Much has been said about Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird's legacy, and most of it is tied to his biggest rival-turned-friend, Magic Johnson.
Many basketball historians credit Bird and Johnson for changing the game of basketball for the better, meeting numerous times in the NBA Finals after joining the league together in 1979. In a Q&A with Andscape's Marc J. Spears, Bird downplayed their impact while also acknowledging the way they played was different than most at the time.
"It’s funny, all through my career they always say, ‘You helped save the NBA.’ But there’s a lot of people who helped save this NBA, it didn’t start with us," Bird said. "Maybe we helped in some way as far as the competition we had in college and going against one another. But I do think we brought a different aspect to the game when we came in.
"We both liked to pass the ball. We liked to try to make other guys better. And then we were winners, there was no question about that. Not that there wasn’t a lot of winners before us. But just how we played the game and approached the game, I think, made a big impact throughout the league as far as watching the game."
Bird then recalled how he and Johnson's rivalry brought necessary attention to the NBA by growing its audience.
"We made people take a look at the NBA the way we played. You got to remember, at that time, satellite dishes were just coming out and we were getting into more homes. … And it goes back to college. We played against one another in the finals [in college]. And they say it’s still one of the highest-rated basketball games ever. So, obviously, we had an impact. But we didn’t change this league."
As Bird notes, the rivalry went back to when Johnson's Michigan State Spartans defeated Bird's Indiana State Sycamores in the 1979 National Championship.