Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s historic rivalry began not in the NBA, but the NCAA tournament

The 2022 NCAA tournament is in the books, with Boston Celtics alum Paul Pierce’s alma mater Kansas the winner over the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels. The so-called Big Dance and the NBA have long had a reciprocal relationship, with the NCAA season-end event setting the table for the subsequent NBA draft, often elevating relatively obscure basketball talent to the highest level of play, to both ill and great effects over the decades.

But no NCAA tourney was more impactful on the future of the league than that of 1979’s, which pitted lifelong rivals (and friends, off the court) Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson in the title game long before they joined the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

Watch the video embedded below put together by the folks at The Score to hear the tale of how that rivalry began in earnest, one that would redefine the face of the league, and according to many, even helped save it from sliding into obscurity.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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