Fansided

The force is strong in the post: The NBA equivalent for every Star Wars film

By Aaron Hertzog

British actors Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, American Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi directed by Welsh Richard Marquand. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
British actors Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, American Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi directed by Welsh Richard Marquand. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 10
Next
LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 1: Larry Bird
LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 1: Larry Bird /

Episode IV — A New Hope is the careers of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird

The first glimpse into our favorite galaxy far, far away is not a happy one. “It is a period of civil war,” the iconic opening crawl tells us about the state of the world we’re about to enter. We learn about a plucky groups of Rebels who have just earned their first victory over an evil Galactic Empire. Chekov’s proverbial gun is unveiled with hint’s of the Death Star  “an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.”

Luke Skywalker is not yet the hero he’d grow to be. The young man had been raised by his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, a remote, desolate world far away from the action of the Rebellion he craves. He knows he’s meant for something more.

Without going through every event in the plot of one of the most popular movies of all time, we can summarize that Luke eventually escapes the trappings of Tatooine and embarks upon a journey that would place him in the center of the action he so desperately desired. From his small, humble upbringing on the edge of a galaxy under the oppressive rule of an evil empire, Luke becomes a hero and instills new hope into the Rebellion.

The film itself launched one of the biggest franchises in movie history and introduced the world to some of the most beloved heroes and iconic villains of the big screen. It paved the way for blockbusters epics to dominate the box office and helped create the culture of rabid fandom we know today.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would enter a similarly bleak NBA landscape when they burst onto the scene as rookies in 1979. It was a low point for the league; one plagued by abysmal television ratings, rampant drug use among players, and financial problems. The NBA was not yet the league it would grow to be and was in need of a new hope of its own.

After facing each other in the NCAA Championship game, Johnson and Bird would make their professional homes in Los Angeles and Boston, rekindling the fire of a once-heated rivalry between the teams.

“One of my pet peeves always is when people say, ‘Oh, Michael Jordan saved the NBA’” Bryant Gumble said in the HBO documentary Magic and Bird: A courtship of rivals. “Bull!  ‘Magic’ and Larry saved the NBA.”

Their parallel careers, epic battles against each other, and eventual friendship would leave intertwined legacies for the duo. It’s nearly impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other.

Bird makes this point perfectly in A courtship of rivals:

"“They talk about it every day somewhere.  If I go to a foreign country, it’s ‘ “Magic”, where’s “Magic?” ’  It’s the same everywhere…We got this connection that’s never gonna be broken.  I mean, right to our graves.  They’ll be talking about this a hundred years from now.”"

George Lucas couldn’t have scripted it better himself. From their humble upbringings in French Lick, Indiana and Lansing, Michigan, Bird and Johnson would hone games that were equal parts flash and hard work. Their team-first approach to the game and competitive drives would lead to a decade-long rival that renewed interest in the once-floundering NBA and set it up for heights it had never before reached.

They were the new hope the league desperately needed.

Home/NBA