1) April 9, 1978: World Invitational Championship exhibition vs. Soviet Union

One year before their NCAA Tournament match-up captivated the nation, and 14 years prior to their representing the U.S. in the Olympics, Johnson and Bird were teammates at the World Invitational Championship (WIT). It was an exhibition tournament staged by USA Basketball featuring a team of American NCAA stars taking on squads from Cuba, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. Though Johnson, then a freshman at Michigan State, and Bird, then a junior at Indiana State, had just wrapped up All-American seasons for their respective schools, they were relegated to the bench at the WIT. Coach Joe Hall opted to use his starting five at Kentucky as the Team U.S.A. starters and with good reason, as the Wildcats had just won the NCAA title. Though Bird and Johnson found limited playing time they made the most of one opportunity in particular, in a game against the Soviets. With the Americans up big late, Bird and Johnson wowed the crowd with back-and-forth precision passing on a fast break that ended with a Johnson lay-in. Though they barely conversed during the tournament, both future legends returned home gushing about each other, and predicting big things in the future for themselves and their perceived biggest rival.

2) March 25, 1979: NCAA Tournament Championship

Overwhelmed by the sizable population at his dream school, Indiana, Bird dropped out before ever appearing in a game for the Hoosiers and matriculated at nearby Indiana State. Though they’re one of the oldest basketball programs in the country, dating back to 1896, the Sycamores had almost no Division I success when Bird arrived, and he led them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1979. That first appearance soon morphed into a first Final Four, with Bird averaging 29.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game in their first four match-ups, felling traditional powers like Oklahoma and Arkansas. Michigan State didn’t have much history to speak of either, aside from a Final Four berth back in 1957, so Johnson was a revelation on campus in Lansing. He was also incredible in the tournament games leading up the National Final, tallying two triple-doubles and two double-doubles. Bird finished the championship game with 19 points and 13 rebounds but struggled from the floor, shooting just 7-of-21, and turned the ball over six times, as he was obviously pressing to make up for the lack of talent across the rest of his roster. Johnson paced the Spartans with 24 points and seven rebounds and Michigan State was victorious, 75-64. The game was heavily hyped and the NBC broadcast received what is still the largest Nielsen rating ever for a basketball broadcast. It not only launched Bird and Johnson into the stratosphere as basketball superstars, but is also credited as the inauguration of “March Madness” capturing public imagination.

3) December 28, 1979: First NBA regular season match-up

Nine months after the NCAA championship, Bird and Johnson reunited on the court for their first NBA battle. Though the stakes weren’t nearly as high, it was still a marquee game. Boston had finished last in their division in ’78-’79 but were enjoying an immediate resurgence into title contention in ’79-’80 thanks to their star rookie forward. Johnson had also hit the ground running for Los Angeles, but the team was already solid, featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, and Norm Nixon, and the dynamic young point guard just put them over the top. While the match-up was heavily hyped by the media and the NBA, was the first Lakers sellout at Great Western Forum in over a year, and garnered TV ratings supposedly topping any NBA Finals game of the entire preceding decade, the stars themselves attempted to downplay it. Bird was especially demure after the game ended with an easy 123-105 Lakers win, calling the hype “stupid” and claiming he was paying no attention. The Celtics star finished with 16 points in the game but was overshadowed by Johnson’s game high 23 points, plus eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Both teams eventually finished with 60+ wins and their Conference’s top seed, but the Lakers were the champions after the Celtics fell to the 76ers in the Conference Finals. This was the first of 37 Lakers-Celtics games in which Bird and Johnson both played, and Johnson’s team ultimately won 22 of them.

4) June 6, 1984: Game four of the NBA Finals

Five years into their NBA rivalry, Bird’s Celtics and Johnson’s Lakers finally faced off in an NBA Finals. The Lakers had already made three Finals appearances in the past four years, playing the 76ers each time, while the Celtics defeated the Rockets in the 1981 edition. This Celtics team had been buoyed by the arrival of Dennis Johnson and the emergence of Danny Ainge to replace the aging backcourt of Quinn Buckner and Tiny Archibald. Los Angeles was in something of a transition, with Norm Nixon gone while youngsters Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, and James Worthy were taking on larger roles in lieu of Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo. The series was tight and tense, no more so than in game four in the Boston Garden. Johnson made several key mistakes in the waning moments of the game as the Lakers blew a late lead, including a poor turnover late in regulation and some missed free throws in overtime. Bird, meanwhile, was magnificent, finishing with 29 points and 21 rebounds and hitting the game-winning jumper over Johnson in a 129-125 win. He also displayed his trademark toughness, picking fights with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper. When the Celtics finished off the contentious series in seven games, it was seen as a testament to their mental edge over the laid back, West Coast, Showtime Lakers, though that assessment wouldn’t manage to last through the ’84-’85 season.

5) February 17, 1985: Johnson and the Lakers turn back the tide

Johnson and the Lakers knew they had something to prove in their first home game against the Celtics since the 1984 NBA Finals. Bird and Boston had staked their claim as the NBA’s premier team, as evidenced by their 43-10 record heading into this match-up. As much as any showdown in their career, this was a case where the two stars took the spotlight to themselves. Bird finished with 33 points on 14-of-22 shooting, plus 15 rebounds, while Johnson led all scorers with 37 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added 13 assists in a 117-111 Lakers win. It was a seventh straight victory for Johnson’s crew, and part of a run of 31 wins in their final 35 games of the season. This propelled into a postseason dominance, losing just three games in the entire playoffs, two of them against the Celtics in the NBA Finals. In fact, from this point on, Johnson’s Lakers won 15 of the next 22 games they played against Bird’s Celtics.

6) June 9, 1987: “Baby sky hook” shifts the NBA Finals

In a role reversal from game four of the 1984 NBA Finals, game four in the 1987 edition involved late heroics from Johnson and blunders from Bird. It was a must-win situation for the Celtics at home, trailing in the series 2-1, and they led for most of the game and by as much as 16. Johnson spurred a late Los Angeles comeback that was helped by several crucial Bird mistakes, including a bad turnover and a missed contested jumper in the final two minutes. In classic Bird fashion, he shook off the disappointments and nailed a clutch three-pointer to give the Celtics a 106-104 lead with 12 seconds left. After a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar free throw and a Kevin McHale turnover, the Lakers got the ball to Johnson, who hit a running jump hook later dubbed a “baby sky hook” for the game winner. Bird had a chance to answer but was just wide on his buzzer beater three-pointer and the Lakers took a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Celtics stayed alive with a game five win at home, but succumbed in game six to give the Lakers the title. It was a rubber match victory for Johnson, giving him a 2-1 Finals advantage head-to-head with Bird.

7) February 15, 1991: One last NBA showdown

Though it wasn’t apparent at the time they took the court, this would turn out to be the final head-to-head match-up of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Since their 1987 Finals battle, Johnson’s Lakers had continued their title contention, winning another championship in 1988, reaching the Finals in 1989, and on track to another Finals appearance in 1991. The Celtics had fallen on harder times, edged out in the East by the Pistons and Bulls as Bird struggled with back injuries. He ultimately missed 22 games during the ’90-’91 season, including a late January loss to the Lakers, but made sure to be on the floor for this one, a marquee match-up in the Great Western Forum. Though he struggled to score, finishing 4-of-16 from the floor, Bird was still masterful, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists as the Celtics secured a 98-85 upset. It was the 58th and penultimate triple-double of his career. Johnson finished with his own near triple-double, with 21 points, 16 assists, and nine rebounds in the loss. Though Bird played against the Lakers twice more in his career, both during the ’91-’92 season, it was without Johnson, who shockingly retired in November of 1991 after announcing he had contracted HIV.

8) July 26, 1992: Dream pairing on the Dream Team

There were so many superlatives and legends around the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but notable to the purposes of this list is that it stands as the final competitive basketball of Larry Bird’s career, and the first time Bird and Magic Johnson got to team up since the 1978 World Invitational Championship. Though they were arguably the second and third biggest stars on the roster, behind only Michael Jordan, Bird and Johnson were both only minor contributors to the gold medal effort. Johnson was rusty and out-of-shape after nine months of retirement, while Bird had just missed over half the ’91-’92 season with back problems. They did both start in the opening game of the Olympics, against Angola, taking the floor as teammates to close out their respective careers. It was a fitting denouement to the league’s all-time greatest player rivalry.