It’s impossible to overstate how intense the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers was in the 1980’s. Although there was immense respect between the teams, there was plenty of bad blood too.
Jerry West hated Boston. Couldn’t stand the team or the Garden. Red Auerbach didn’t much like Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Buss detested Auerbach. Larry Bird still nursed a grudge against Magic Johnson for ending Indiana State’s undefeated season in the 1979 NCAA finals and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was no fan of the Celtics. You could go down the list – there were plenty of beefs all around.
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The heart of the rivalry though was between Bird and Johnson. Both were driven players and neither was blessed with immense physical talent. They were guys who willed themselves to greatness and they pushed each other hard in the 1984 Finals.
Bird and Boston got the best of Magic and Lakers in Game 7. Bird finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds and averaged 24/14 for the series.
Johnson finished with 16 points, 15 assists and five rebounds.
There are so many great players in this one it’s almost impossible to believe and the contrast in styles was remarkable. We don’t get that now.
A couple of things to note here: two Tar Heels are standing by the bench at the end – Mitch Kupchak and Bob McAdoo. Gerald Henderson, Sr. is here too and of course his son Gerald Jr. would later star at Duke.
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Finally, check out the Celtics fan who climbs on the rim at the end. The glory of the Boston fans was (and to an extent remains) the unruliness. That shirtless guy casually standing on the rim sums it up nicely.
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