In the NBA, no rivalry brought more attention and fame to the league than the one between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers . And of course, the contentious feud between the two eminent franchises became more pronounced due to the clash of their respective megastars. In one corner was the Lakers' flashy and flamboyant point guard, Magic Johnson. In the other was the Celtics' brash and fearless forward, Larry Bird .
Together, those two lifted the NBA to new heights. Brilliant in their distinct styles of play, Magic and Larry gave the league the shot in the arm it needed to become mainstream and be on par with other North American professional sports leagues, such as Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
However, their clashes in the NBA Finals became more than just games; they became spectacles. And Magic and Larry's first meeting in the NBA Finals in 1984 was undoubtedly their most memorable one. The two teams battled tooth and nail in the first two games and split them, setting the stage for Game 3 at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood.
While many expected another barnburner, Game 3 was anything but as the Lakers pounced on the Celtics early and never let up. When the dust settled, they whooped their opponents by 33, 137-104, to take a 2-1 series lead.
The loss was humiliating enough. However, for a ruthless competitor like Bird, it wasn't; he had to remind his teammates how pitiful their performance was to make sure it never happened again, especially on the biggest stage of them all.
Bird was a no-nonsense type of guy. He was one of the fiercest trash-talkers in all of professional sports. However, what many didn't know was that he also never hesitated to lay into his teammates if the need arose. After getting crushed in Game 3, Bird saw the need to let his team know that type of effort wasn't welcome, not in the NBA Finals.
"Well, we just played like a bunch of women tonight," Bird exclaimed during his postgame talk with the media inside the locker room.
The Hick from French Lick was certainly spot-on with his assessment. Boston shot just 39.6 percent from the field. And aside from Bird's 30 points, the other starters combined for just 32. Worse than their offensive performance was their defensive ineptitude, as the Lakers made 51.5 percent of their shots and scored a whopping 80 points in the second half.
"We got some great players on this team, but we don't have the players with the heart sometimes that we need," Larry exhorted. "Until we get our hearts where they belong, we're in trouble."
Bird knew his scathing postgame comments would reach his teammates. In fact, he was banking on them getting his message loud and clear. And according to M.L. Carr, they did emphatically.
"He knew we were going to respond," Carr shared. "Now, guys, let's relax and go out and take care of business."
"And we did."
The Celtics won Games 4 and 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. However, the Lakers fought back and tied the series with a 119-108 victory in Game 6. The penultimate Game 7, though, belonged to the Celtics, 111-102, with Bird tallying a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Larry Legend was eventually named the Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
