How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird performed in their storied head-to-head matches: A breakdown of the rivalry

How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird performed in their storied head-to-head matches: A breakdown of the rivalry.

You can’t tell the story of the 1980s without Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Between 1980 and 1989, there were only two seasons that ended with someone other than Johnson or Bird winning the title. In 1980, 1982, 1985 and 1988, Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to championships, winning three Finals MVPs along the way. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards.

The other two instances? In 1983, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Lakers, and in 1989, the Detroit Pistons unexpectedly defeated the Lakers. Thus, one of the two premier teams participated in the NBA Finals for a full ten years.

Johnson and Bird also took home five of the ten MVP trophies that were given out in the 1980s. Between 1983 and 1986, Bird won three straight, while Johnson won two MVP honors to end the decade.

Though it’s evident that the two ruled the decade, who triumphed over the other?

The regular season will be discussed first.

Typical season.

Johnson and Bird faced off against one another eighteen times during their careers in the regular season, according to Basketball Reference. In their head-to-head meetings, Johnson averaged 19.4 points, 11.5 assists, and 6.8 rebounds, while Bird averaged 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. Johnson won 11 of the games.

Head-to-head regular season games between Magic and Bird
Player AcquiresPTSREB AST FG% 3PT% FT%
Enchantment Johnson11.5, 19.4, 6.8, 11.5, 49.6, 31.6, 85.6
Larry Bird10 9~6.2 50.0~47.4 81.5 7 21.7
A few of Johnson’s standout moments versus Bird were:

Feb. 23, 1983: ten assists, thirteen rebounds, and twenty points. What’s the significance? Johnson’s triple-double against Bird during the regular season was the only one.
15, February 1987: 39 points.

December 15, 1989: Six rebounds, six steals, 21 assists, and 16 points. What’s the significance? Johnson had provided 20 or more assists just 23 times in his career. In his NBA career, only John Stockton (38), according to Basketball Reference, has more games with 20 assists.
Regarding a few of Bird’s standout efforts versus Johnson:

16 February 1986: 18 rebounds, 7 assists, and 22 points. What’s the significance? During the regular season, it was the highest number of rebounds that Bird had against Johnson.
December 11, 1987: eight assists, five steals, nine rebounds, and thirty-five points. What’s the significance? Against Johnson, it was Bird’s highest scoring game to date.