From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s--Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness--together Bird and Johnson collected 8 NBA Championships, and 6 MVP awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends. With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry's obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader. We are there the moment he learns he's contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail. A compelling, up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball's most inimitable duo, When the Game Was Ours is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball's best times.
For twenty-years basketball fans have heard and read from many sources what the true feelings of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were like as these two unbelievably competitive men changed the game of basketball. They were so totally different... and yet at the core... so totally alike. For the first time Larry and Magic collaborate to reveal what they "really" thought about each other through each and every step of their game-changing careers. It's like having a split screen with Magic on one side and Larry on the other as they share their childhoods... college... and NBA careers... and even their post playing lives. At the end of each historical milepost the split screen becomes one as both Hall of Famers summarize in real-time... adding comments that are more sage with the blessing of age and maturity.
When Magic and his Michigan State team met Larry's Indiana State team for the National Championship Game in 1979 it drew a 24.1 Nielsen rating, "THE HIGHEST IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL HISTORY, A NOTEWORTHY MILESTONE THAT REMAINED UNTOUCHED THREE DECADES LATER." From that time forward Larry and Magic were forever linked-compared-and-intertwined for the rest of their lives. A mutual hatred breeded mutual respect and in the end a lifetime friendship. Along the way they were universally credited with saving the NBA. "IN 1979 THE LEAGUES FOUR-YEAR DEAL WITH CBS WAS WORTH $74 MILLION. BY 2002 THE LEAGUE HAD INKED A SIX-YEAR DEAL WITH ABC, ESPN, AND TNT VALUED AT 4.6 BILLION." The author's pull no punches as they both admit that starting in the aftermath of their NCAA showdown that one hated the other. After Magic won the NBA championship in his rookie year Bird now admits extreme jealousy. Though neither one admitted it in those days they each followed the others stats and accomplishments like madmen possessed. As some individual awards went Bird's way... Johnson felt slighted. But through it all they both admit this feverish competition between the two made them both rise to athletic levels they would never have reached without the burning desire to outdo the other. And then in 1985 they both agreed to take part in the now infamous Converse commercial entitled "CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON"... and Magic came to Larry's home in Indiana... and the miraculous took place. These two fiery... hating... competitors... started to talk and found out they were very much alike... and their childhoods were extremely similar. And then in the unlikeliest of scenario's they became extremely good friends. They realized then... and now... that their lives were forever interlaced. Magic couldn't go anywhere without people asking how Larry was doing... and Larry couldn't go anywhere without being asked how Magic was doing.
Any true basketball fan will not only share the exhilaration of the glorious pinnacles of the author's careers... but you will also feel the grief as their careers come to an end. And of course Magic becoming HIV positive. The definitive epitome of the friendship that had been born through these competitive games... was when Magic demanded that Larry be contacted and made aware of his disease before it was made public. Along with the accepted fact that Bird and Magic saved the NBA... potential readers will also truly enjoy the coverage regarding Michael Jordan taking the baton and leading the NBA to reach even higher goals. The detailed story telling regarding the 1992 Olympic Basketball Dream Team is a must read for all basketball fans. A scene between the greatest players in the world at the Olympic Village during a game of pool with Jordan, Magic, Larry, Barkley, Ewing... and others... as they banter between themselves as to who "was" the greatest... "is" the greatest... and "would-have" been the greatest... if time had been shuffled different... is one of the greatest behind the scenes look at these famous stars I've ever come across. It is akin to the stalking of lions in the jungle as they contemplate changing the pecking order.
The rabid rivalry that was Magic and Bird raised each of these legendary "team-first" ballplayers to levels... that in this retrospection... they publicly agree... they would have never reached without the other. It's left to the imagination how much higher Jordan may have gone if he had had his own Larry or Magic in their prime. Basketball is forever greater because of this rivalry... and no discussion of one... will ever take place without a discussion of the other... for all eternity!
