1979-80 Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson join the NBA.
1979-80 Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson join the NBA.
The season would always be remembered as the year Larry Bird and Earvin
"Magic" Johnson entered the NBA. A few very important changes also occurred in
the basketball regulations. The three-point field goal, popular in the ABA game,
was adopted by the NBA officials. The New Orleans Jazz moved to Salt Lake City
and changed their name to Utah Jazz. Moreover, teams faced rivals in their own
division more often than teams from other divisions.
But the big story of the season was the arrival of two talented rookies, Bird
and Johnson, on the rosters of two of the NBA's best teams. The turnaround in
Boston was dramatic. Havlicek had retired in 1978, weakening Boston, which went
down to 29-53 in 1979. With Bird departure, there were still Cowens, Cedric
Maxwellt, and Archibald and Chris Ford on the team. The team finished the
season, posting 61-21, a 32-game improvement from the previous year. But
Philadelphia won 59 games thanks to Erving's play, defeated Boston in five games
to advance to the Finals.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers with Johnson and Jabbar, had 60 wins and a place
in the NBA Finals. While Kareem sustained an injury, Magic played as a center
and secured a win for his team in a six -game series.
"It's Magic!" Johnson. Abdul-Jabbar, who hadn't won an NBA title since
the time with Milwaukee in 1971, dominated the NBA Finals in the first five
games. But Jabbar suffered an injury in Game 5, and couldn't make Game 6 in
Philadelphia. The Lakers won that matchup in which Jamaal Wilkes scored his
record 37 points. But the headlines in newspapers were saying "It's Magic!"
Johnson, filling in for Jabbar as the center scored 42 points, 15 rebounds, and
7 assists.
"We know you're hurting, big guy," Johnson said to entire America, "We want you
to get up tonight and dance a bit."
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