Larry Bird is a basketball legend. He was an unstoppable on-court competitor who led the Boston Celtics to back-to top of the NBA in his early 20s, and later became one of only six men ever inducted into both the College and Pro Basketball Halls Of Fame. But there’s one thing that Larry never really felt comfortable talking about: Magic Johnson announcing he had HIV at an AIDS charity event in 1991. The two legends famously didn’t speak for 30 years until they finally met up with their wives as part of ESPN’s documentary “30 For 30”.
Larry Bird was a rare breed of athlete. He rarely displayed emotion but broke down in tears after Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement.
The rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson is widely considered to be one of the best in sports history.
Bird and Magic battled it out on the biggest stages of the game on countless times for over a decade. Despite their competition with their respective teams, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, the two superstars developed a relationship and mutual respect off of the court.
On November 7, 1991, however, their rivalry was irrevocably transformed when Johnson revealed he had tested positive for HIV. Many individuals were shocked by the news, but few were as devastated as Bird.
On and off the court, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had a deep friendship.
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Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans won the NCAA National Championship in 1979, defeating Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores. Due to the Lakers’ and Celtics’ already-legendary rivalry, the two collegiate stars would become bitter rivals once they entered the NBA.
On December 28, 1979, the two teams met for the first time in the NBA, with Magic and the Lakers coming out on top. On February 15, 1991, they reunited for the last time, with Bird and the Celtics gaining the last laugh. During the regular season, the two met 18 times, with Johnson winning 11 of the competitive encounters.
Bird and Magic met in three NBA Finals, totaling 19 games, outside of the regular season. In 1984, Larry Legend won the championship and was named Finals MVP. However, the years 1985 and 1987 belonged to Magic, who was named Finals MVP in 1987.
At first, the two Hall of Famers seemed to be little more than rivals. After shooting a Converse commercial and having lunch together at Bird’s house in French Lick, Indiana, the two became fast friends.
“Now we had never truly broken bread,” Johnson recounted on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, “so I walked over to his home and his mother was putting out all the stuff.” “‘Did you tell him yet?’ she eventually asked Larry. ‘No, you tell him,’ Larry said. ‘Magic, you’re my favorite basketball player,’ she replied as she turned around. That broke the ice, and we became fast friends, and we’re still great friends now, and I adore the guy.”
Bird was distraught when she learned of Johnson’s HIV diagnosis.
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Both Bird and Magic’s careers were cut short much too soon. A painful back condition caused the Celtics star to retire after the 1991-92 season. Johnson, the top point guard, retired at the age of 32 after testing positive for HIV (he would eventually return for 32 games in 1995-96).
Rick Fox, a rookie during Bird’s last season in Boston, recalls Johnson’s statement with vivid detail (h/t: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz).
“I came into the NBA as a rookie that year, and my chance was to shoot around with Larry after practice.” Play one-on-one with him, rebound for him, attempt to outshoot him. And Larry wasn’t around after practice the day Magic revealed his HIV status in the news conference. I was unable to locate him or determine his whereabouts. So I went into the training room to seek for him and found him weeping on the training table. And this was just a few weeks into Larry Bird’s friendship, but it was strange to behold. And I glanced up at the television to watch the press conference that was taking place.”
Rick Fox
“I could just see how it affected him at that moment,” Fox said, “and I truly, for the first time, recognized how competitive the two were on the court, but how much they meant to each other for it to hurt him in that manner.” “It had an influence on all of us.” But simply to see Larry Bird’s human side, which was uncommon since he was so stern and ‘closed off’ on the court.”
Larry Bird once expressed his feelings on Magic Johnson’s statement.
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Fox and other teammates have spoken about how the news affected Bird. Larry, on the other hand, has spoken about how wounded he was at the time.
Bird told ESPN in 2012, “Magic’s agent (Lon Rosen) contacts me and informs me about the news ahead of time.” “I replied, ‘Right now, I have to speak to him.’ ‘I don’t know,’ Lon says. ‘Right now, he’s going through everything.’ ‘I don’t care,’ I answered. I need to speak with him right now.’ And he connected me with him. That struck me like a ton of bricks. “It struck me like a ton of bricks.”
Bird and the Celtics hosted the Atlanta Hawks the night following the announcement. In the five-point setback, the preoccupied star, who was already struggling with significant back discomfort, only scored 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
“It was the first time in my life that I didn’t want to participate in a game,” Bird remarked. “That night, I didn’t have anything.”
Fortunately, Bird and Johnson would reunite on the court again in the future, but this time as friends rather than adversaries. The Hall of Famers competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics for Team USA as members of the infamous “Dream Team.” And now that Johnson has successfully lived with HIV and overcome the stigma that it was formerly associated with, he and Bird have stayed friends in their post-playing days.
A great rivalry may have come to an end much too soon, but a wonderful relationship has endured.
Basketball Reference provided all statistics.
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The “magic johnson wife” is a story about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. After the announcement of Magic Johnson’s HIV, Larry Bird broke down in tears.
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