The modern NBA is a league of lavish numbers and multiple superstars. Names such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant attract the attention of enthusiasts. However, the NBA wasn’t always the biggest basketball league in the world. It needed a boost, a chapter that would help uplift them into a global association. That responsibility was shouldered by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The rivalry was forged from their countless battles from their college days to the NBA. Fate played its role as they somehow landed up on the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Their feud became revolutionary for the NBA. Their contests lured in fans, and the league began its growth into an empire. However, trying to best each other also led to the two adversary’s forming a brother-like bond. And at one point Johnson even got a lunch invite to Bird’s home.

Magic Johnson shares his memorable experience at Larry Bird’s house

Yes, the same two stars who pushed each other to their limits on the basketball court were having meals together in their time off. Johnson spoke in length about one such experience during his appearance on the ‘Çlub Shay Shay’ podcast. The five-time NBA champion recollected the time Larry Bird asked him for lunch upfront. A meal with one’s arch-nemesis seemed like a recipe for disaster. But when Bird mentioned his mother had cooked food, it melted Magic’s heart.

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He honored his acceptance and went to the Bird house. With his beaming smile, he sat across Larry Bird and the two enjoyed home-cooked food. At the end of the lunch, the Celtics legend’s mother nudged her son asking “Did you tell him yet?”. The three-time MVP couldn’t get himself to admit the reality. So he assigned the task back to his mother. The next words had both Magic and Shannon Sharpe laughing uncontrollably.

“She turned and said ‘Magic, you’re my favorite basketball player” admitted the Los Angeles Lakers phenom.

Larry Bird’s mother wasn’t alone. Millions fell in love with the game due to the Showtime Lakers, at the helm of which was Johnson. His flashy passes and expressive face made him the face of the league. For an entire decade, Bird vs Magic was the prevalent storyline in basketball.

They set the foundation for the NBA to be the league that it is today. It was their mesmeric feud that changed the game forever. But it also rewarded them with a friendship of a lifetime. Even today, not one of them can stand alone. Their names are attached together. Magic Johnson doesn’t come without Larry Bird and vice versa.

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There are only a select few rivalries that could ever breathe the same air as Magic vs Bird. As long as the NBA is alive, they will never be forgotten.