Will we ever have a Bird vs Magic esque rivalry again?

[Le Shaqtus]

A legitimate rivalry, not some media concocted bullshit one.

Magic and Larry met even before they battled each other in the NCAA tournament, they both met during the WIT (World Invitational Tournament), a college all star like tournament against other countries. From there Larry lost the NCAA championship to him.

Then eventually they went their separate ways into the league, and their rivalry was it's own story. Flash vs Simple, Hollywood vs Blue Collar, Black vs White. And most importantly it was a rivalry, Larry didn't beat down Magic every time they played and vice versa. If any of you have read their book "When the Game was ours" or the documentary "A Courtship of Rivals" there's revenge stories, immense respect, dark back stories. All these things culminated into the perfect rivalry.

It changed the face of a dying league and saved basketball, you couldn't write it any better into a book, this happened in real life and it was probably one of the most electrifying stories in professional basketball ever, if not the most.

So begs the question, do you think we'll ever witness another rivalry akin to Bird and Magic's? It could really change the league if it does again.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

A legitimate rivalry, not some media concocted bullshit one.

Magic and Larry met even before they battled each other in the NCAA tournament, they both met during the WIT (World Invitational Tournament), a college all star like tournament against other countries. From there Larry lost the NCAA championship to him.

Then eventually they went their separate ways into the league, and their rivalry was it's own story. Flash vs Simple, Hollywood vs Blue Collar, Black vs White. And most importantly it was a rivalry, Larry didn't beat down Magic every time they played and vice versa. If any of you have read their book "When the Game was ours" or the documentary "A Courtship of Rivals" there's revenge stories, immense respect, dark back stories. All these things culminated into the perfect rivalry.

It changed the face of a dying league and saved basketball, you couldn't write it any better into a book, this happened in real life and it was probably one of the most electrifying stories in professional basketball ever, if not the most.

So begs the question, do you think we'll ever witness another rivalry akin to Bird and Magic's? It could really change the league if it does again.

Jabari vs. Parker?

[SpecialQue]

I hope so. The Durant/Lebron one is bullshit since they're both friends.

[Le Shaqtus]

Jabari vs. Parker?

This is the first one that came to mind, but it's going to be tough since both of their teams have been bottom feeders in their respective conferences (Milwaukee more so). If they can elevate their teams to success over a period of time it could become one.

I think it's something that will take a couple of years to mature, depending on how their teams grow with them. But Magic and Bird made immediate impact on their teams so anything could happen.


I hope so. The Durant/Lebron one is bullshit since they're both friends.

Yeah, it's not a rivalry if you're buddying up and training together, there's no fire.

Larry hated Magic's guts up until they did that converse commercial, they became friends but they never trained together.

[sammichoffate]

If both live up to their maximum potential, Parker and Wiggins. They also have to not buddy up like Lebron and KD.

[ZMonkey11]

If both live up to their maximum potential, Parker and Wiggins. They also have to not buddy up like Lebron and KD.

I don't think their can be rivalries like this anymore.
#1, you can't build up the college hype machine. Kids are leaving after one year. That takes the mystique out of building the young rivalry.

#2, they had the race dynamic going.

#3, their polar opposite personalities really made them shine once they became friends.

#4, the cities they went to also had cultures that were also polar opposite of each other.

#5, freaking social media has taken the mystery out of our players. We can follow every single footstep they take. The 80s was a lot of word of mouth. As the stories are passed, they get embellished, adding to these larger than life figures. Social media lets you see exactly what happens, what they are thinking, and you get 200 people adding their thoughts into it. Nothing is left to the imagination anymore.

The Magic/Bird rivalry will go down as the greatest player basketball rivalry in history and nothing will come close. The stars aligned just right for this one.

[imnew09]

Lebron fked it up by taking his talents to south beach. :facepalm bad example

[stanlove1111]

I don't think their can be rivalries like this anymore.

The Magic/Bird rivalry will go down as the greatest player basketball rivalry in history and nothing will come close. The stars aligned just right for this one.


Not sure how you came to that conclusion..Its probably number 2 behind Wilt vs Russell.

[CasterL]

"When the game was ours" is such a good read. Good Shout. I'd be surprised if another rivalry like that came along, there were a lot of unique circumstances involved.

[Beastmode88]

League is too soft. Everyone is too buddy buddy. KD/Lebron rivalry is only hyped by the media but you see them working out / hanging together. Larry/Bird's rivalry is why basketball isn't a 2nd rated sported, MJ just elevated it another level with his dominance, too bad he had no rival.

[pauk]

Lebron fked it up by taking his talents to south beach. :facepalm bad example

Im sorry but Bird & Magic were top 10 all-time greats IDENTICALLY good/dominant/impactful, they were handing it to eachother many years in the Finals (and before that, in college)..... now THAT is a rivalry....

So i mean Wade for Lebron was more like what Dantley was for Bird or Magic.... or what Drexler was for Jordan....

Lebron taking his talents to south beach is like if Jordan took his talents to Portland Trailblazers with Drexler & Brad Daugherty (Bosh) there, thats more equivalent..... a bad team and two players who never were his rivals, just some good dudes who would most often just be punching bags, before & after he played with them...

I doubt we will see something like a Bird & Magic rivalry anytime soon....

[ZMonkey11]

Not sure how you came to that conclusion..Its probably number 2 behind Wilt vs Russell.

You go to another country outside of the US and you ask about the Wilt v Russell rivalry, you are probably going to get blank stares.

You ask them about Magic/Bird, they will probably know something about it.

I came to this conclusion because of the reasons listed.

[kamil]

I hope so. The Durant/Lebron one is bullshit since they're both friends.

LeBron* is friends with everyone.

Dat collusion.

[nycelt84]

The Bird vs Magic rivalry was a once in a lifetime rivalry.

[Haymaker]

Melo/Bron was supposed to be a rivalry, as well as Bron/Durant. Both failed the expectations.

[dubeta]

Melo/Bron was supposed to be a rivalry, as well as Bron/Durant. Both failed the expectations.

Cause Bron was way better than both

[knicksman]

durant vs bran couldve been but bran pusied out to miami and now a much better big 3:oldlol:

[Psileas]

You go to another country outside of the US and you ask about the Wilt v Russell rivalry, you are probably going to get blank stares.

You ask them about Magic/Bird, they will probably know something about it.

I came to this conclusion because of the reasons listed.

Not by most people dealing with basketball and are above their teen years.
Why care about the opinion of someone who only knows names as celebrities? I bet more people know Yao Ming than Bill Russell, too.

[Hoopz2332]

no because race played a big part in what made it big

[La Frescobaldi]

You go to another country outside of the US and you ask about the Wilt v Russell rivalry, you are probably going to get blank stares.

You ask them about Magic/Bird, they will probably know something about it.

I came to this conclusion because of the reasons listed.


lulz

[stalkerforlife]

I think it'll be difficult due to the brotherhood in the NBA. It truly is a team sport and if the majority is against you, it doesn't matter how good you are.

A white dude is going to have to be out of this world good to get the touches it takes to be a star.

[elementally morale]

The Bird vs Magic rivalry was a once in a lifetime rivalry.

Most people at the time thought WWI was a once in a lifetime experience.

[QuebecBaller]

I don't think their can be rivalries like this anymore.
#1, you can't build up the college hype machine. Kids are leaving after one year. That takes the mystique out of building the young rivalry.

#2, they had the race dynamic going.

#3, their polar opposite personalities really made them shine once they became friends.

#4, the cities they went to also had cultures that were also polar opposite of each other.

#5, freaking social media has taken the mystery out of our players. We can follow every single footstep they take. The 80s was a lot of word of mouth. As the stories are passed, they get embellished, adding to these larger than life figures. Social media lets you see exactly what happens, what they are thinking, and you get 200 people adding their thoughts into it. Nothing is left to the imagination anymore.

The Magic/Bird rivalry will go down as the greatest player basketball rivalry in history and nothing will come close. The stars aligned just right for this one.

:applause:

[Hoopz2332]

I don't think their can be rivalries like this anymore.
#1, you can't build up the college hype machine. Kids are leaving after one year. That takes the mystique out of building the young rivalry.

#2, they had the race dynamic going.

#3, their polar opposite personalities really made them shine once they became friends.

#4, the cities they went to also had cultures that were also polar opposite of each other.

#5, freaking social media has taken the mystery out of our players. We can follow every single footstep they take. The 80s was a lot of word of mouth. As the stories are passed, they get embellished, adding to these larger than life figures. Social media lets you see exactly what happens, what they are thinking, and you get 200 people adding their thoughts into it. Nothing is left to the imagination anymore.

The Magic/Bird rivalry will go down as the greatest player basketball rivalry in history and nothing will come close. The stars aligned just right for this one.


Great post. The bolded is also what made athletes/celebs in general more godlike back in the day.

[Papaya Petee]

Im sorry but Bird & Magic were top 10 all-time greats IDENTICALLY good/dominant/impactful, they were handing it to eachother many years in the Finals (and before that, in college)..... now THAT is a rivalry....

So i mean Wade for Lebron was more like what Dantley was for Bird or Magic.... or what Drexler was for Jordan....
You're literally ****ing retarded. Until 2012 when Wade went down with injuries a LOT of people believed he was the best player in the NBA and better than LeBron. Wade had seasons where he was better than LeBron. He had a ring and a finals MVP while LeBron had nothing before coming to Miami. Drexler and Dantley never had arguments.

Please ban this moron

Edit: Punching bags? ****ing seriously? What did LeBron accomplish before Wade? 2011 Finals ring any bells? no wonder people hate you.

[Marchesk]

Lebron on the Heat vs Kobe on a title contending Lakers team with them both in their primes vying for MVP each season would have rivaled Magic/Bird.

[Rose'sACL]

Isn't it a good thing that players don't hate or at least pretend to hate other players off the court?
Give your 100% on the court and then act like an adult.

[Marchesk]

And ISH would shut down. Kobe has been hurt for two seasons and they're still tons of threads trolling him vs Lebron. Imagine if it was for real.

[BoutPractice]

It's not Bird VS Magic by any means, but LeBron VS Durant is definitely going on right now, though it will only become really interesting if Durant takes his revenge and wins a championship against a LeBron led team.

As for the next gen, Parker VS Wiggins has the makings of it. Same loaded draft, same position, both sons of former athletes, compared to each other since high school, played against each other in a hyped matchup in college... and will both play in the same division as the young stars of talent hungry teams, both for "white", unsexy franchises. There are enough differences to make it interesting too: one bases his game more on skill, the other more on athleticism, one is American, the other Canadian, one is confident, the other shy and low key. And they're both classy, marketable players.

[mehyaM24]

although a better peak player, lebron's greatest rival would have been kobe given the laker team success (had only cleveland surrounded dude with better teammates :facepalm).

i dont buy the durant/bron H2H only because of durant shrinking against physical defenses e.g. vs memphis this last postseason.

lebron is basically on a tier by himself, which is amazing considering how strong the league is today. the potential some of these young guns have is pretty crazy.

[HOoopCityJones]

It's called Duncan vs. Kobe.

You must have missed it.

[Haymaker]

Jabari vs. Parker?

Andrew vs. Wiggins? :no:

[Hey Yo]

Andrew vs. Wiggins? :no:
:oldlol:

[Meticode]

No. No one will ever been as good as Bird and Magic and have their personalities. Especially Bird, Bird was not buddy-buddy at all and today it's all about "sportsmanship". Bird wanted to rip your heart out once you stepped onto the court.

[Hey Yo]

It's called Duncan vs. Kobe.

You must have missed it.
They only played each other once in the playoffs after Shaq left.

It was clearly a Duncan vs. Shaq rivalry while he was with the Lakers.

[Bigsmoke]

Lebron fked it up by taking his talents to south beach. :facepalm bad example

Blame Melo and Wade not being as good as LeBron

[Le Shaqtus]

It's called Duncan vs. Kobe.

You must have missed it.

That's hardly a rivalry.

Definitely a team rivalry, but there was nothing between Duncan and Kobe, nowhere near a Bird/Magic level anyway.

[Papaya Petee]

Blame Melo and Wade not being as good as LeBron
Once again until the 2012 season how was Wade not as good as Lebron?

[Le Shaqtus]

Once again until the 2012 season how was Wade not as good as Lebron?

The Bullshit on this board sometimes is ridiculous. Wade helped lead his team to a chip in 06' and despite a couple injuries he was a top 3 player at least for years. But this board only remembers the last season so Wade has always been garbage.

[Collie]

On that level? Not gonna happen. Bird/Magic was perfect because:

-Their rivalry went all the way back from college, including a fantastic NCAA title game
-They went to the two most popular/relevant teams of all time
-LA and Boston are practically opposite in terms of flavor (glamour vs tradition, etc.)
-They had contrasting styles, with Magic being flashy and Bird being quietly brilliant
-They represented LA and Boston down to a T
- They both won early and often, and met multiple times in the Finals, with each series having lots of memorable moments

It wasn't just the fact that they were great players, a Bird-Magic rivalry would have to match this kind of story as well,which is highly unlikely. Magic-Bird was the perfect storm of competition.

[kennethgriffin]

Will we ever have a Bird vs Magic esque rivalry again?



we did.

infact we had an even bigger rivalry that surpassed magic and bird



Kobe and Duncan are responsible for

13 of the last 15 nba finals

10 of the last 15 nba championships

met 6 times in the playoffs ( kobe winning 4 of them )

theyre both arguably right there with magic and bird all time individually

38 combined first team all nbas/defenses

29 combined allstar games

back and forth rivalry the last 15 years





people are just too f*cking dumb and on lebronze's c*ck to realize it. and they think this generation was about his f*ggot ass


:facepalm

[Hey Yo]

^^^^.........your drunk trollin' is so weak

[Le Shaqtus]

we did.

infact we had an even bigger rivalry that surpassed magic and bird



Kobe and Duncan are responsible for

13 of the last 15 nba finals

10 of the last 15 nba championships

met 6 times in the playoffs ( kobe winning 4 of them )

theyre both arguably right there with magic and bird all time individually

38 combined first team all nbas/defenses

29 combined allstar games

back and forth rivalry the last 15 years





people are just too f*cking dumb and on lebronze's c*ck to realize it. and they think this generation was about his f*ggot ass


:facepalm

Why are you adding accolades like all star games and all NBA teams? No one talks about those in terms of rivalries. Also the story line for Birds and Magic's shits on Kobe's and Duncans.

[Lebron23]

Lebron and Durant. I think they will meet again in the NBA Finals.

[nycelt84]

Most people at the time thought WWI was a once in a lifetime experience.

Considering there's only been 2 world wars and the 2nd was basically a continuation of the 1st they were close to correct. Magic vs Bird had ingredients almost impossible to duplicate especially with the most important of white vs black at that time in American history.

[BoutPractice]

we did.

infact we had an even bigger rivalry that surpassed magic and bird



Kobe and Duncan are responsible for

13 of the last 15 nba finals

10 of the last 15 nba championships

met 6 times in the playoffs ( kobe winning 4 of them )

theyre both arguably right there with magic and bird all time individually

38 combined first team all nbas/defenses

29 combined allstar games

back and forth rivalry the last 15 years

people are just too f*cking dumb and on lebronze's c*ck to realize it. and they think this generation was about his f*ggot ass

:facepalm

Duncan VS Kobe is an interesting rivalry, but what about Duncan VS LeBron?

They've already met 3 times in the Finals, from prime Duncan VS rookie LeBron to prime LeBron VS old Duncan.

In 07, Duncan and the Spurs destroyed him but at the same time he basically anointed him his successor ("this league will be yours soon"). 07 also made it clear to LeBron he would need more star power to win in the Finals, and this loss was the beginning of a process that would culminate in the Decision. In 13 LeBron fulfilled the prediction by beating Duncan's Spurs in one of the greatest Finals in basketball history. In 14 Duncan took his revenge for the heartbreaking end to game 6 and 7 in a remake of 07 (balanced attack against a one-man show, only this time LeBron's act was much better)... prompting the breakup of the very team that had formed partly as a response to their dominating win against LeBron 7 years before.

It's not unlikely they'll meet each other in June next year, too, this time with LeBron back on the Cavaliers, where he first made it to the Finals.

How many top 10 all time greats have met each other in the Finals 3/4 times? Bird/Magic, and that's it. But the age difference makes it unique: it's the tale of the old legend that just won't die and keeps interfering with the new face of the league's plan for unchecked league dominance. It's a story we often see in sports (and life), the prodigy who thinks it's his time versus the fading star who's not going down without a fight.

[Thorpesaurous]

Some of the things that seem like they'd have to be must have characteristics. Seperate conferences. Same rookie seasons. Multiple titles and multiple MVPs each. And then there's the weird connection from the college title.

It just feels like too much to ask to happen again.

[FatComputerNerd]

While in the same conference, I used to view Lebron and Pierce somewhat this way. We met them repeatedly in the playoffs, and both are (or were, in Peirce' case) superstar level talents, who played @ the same position no less..

[Le Shaqtus]

Lebron and Durant. I think they will meet again in the NBA Finals.

They can't be rivals because they're buddies. Also Durant has never beaten LeBron either.

[BoutPractice]

They can't be rivals because they're buddies
So were Russell/Wilt and Bird/Magic. Russell and Wilt stayed at each other's homes, knew each other's families, and Magic was practically in love with Bird.

It might even make them MORE ferocious when facing each other on the court.

Think of their famous third quarter duel this year...

[f0und]

the magic/bird rivalry was like something out of a book. it was just too perfect. black vs white. east coast vs west coast. two of the most storied franchises in NBA history. both alltime top 5 players(unarguable at the time). faced each other on the biggest stages multiple times(college & NBA). it couldnt be written any better.

so no, i doubt we will ever see anything like it.

[SpecialQue]

the magic/bird rivalry was like something out of a book. it was just too perfect. black vs white. east coast vs west coast. two of the most storied franchises in NBA history. both alltime top 5 players(unarguable at the time). faced each other on the biggest stages multiple times(college & NBA). it couldnt be written any better.

so no, i doubt we will ever see anything like it.

Not only that, but from 1980 up until 1990, there wasn't a finals series without either Magic or Bird.