Magic-Bird 2.0
Have there been any notable rivalries in the NBA since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went at it?
The NBA is always trying to invent rivalries. In the 1980s, they noticed that rivalries can make them lots of money, so they’ve been trying to generate them ever since. What happened in that era that helped them see this?
The 1980s were dominated by two teams: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. From 1980 to 1989, four teams won NBA titles: the Lakers, the Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Detroit Pistons. Here’s where the whole “domination” thing comes in: The 76ers and the Pistons each won once, meaning the Lakers and Celtics combined for 8 titles during that ten year span.
Though both teams were brimming with star talent, the two greatest stars were nearly always Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Unfortunately, Magic and Bird have become the exception rather than the rule. In each succeeding era, the league has tried to market the two best players as the Magic and Bird of its generation.
Yet it never quite works out.
First, the NBA boasts an abundance of talent that disallows the sort of entrenched, long-term domination Magic and Bird enjoyed during an entire decade. We’re at a point where an assembly-line of superstars usurp one another year after year.
Yet even when a clear 1A and 1B arrive, they often fail to meet in the postseason, where rivalries are truly born.
Though there have been some notable team rivalries that have sprouted up, and some players versus teams rivalries (Jordan v. Pistons, for example), genuine player v player rivalries have been rare.
Let’s look at five borderline cases from the last 25 years to see which ones have come closest to embodying the excellence of Magic-Bird. (I decided to omit cases of non-Magic and non-Bird type players to stay true to the rivalry template; obviously, a Kevin Garnett-Tim Duncan rivalry could’ve been included, but, again, bigs were omitted.)
Jordan — Drexler (1992)
Coming off his first championship in 1991, Jordan was in need of a full-fledged rival.
After essentially ending the league’s previous era en route to his first title — by ousting Isiah’s Pistons and Magic’s Lakers — Michael Jordan made his predecessors appear too old.
The NBA needed a fresh rival to compete with Jordan, who at 27 years old was entering his prime. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and David Robinson were all special players, but in 1992, a swingman possessing the build and skill set of Jordan looked the part of a possible Jordan rival.
That guy, who finished second in MVP voting to Jordan, was Clyde “the Glide” Drexler.
Jordan and Drexler met in the 1992 Finals, which the league saw as the beginning of the next great rivalry. They wasted no opportunity to market it as such. Could this be Magic-Bird redux?
Pissed off at the comparison, Jordan dominated from the beginning of Game 1, breaking the record for most points in a first half in the playoffs once held by Elgin Baylor (Michael had 35, Baylor had 33). This included six first-half threes (also a record). It was after the sixth three-pointer that Jordan turned towards the broadcast table and famously shrugged to indicate his surprise. Jordan’s shrug became a moment in pop culture history.
After beating the Blazers in six games, Jordan and Drexler found themselves teammates on the Dream Team that summer. In what has become a part of Jordan lore, Drexler came to practice wearing two left shoes. Too embarrased to switch shoes with the possibility of Jordan noticing, Drexler stuck it out. As the story goes, Jordan did notice, leading to on-going trash-talking throughout the Olympics, which is another aspect of the game Jordan excelled at.
And with that, the rivalry died before it was born.
Kobe — Iverson (2001)
A Kobe Bryant-Allen Iverson rivalry was perfect on paper. Both were drafted in 1996; a few years in, both were unquestionably the league’s best one-on-one talents; both were arguably the top two trash-talkers; both played in different conferences, meaning they could meet in the Finals; and to top it off, in 2001, Kobe and A.I. were the most popular superstars — with A.I. representing the Hood, while Kobe embodied the mainstream.
Not since Magic-Bird had a rivalry looked so inevitable, and so exciting. With the Lakers and Sixers meeting in the 2001 NBA Finals, it set up the foundation for a decade-long rivalry. During Game 1, as Iverson erupted for 48 points to give the Lakers their first postseason loss, the possibility for a legendary rivalry was on full display.
The problem with this rivalry, however, was that neither player was as dominant as another player in that same series: Shaquille O’Neal. After winning Game 1, Shaq and the Lakers won the next four quite comfortably, never allowing the sort of close-game, back-and-forth moments that typically generate lasting rivalries.
In the years that followed, Iverson continued to put up jaw-dropping performances, yet always on a Sixers team that had no business challenging the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe, meanwhile, were steamrolling over their competitors, which meant no real rivalry could emerge until this changed.
Thus, the 2001 Finals, and really just Game 1 of the 2001 Finals, served as the beginning and end of this tantalizing matchup.
Kobe — LeBron (2008–2011)
For a four year period, the two best players in the NBA were undoubtedly Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Just as Kobe was reaching the latter years of his prime, LeBron was looking to establish the Cavs as annual Eastern Conference Champions.
With both players and their respective teams at the height of their powers, it seemed inevitable that we would be seeing the two face off multiple times, with a ring at stake.
In 2009, LeBron led the Cavs to 66 wins, while Kobe and the Lakers entered the playoffs as the Western Conference favorites. When Kevin Garnett — one of Boston’s Big Three — went down with an injury, suddenly the path was wide open for the Cavs to reach the Finals. Yet the Orlando Magic, led by burgeoning Shaq-clone Dwight Howard, upset Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals, ending the dream that year of a LeBron-Kobe Finals.
The following year, the Cavs won 61 games, entering the playoffs once again as the favorites in the East. For the second year in a row, Kobe and the Lakers made the Finals with no LeBron in sight, as the Cavs lost in the Second Round to the Celtics.
After LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach, NBA fans envisioned a legendary clash between the two titans in the 2011 Finals. This time, while LeBron made his way unscathed, Kobe and the Lakers were ousted in the Second Round. With the window of Kobe’s prime closing, it served as the last chance to see the two best players, post-MJ, face off for an NBA championship.
In hindsight, it’s the rivalry that got away.
LeBron — Durant (2012-present)
In 2012, Kevin Durant became the 1B to LeBron’s 1A. At 23 years old, and with a scoring touch perhaps even more formidable than LeBron’s, Durant looked to be the perfect rival for the 27 year old.
When Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder faced off against the Miami Heat in the 2012 Finals, the Magic-Bird rivalry comparisons were on full display, as the Heat and Thunder looked to dominate their respective conferences for the rest of the decade. Why did this matchup seem so secure for the foreseeable future? After winning the title the year before, the Mavs changed the make-up of their team and didn’t appear to be in position to challenge in the years ahead. Though it seems foolish now, the San Antonio Spurs were written off as too old — and the Thunder’s demolition of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals was accepted as a harbinger of the future. The East had the Celtics to grapple with, but with two Finals appearances in a row it seemed natural to expect them to keep making it.
We all know what happened next. LeBron made good on his end: making the next four Finals, while Durant failed to overcome the Spurs and then the Warriors. While injuries plagued Durant for 2013 (with Russell Westbrook going down in the playoffs) and 2015 (with Durant himself out for the season), the Thunder were on the cusp of meeting LeBron in the 2014 and 2016 Finals, only to fall in the Western Conference Finals.
Durant’s decision to join the Warriors, who, barring injury, are the team most likely to square off against the Cavs in this year’s Finals, has breathed new life into this rivalry. Though this rivalry is being reignited rather late, there’s the potential for 2 or 3 great rivalry years between the two.
The problem is this rivalry might never take the player v player mold; it might always remain at the team v team level. That’s because we can make the case that LeBron’s lead rival is another player from the very same team!
LeBron — Curry (2015-present)
This is a rivalry that came out of thin air. That’s because Stephen Curry himself came out of thin air. After entering the league and gradually surprising everyone with his incredible shooting, handle, and all-around scoring prowess, Curry started to make a lot of noise. Following the injury to 2014 MVP Kevin Durant, he catapulted himself into the league’s best player conversation, by way of back-to-back MVPs and a championship in 2015.
Last year, Curry did what no one had done before — make people actually, genuinely, truly believe that LeBron is no longer the best player in the league. Yes, Derrick Rose won the MVP over LeBron in 2011 (LeBron actually came in third, behind Dwight Howard), but nobody really thought Rose was better. Yes, Durant won the MVP over LeBron in 2014, but again, no one really thought Durant was better.
But Curry’s consecutive MVPs the past two years have changed minds. Minds only changed back when LeBron improbably, and spectacularly, led the Cavs to the first ever 3–1 Finals comeback against the Warriors, with an underwhelming Curry looking far less dominant in comparison.
There was a point, though, when Curry had the 2015 MVP, the 2016 MVP (won unanimously, which LeBron never achieved), and the 2015 Finals victory over LeBron. It was fairly secure that if anyone was better than LeBron, it was Curry.
Then that Finals rematch happened. The Warriors were en route to establishing themselves a dynasty. They had 73 wins, an NBA record, and were one game away from decisively showing themselves superior to LeBron and the Cavs. What happened next was what legacies are made of: LeBron snatched back the throne, both at the team level, with the Cavs defeating the Warriors, and at the individual level, by comprehensively outclassing Curry on his way to Finals MVP honors.
The best part? These two teams are likely to meet again in the Finals for the foreseeable future. Whether it’s LeBron-Durant or LeBron-Curry (at times it can feel like LeBron-Draymond is the most satisfying rivalry), the fact that the Warriors and Cavs are likely to meet in multiple Finals in the years ahead makes this the most tantalizing Magic-Bird redux yet.
Berny Belvedere contributed to this story.
