However much they brawled on the court, had each other by the throat, and pushed each other to do better, the two megastars always respected one another. In the 37 instances they have faced off against each other, Jabbar had a 21-16 record while outscoring Larry 24.5-23.7. However, Bird did manage to out-rebound (11.3-8), and out-assis (5.4-3.4) in those battles. But the most iconic battle of the two was the 1984 NBA Finals.

Both first seed teams filled with superstars and went all at it for ultimate glory. The befitting final of the season. Top performances and ruthless rivalry. But with no-nonsense physicality. Thanks to Shaquille O’Neal and the account on Instagram who posted the reel, NBA fans got the chance to revisit the game.

Shaquille O’Neal makes us revisit the ruthless 1984 NBA Finals series

Shaq, on his Instagram story, shared a reel of the compilation of brawls, pushing, shoving and well let’s call it a “physical” display that the world witnessed in the extremely exciting and entertaining 1984 NBA Finals.

WATCH THIS STORY: When Larry Bird bested Michael Jordan. 

The Celtics won the series 4-3, winning games 2, 4, 5, and 7. This was their 2nd NBA championship in the decade, eventually, they won 3 and the Lakers won 5. The final saw Larry Bird in full flow as he won the final MVP. It was a heated affair and this was not the only one in the history of rivalry between the two teams.

Also read: Magic praises Kareem over Larry and MJ.

The most beautiful thing about the rivalry between Kareem and Larry is that they always respected each other and knew how good the other player was. Kareem once said, “The best guy I’ve played against might have been Larry Bird. People don’t appreciate Larry Bird enough. They think he is a chubby white guy, but he would wear us down.” Moreover, Larry Bird also had the biggest praise for Kareem always, “Kareem was probably, with his size and his skyhook, the most dominating force in our league as far as getting a basket any time you want it”. Larry always returned the favor when it came to Kareem whether it be getting to each other’s face or respecting one another.