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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Larry Bird finished his speech, walked back to his seat and received a fist bump from the man sitting next to him on the dais.
Had to be Magic Johnson.
If college basketball’s hall of fame is going to open its doors to one, the other has to be there.
Thirty years after their NCAA battle reshaped college basketball, Bird and Johnson were inducted into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame on Sunday night.
“We always had a mutual respect for each,” Bird said. “You always thought you had to have an edge, at least I did, but we always had that respect for each other. It’s kind of fitting that we go into college basketball’s hall of fame together.”
Bird and Johnson were given automatic entry into the collegiate hall for being members of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Johnson was joined in the college hall by his coach, Jud Heathcote.
Former Oklahoma star Wayman Tisdale – who died in May from bone cancer – got in, too, as did Travis Grant, college basketball’s career scoring leader. Longtime coach Gene Bartow; Walter Byers, the first executive director of the NCAA; and USA Basketball executive director Bill Wall also got the nod.
The marquee names were Bird and Johnson. From their time together at the 1978 World Invitational Tournament to the Dream Team to their rivalry in the NBA, the two stars have had a connection. One magical game in Salt Lake City provided the defining moment.
The self-proclaimed “Hick from French Lick” vs. the flashy city kid. Undefeated Indiana State against unstoppable Michigan State. A nation’s eyes turned toward one game, the two best players on the two best teams facing each other in the NCAA title game, won by Johnson and Michigan State.
That one hype-filled game gave the NCAA tournament a larger-than-life aura and made it must-see TV and a multimillion-dollar conglomerate. All because of Bird and Magic.
“We put the madness in March,” Johnson said.
