Lakers legend compares Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry to historic NBA battle

If you know anything about basketball you know at least a little something about the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. It ran deep, and all began when the two matched up in college and continued once they entered the NBA.

Sounds familiar? Maybe it's similar to how the so-called "rivalry" between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has been so far in their careers.

It all began when Reese and Clark faced each other in the 2023 March Madness championship game, where Reese got the best of Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. It continued this past season when Clark got her revenge on the LSU Tigers and went on the Final Four. And it has now continued in the big league.

Bird and Magic's rivalry began in the 1979 NCAA title game, when the two battled on their college teams. Magic and the Michigan State Spartans defeated Indiana State and Bird, but that was only the beginning of the rivalry.

The five-time champion, NBA Hall of Famer, and other half of the historic rivalry, Magic Johnson, made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday night, he made some remarks on the Clark vs. Reese matchup.

“Let me ask you about these WNBA players,” Kimmel said. “Angel Reese [and] Caitlin Clark, who many are saying are the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson of the WNBA, do you like that when you hear that?”

“I like it and they are,” Johnson responded.

Kimmel followed up with a question, asking Johnson if he was treated as toughly as Reese and Clark seemingly are being treated as rookies in the WNBA.

“Of course,” Johnson replied. “Veterans are going to test you. If they feel that you’ve gotten more money or more publicity, you know that they’re upset about that."

Magic Johnson compares Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese to Magic-Bird rivalry

Johnson went on to say that rookies like Clark, Reese and Cameron Brink with the Los Angeles Sparks will all be tested by the current pillars of the WNBA who have paid their dues and risen to the top of their respective sport.

Johnson said Clark is the most popular player in the WNBA at this point, but she is also not the best. She’ll have to earn her station, just like he and Bird did in the NBA during the 1980s.

“Just like Larry and I, we [weren’t] the best when we entered the league,” Johnson said. “We became the best later on by our play. Caitlin still has to play great to become the best WNBA player.”

He gave some good advice to the young WNBA rookies, to just keep grinding.

“Let me give Caitlin some advice,” Johnson said. “Call Larry Bird, ask him for advice … Indiana, he’s already there, and he could give her great advice on how to handle this situation because he went through it himself. So, it would be a perfect situation. He already lived there and grew up in Indiana, on and on and on. I think it would be great.”

He couldn't have said it better. Bird grew up in Indiana and went to Indiana State, so he knows the culture of Indiana basketball almost better than anybody else. Plus, he has been on the other side of a rivalry like hers.

Both players are going to be tested throughout their rookie seasons, and while the media makes it seem like a big deal, Magic shows that it happens to almost every rookie. It's just that the media wasn't always around at the time. players will