND COME HOME ON THE WEEKEND AND IT WAS BLACK AND SWOLLEN,

AND HE'D SIT AROUND ON THE WEEKEND,

THEN PUT THAT BOOT ON AND GO AGAIN.

IF YOU GET PAID TO GO TO WORK, YOU GOTTA GO TO WORK.

Dyrek: IT WAS A SITUATION HE WAS SEEING ALMOST DAILY.

HE HAD LOST THE STRUCTURAL STABILITY IN HIS SPINE.

SO IT WOULD SLIP INTO ABNORMAL POSITIONS

TO TRY AND LOCK ITSELF TO GET ARTIFICIAL STABILITY.

THAT'S LIKE GETTING YOUR FINGER STUCK IN A DOOR

AND SOMEBODY'S STILL PUSHING ON THE DOOR.

SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS UNLOCK HIS SPINE,

REALIGN IT,

DO TECHNIQUES THAT WOULD HOLD THAT FOR FOUR HOURS,

SIX HOURS, THAT TYPE OF THING. AND THEN HE'D GO PLAY BASKETBALL.

Bird: EVERY TIME I WOULD PLAY,

I WAS WONDERING IF I WAS GONNA BE IN A WHEELCHAIR.

WAS I EVER GONNA BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW,

WALK ON THE BEACH OR HOLD MY KIDS?

HIS PAIN AND HIS QUEST FOR BASKETBALL BECAME ALL ENCOMPASSING.

VERY FEW PEOPLE REALLY KNEW

WHAT LARRY WAS LIVING WITH.

'CAUSE THIS WAS LARRY'S ISSUE.

AND THERE WAS NO SHARING OF HIS PAIN.

Bird: YOU KNOW, I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE RETIRED

IN '88, 89,

BUT IT'S THAT COMPETITION.

MAYBE ONE MORE CHANCE ME AND MAGIC GET TOGETHER

IN THE FINALS, BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED.

I'M SLEEPING REALLY, LAYING DOWN,

JUST WAITING ON THE GAME AND THE PHONE RINGS

AND...

THE VOICE SAYS, "HEY, YOU GOTTA COME BACK TO L.A."

AND I SAY, "OKAY, WHY?"

"WELL, I CAN'T TELL YOU TILL YOU GET TO L.A."

SO I SAID, "OKAY."

Narrator: TWO HOURS LATER,

HE WAS IN THE OFFICE OF LAKERS' TEAM PHYSICIAN MICHAEL MELLMAN.

DR. MELLMAN STARTS TO

TELL ME THAT THROUGH THE PHYSICAL THAT I TOOK

THAT THEY DISCOVERED

THAT I HAD H.I.V.

FIRST TIME EVER IN MY LIFE--

I'M SUCH A CONTROL FREAK, RIGHT, AND DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY--

I'M OUT OF CONTROL.

IT WAS EVERYTHING. "HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?

WHAT HAPPENED?

HOW DID IT HAPPEN TO ME?"

AND MY MIND IS RACING,

YOU KNOW, AND...

AND THEN YOU'RE JUST DEVASTATED.

Narrator: FURTHER COMPLICATING THINGS,

MAGIC HAD GOTTEN MARRIED JUST TWO MONTHS EARLIER.

AND HE FEARED THE WORST FOR HIS NEW BRIDE COOKIE,

WHO WAS PREGNANT WITH THEIR FIRST CHILD.

Johnson: I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH MY WIFE

AND MY BABY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO ME.

I DON'T HAVE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION

AND I WAS LOST JUST FOR THAT NEXT TWO

OR THREE WEEKS.

Narrator: AND AFTER MAGIC LEARNED NEITHER HIS WIFE

NOR HIS UNBORN CHILD WERE INFECTED,

HE BEGAN REVEALING THE NEWS TO HIS INNER CIRCLE.

Arsenio Hall: THE PHONE RANG,

AND IT WAS MAGIC'S AGENT LON ROSEN.

AND HE SAID, "EARVIN'S LOOKING FOR YOU. CALL HIM."

AND I SAID, "I'LL CALL HIM WHEN I GET TO PARAMOUNT."

AND HE SAYS, "CALL HIM NOW."

I SAID, "LON, I'LL CALL HIM WHEN I GET TO PARAMOUNT.

I'LL BE THERE IN 20 MINUTES."

AND HE SAID,

"YOU GOTTA CALL HIM NOW. EARVIN'S H.I.V. POSITIVE."

I WAS SITTING ON THE BED.

I REMEMBER STANDING UP

AT THAT POINT,

AND I SAID, "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?"

I'M THINKING EARVIN'S GONNA GET SKINNY AND DIE.

I MEAN, LITERALLY, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT--

"EARVIN'S GONNA GET SKINNY AND DIE."

MacMullan: THE FIRST PERSON I THOUGHT OF WAS LARRY--

"I WONDER WHAT LARRY THINKS."

Bird: THE DAY THAT I HEARD ABOUT MAGIC,

IT JUST SORT OF CHANGED MY LOVE FOR BASKETBALL.

IT SHOOK ME UP.

YOU GET THAT FEELING,

PROBABLY THE SAME TYPE OF FEELING I HAD WHEN MY FATHER DIED.

HE WANTS TO UNDERSTAND WHY. "HOW CAN I TALK TO HIM?

I NEED TO SPEAK TO HIM." IT WAS JUST REALLY IMPORTANT FOR LARRY TO TALK TO HIM.

YOU KNOW...

YOU KNOW, SORT OF--

I DON'T KNOW.

I WANTED TO HEAR IT FROM HIM. I PROBABLY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Johnson: CALLS ME, WE'RE TALKING.

IT'S JUST, "HOW YOU DOING?

I HEARD ABOUT IT."

YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR BOTH OF US

WITH SOME TEARS IN OUR EYES.

AND I'M CHOKED UP

BECAUSE HE DID CALL ME.

YOU KNOW...

WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS...

TO YOU...

AND THEN YOU FIND OUT

WHO REALLY YOUR FRIENDS ARE

AND PEOPLE WHO REALLY CARE ABOUT YOU.

Johnson: YOU FIGURE ALL THOSE BATTLES,

ALL THOSE THINGS WE HAD TO GO THROUGH

AS WARRIORS, AS COMPETITORS

AND AS MEN.

AND HERE THIS MAN SAYS,

"HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAN? YOU'RE OKAY."

AND SO...

THAT WAS THE GREATEST MOMENT FOR ME TOO,

YOU KNOW, TO HAVE HIM CHECK ON ME

AND TO MAKE SURE

I WAS OKAY.

FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY,

- GOOD LATE AFTERNOON.

BECAUSE OF...

THE H.I.V. VIRUS THAT I HAVE ATTAINED,

I WILL HAVE TO RETIRE FROM THE LAKERS TODAY.

IT'S THE ONLY PRESS CONFERENCE I'VE EVER BEEN IN

WHERE I'VE SEEN REPORTERS CRY.

I MEAN, WE THOUGHT THIS GUY WAS IN TOTAL DENIAL.

I PLAN ON GOING ON LIVING FOR A LONG TIME,

BUGGING YOU GUYS LIKE I ALWAYS HAVE.

WE THOUGHT THE SMILE WAS GONNA BE WIPED OFF HIS FACE FOREVER,

AND HE WAS GONNA DIE, AND WE'RE GONNA WATCH HIM DIE IN PUBLIC.

I JUST REMEMBER IN THE ROOM. HE WAS JOKING AND I'M SITTING THERE LOOKING AT HIM CRYING,

AND HE'S LIKE, "COOP, MAN, I'M GONNA BE OKAY. IT'S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT."

I AM GONNA GO ON. I'M GONNA BEAT IT, AND I'M GONNA HAVE FUN.

Springer: SURE, COME ON. YOU'RE GONNA BEAT THIS?

TO HIM, IT WAS A CONTEST.

LARRY BIRD AND MAGIC JOHNSON--

AIDS AND MAGIC JOHNSON, SAME THING.

"IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT GAME, DIFFERENT RULES,

BUT I'M STILL GONNA WIN."

HE WASN'T PLANNING ON GOING NOWHERE.

EARVIN WAS PLANNING THAT DAY

TO FIND THE RIGHT MEDICINE,

TO EAT RIGHT, GET REST AND LIVE FOREVER.

THAT'S WHAT HE WAS PLANNING.

THANK YOU AGAIN AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON.

Narrator: BUT AS MAGIC PUT UP A POSITIVE PUBLIC FACE,

HIS NEMESIS, STILL OUT OF SORTS,

SHED THE MASK HE HAD HIDDEN BEHIND FOR YEARS.

HE WAS VISIBLY LIKE, "WOW! HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN?"

IT REALLY SET HIM BACK.

PROBABLY THE TWO TOUGHEST DAYS I'VE HAD SINCE MY FATHER PASSED AWAY.

I'VE BEEN VERY DEPRESSED AND IN SORT OF DENIAL OF IT.

Pierce: I LISTENED TO HIM TALK IN THIS PRESS CONFERENCE

ABOUT HOW DEVASTATED HE WAS, AND I REMEMBER THINKING TO MYSELF,

"GOD DAMN, LARRY FOUND EARVIN."

OUT OF THE BLUE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING,

IT'S JUST--

I'VE NEVER HAD OTHER THAN ONE OTHER INSTANCE,

AND I WAS HOPING I WOULD NEVER SEE THAT AGAIN

BECAUSE I REMEMBER HOW I FELT WEEKS AFTER THAT,

AND YESTERDAY WAS JUST A SAD DAY.

Narrator: AND AT HIS GAME THAT NIGHT,

BIRD WAS FORCED TO CONFRONT PAIN

HE COULDN'T SO EASILY PLAY THROUGH.

Bird: I DIDN'T WANNA BE THERE THAT NIGHT.

FIRST TIME EVER

AND REALLY THE LAST.

I REMEMBER WE PLAYED ATLANTA.

HAD NO FEEL FOR THE GAME, YOU KNOW?

JUST WASN'T A GOOD TIME TO BE OUT THERE.

NEVER HAD THAT BEFORE.

THAT NIGHT HE THREW A PASS.

I'LL NEVER FORGET IT. HE THREW A HALF-COURT PASS

BEHIND HIS BACK FOR A LAYUP,

AND IF YOU BLURRED YOUR EYES, YOU SQUINTED YOUR EYES, IT LOOKED LIKE MAGIC.

AND IT WAS LARRY SAYING GOODBYE.

I MEAN, THIS COMPETITION THING IS AMAZING,

WHAT IT DOES TO YOU.

WHAT YOU PUT YOUR BODY THROUGH AND WHAT YOU DO

AND WHAT YOU SAY AND HOW YOU FEEL,

AND KNOWING THAT HE'S NOT THERE

WOULDN'T FEEL RIGHT,

BUT I THINK IT'S ALL THEM YEARS THAT, YOU KNOW,

"WHAT'S HE DOING? I WONDER IF HE'S PRACTICING AS HARD."

I BET HE SHOT 500 SHOTS TODAY, AND I DIDN'T GET 500 IN.

THERE'S ALWAYS MIND-GAMES.

Narrator: BIRD PLAYED THROUGH THE '91-'92 SEASON,

HIS LAST IN THE NBA,

BUT A PART OF HIM WAS ALREADY GONE.

I DIDN'T CHECK THE PAPERS ANYMORE.

IT DIDN'T MATTER.

I STILL WANTED TO COMPETE, YOU KNOW?

BUT IT WASN'T THE SAME.

IT REALLY WASN'T.

Hall: WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THAT YEAR

WHEN HE WAS CALLED "TRAGIC" JOHNSON,

'CAUSE ON THE BASKETBALL COURT, THINGS DIDN'T SHAKE DOWN PROPERLY,

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'M HEARING IGNORANCE,

HATRED,

VICIOUS, NASTY THINGS.

Johnson: THERE WERE SOME OF MY FORMER TEAMMATES

WHO HAD THEIR OWN LITTLE THINGS THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT

AND WHY THIS HAPPENED TO ME.

"YOU KNOW ANYBODY ELSE THAT'S A HETEROSEXUAL THAT GOT IT?

COME ON, MAN.

YOU'RE IN DENIAL."

I'VE BEEN CALLED GAY, FAGGOT, EARVIN'S LOVER.

I'VE BEEN CALLED ALL THAT SHIT.

MacMullan: LON ROSEN GOT A CALL FROM ISAIAH THOMAS ASKING,

"YOU KNOW, I KEEP HEARING MAGIC'S GAY."

AND LON SAID, "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ANYBODY HE ISN'T.

YOU'RE ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS." AND HE SAID,

"WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN HOLLYWOOD."

AND THE FACT THAT ISAIAH WAS QUESTIONING WHY HE GOT THIS,

I THINK IT WAS REALLY REALLY HURTFUL TO HIM.

Hall: HE USED TO SAY, "I DON'T WANT PEOPLE

TO STOP SHAKING MY HAND AND GIVING ME MY HUGS."

HE LOVES TO BE LOVED.

THAT'S WHAT BOTHERED HIM THE MOST--

THAT PEOPLE WOULD CHANGE

IN RELATIONSHIP TO HIM.

MacMullan: HE WOULD SHOW UP AT THE LAKERS' FACILITY TO WORK OUT

AND TO SHOOT SOME BASKETS. AND HE'D TRY TO ENGAGE HIS TEAMMATES,

AND SAY, "HEY, YOU WANNA PLAY A LITTLE ONE-ON-ONE BEFORE PRACTICE?"

"OH, JEEZ, NO, I CAN'T. I GOTTA GO GET TAPED."

OR "OH, JEEZ, I GOT WORK TO DO. I GOTTA DO SOMETHING ELSE."

THE WORST THING OF ALL OF THIS--

THAT I COULDN'T PLAY BASKETBALL.

I DON'T EVEN THINK DEALING WITH H.I.V.--

IT WAS I COULDN'T PLAY.

Bird: THE GAME,

THE SURROUNDINGS WAS HIS WHOLE WORLD.

THAT'S HIS PERSONALITY.

WHEN YOU TAKE THAT AWAY,

YOU'RE HURTING HIM.

I KNEW HE WAS HURTING IN A BIG WAY.

THE ONLY SEX IS SAFE SEX, AND THAT'S NO SEX.

Narrator: AS BASKETBALL WENT ON WITHOUT HIM,

MAGIC PERFORMED ABLY IN HIS NEW ROLE AS H.I.V. EDUCATOR AND SPOKESMAN.

I'M GONNA HELP IN EVERY WAY THAT I CAN.

Narrator: BUT HE STILL PINED FOR THE ARENA

WHICH HAD MADE HIM A STAR.

SO WHEN HE WAS INVITED TO PLAY

IN THE 1992 NBA ALL-STAR GAME...

P.A. Announcer: Magic Johnson!

...HE'D JUMP AT THE CHANCE,

PROMPTLY STEALING THE SHOW AND WINNING MVP HONORS.

Narrator: BUT THAT WAS JUST A WARM-UP

FOR THE ENCORE MAGIC HAD UP HIS SLEEVE.

HE'S NOT DONE YET. WE'RE GONNA GO TO BARCELONA AND BRING BACK THE GOLD

FOR EVERYONE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Man: THANKS, LARRY.

Narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, NBA PLAYERS WOULD BE COMPETING

IN THE OLYMPICS, AND MAGIC, ARMED WITH A MESSAGE,

WAS NOT ABOUT TO MISS THE SHOW.

Johnson: IT WAS TO PROVE TO PEOPLE

THAT YOU WERE NOT GONNA GET THE DISEASE PLAYING AGAINST ME,

AND THEN ALSO FOR ME TOO, PERSONALLY.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS THERAPY.

IT WAS A WAY TO SAY,

"MAN, YOU GET TO DO THIS ONE MORE TIME."

Narrator: THERE WAS ALSO ONE OTHER PERK.

I THINK PLAYING WITH LARRY WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

THAT'S SOMETHING THEY TALKED ABOUT. HE WAS GONNA BE ON THE DREAM TEAM.

HE WAS GONNA BE WITH MICHAEL, BARKLEY,

BUT HE WAS GONNA PLAY WITH LARRY.

MAGIC KEPT SAYING TO HIM, "I JUST WANNA GET YOU OUT ON THAT COURT ONE MORE TIME.

LET'S JUST HAVE ONE MORE SEQUENCE LIKE WE HAD

ALL THE WAY BACK IN 1978."

BUT IT WAS INTERESTING WITH MAGIC BEING THE ONE THAT WAS H.I.V. POSITIVE,

HE FELT GREAT. HE WAS IN THE BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE.

♪ I GOT A SMILE ON MY FACE... ♪

MacMullan: HE HAD WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE SURE HE DIDN'T GO THERE

AS A TOKEN PLAYER, AND HERE WAS LARRY,

WHO COULDN'T EVEN PRACTICE. WHO COULD BARELY MOVE.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IT DIDN'T MATTER.

WE WERE STILL TOGETHER.

YOU KNOW, IT DIDN'T MATTER.

♪ HOLD ME CLOSE ♪

♪ AND HOLD ME FAST ♪

♪ THE MAGIC SPELL YOU CAST ♪

♪ THIS IS LA VIE EN ROSE ♪

♪ WHEN YOU KISS ME... ♪

AND WHEN HE GOT HIS OPPORTUNITIES,

HE SWISHED A FEW.

LARRY!

P.A. Announcer: Larry Bird!

WHO'S TAKING THE LAST SHOT WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE?

WHEN I GOT MY OPPORTUNITY,

I STILL WAS MAGIC.

P.A. Announcer: It's Magic!

Narrator: 14 YEARS AFTER THEY'D FIRST CROSSED PATHS,

THE SMILING KID FROM LANSING

AND THE SHY BOY FROM FRENCH LICK

WERE HAPPILY BACK TOGETHER IN BARCELONA.

BUT IT TOOK JUST ONE GLANCE

OUTSIDE THEIR HOTEL'S FRONT DOOR EACH MORNING

FOR THEM TO SEE THAT AS FAR AS THEY HAD COME,

THEY WERE AS FAR APART AS EVER.

Bird: THE ONLY WAY YOU WALK OUT THAT DOOR IF YOU WANTED ATTENTION.

BUT I ASKED THIS GUY I KNOW, "HOW CAN YOU GET AROUND THIS?

THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY."

LO AND BEHOLD, THERE WAS A SIDE DOOR.

YOU CAN GO WHEREVER YOU WANT.

I WAS GONNA TELL HIM ABOUT IT,

BUT SEEING THAT SMILE ON HIS FACE

THE CLOSER HE GOT TO THAT FRONT DOOR, COME ON.

HE DIDN'T WANT NO SIDE DOOR. YOU KNOW EARVIN.

Bird: HE'D GO RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM.

TURN IT THE LONG WAY, SWEETHEART. THERE YOU GO.

I'M GOING OUT THE FRONT 'CAUSE THAT'S WHO I AM.

I DON'T GO OUT THE BACK.

I DON'T GO OUT THE SIDE.

THAT'S NOT ME.

IF YOU WANNA GO SOMEWHERE IN A HURRY,

THERE'S A DOOR THAT LEADS YOU THERE.

I FOUND IT.

I RESPECTED HIM FOR THAT.

AND SO, HELL, I WOULD TRY TO FIND A SIDE DOOR FOR HIM.

Johnson: AND WE NEVER TRIED TO CHANGE EACH OTHER.

THAT'S WHAT MADE THIS RELATIONSHIP GREAT.

ONE OF MY PET PEEVES ALWAYS IS WHEN PEOPLE SAY, "MICHAEL JORDAN SAVED THE NBA."

BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT.

MAGIC AND LARRY SAVED THE NBA.

THAT'S WHO SAVED THE NBA--

MAGIC AND LARRY.

Narrator: MAGIC AND LARRY.

BIRD AND MAGIC.

TO THE MILLIONS WHO ONCE WATCHED THEM,

NOW MORE THAN EVER THEY ARE INSEPARABLE,

A PAIR OF ATHLETES THROWN TOGETHER

BY THE COSMOS TO COMPETE;

A PAIR OF MEN WHO DISCOVERED A BOND

IN THE MIDST OF THAT COMPETITION.

DECADES REMOVED FROM THE HEIGHT OF THEIR RIVALRY,

THEIR BOND ENDURES,

TWO IMPOSSIBLY DIFFERENT MEN

WITH A CONNECTION ONLY THEY CAN FULLY GRASP.

MacMullan: IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PRIVATE LITTLE CLUB,

AND ONLY THE TWO OF THEM ARE IN IT.

AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THEY NEED TO SHOW UP

TO HAVE A REUNION AND PAY THEIR DUES TO EACH OTHER,

BUT THEY DON'T NEED THE DAY-TO-DAY CONTACT THAT MOST FRIENDS NEED.

IT'S JUST NOT THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP.

I ALWAYS GET THIS GOOD FEELING WHEN I KNOW I'M GONNA SEE HIM

BECAUSE HE MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD.

HE REALLY DOES.

HE'S UNBELIEVABLE.

Johnson: HE'S VERY PRIVATE, BUT IF HE'S YOUR FRIEND,

MAN, YOU GOT A FRIEND FOR LIFE.

AND LARRY BIRD IS A STRAIGHT SHOOTER.

HE'LL TELL YOU WHEN HE DON'T LIKE YOU.

THAT'S ONE THING I WISH I COULD HAVE

THAT HE HAS THAT I DON'T HAVE.

I WISH I HAD THAT.

IF HE WALKED IN HERE, THIS WHOLE ROOM WOULD CHANGE.

AND MAYBE THAT'S WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE,

BUT I JUST COULDN'T.

Announcer: THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION

OF "HBO SPORTS."