With the Magic Johnson – Larry Bird rivalry still fresh in his mind, sculptor Bill Wolfe declares Larry’s statue will be bigger than that of his fiercest rival
Larry Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson began when both of them played against each other on the NCAA circuit. These two players brought the rivalry to NBA as Magic played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Bird
wore the green of the Boston Celtics.
In honour of the services Bird offered for their basketball program by leading the Indiana State University to its only appearance in a NCAA Championship game, the alma mater is getting his statute built.
The sculptor assigned to make the statue wants to keep the rivalry going with Magic. The school has assigned Bill Wolfe with the task of making the statue who has clearly indicated that he wants Bird’s statue
to be bigger than that of Magic.
‘‘I don’t have anything against Magic,’’ Wolfe said. ‘‘Larry is just better,’’
It does come as a surprise that Indiana State have made the decision to honour Bird this late as they had never even been in the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament. Courtesy of Bird’s exploits, they made it
all the way to the Finals. However, success did not come their way as they lost to Michigan State University who were led by Magic.
Magic got the better of Bird during the 1979 NCAA Championship game but it was only the start of a rivalry which may possibly go down as one of the greatest in Basketball history.
Their rivalry which was highlighted by their constant battles in the NBA Finals came during the time when games were recorded and then shown on television after mid-night. It helped develop the fan following
which the NBA had lost during the 1970’s.
Bird had a very successful time in the NBA which earned him three NBA Championships; three league MVP’s and 2 Finals MVP. However, the foundations which he and Johnson laid down for the likes of Michael Jordan
to follow were great for Basketball as a sport.
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