The 40th Anniversary of The 1984 NBA Finals | The Series That Saved The NBA

This month of May marks the 40th anniversary of the 1984 NBA Finals that saved the NBA forever between Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers. The reason why this NBA Finals was such as a game changer because of 2 transcendent supernova of superstars in Larry Bird and Magic Johnson who had met in the 1979 National Championship Game when Magic played for the Michigan State Spartans and Bird played for the Indiana State Sycamores. Michigan State won the national championship by score of 75-64.

The NBA in the late 70s into the early 80s were going through some trying times whether the NBA was too black or sagging ratings or NBA Finals being on tape delays or drug problems there were doldrums that circulated like a virus in the world of the NBA but Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were able to come to the rescue in terms of bringing team ball and the necessity of passing back to the NBA plus it didn’t hurt that Bird and Magic played in big markets and franchises that had great tradition of winning.

The 1984 NBA Finals began on May 27th this coming Monday yes it is Memorial Day but it is also the same day that this classic NBA Finals began. This series went 7 games but the Lakers should have swept the Celtics because the Lakers took Game 1 at the old Boston Garden winning 115-109 led by Kareem Abdul Jabbar who had 32 points.

Game 2 was the game the Lakers should have won but lost in overtime after Kevin Mchale missed 2 consecutive free throws the Lakers called timeout then Gerald Henderson stole the inbound pass from James Worthy to tie the game with a layup. Then Magic Johnson dribbled the clock out which would lead to a prelude of bad decision making from Magic during this NBA Finals which unexpected and unprecedented. The Celtics would win in overtime by score of 124-121.

Then the series shifted to the West Coast for Game 3 at the Fabulous Forum hosted by the Lakers and they took no prisoners by dominating the Celtics by score of 137-104. Then the infamous quote by Larry Bird called out his teammates calling them sissies.

Game 4 was a dandy of a game that went to overtime but the game changer of the game and the series was when Kurt Rambis was clotheslined by Kevin Mchale on the Lakers fast break so the physicality of the Boston Celtics intimidated the Lakers. Even Bird and Kareem got into it as tempers flared between each other. Once again Magic Johnson made bad passes and missed crucial free throws leading to the moniker Tragic Johnson by Celtic fans.

The Celtics won 129-125 in overtime led by Larry Bird who had 29 points and 21 rebounds. The series was tied at 2-2 instead of a commanding 3-1 lead that the Lakers ample opportunities to put a stranglehold on the series but instead the series of the NBA Finals was up for grabs.

Game 5 was in Boston Garden and Larry Bird was unstoppable scoring 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a game that was known as the Heat Game because the arena was so hot like a sauna under 97 degrees even Kareem Abdul- Jabbar had use some oxygen mask tank. Referee Hugh Evans was dehydrated and fainted. Even the Celtics didn’t wear their sweat pants because of the extreme heat. The Celtics won decisively 121-103.

Game 6 was the game the Lakers had to have and they delivered the goods with a big win at home in the Forum winning by score of 119-108. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points. Now it was Game 7 at the Boston Garden for the right to win the title of the NBA Finals and the unsung hero was Cedric Cornbread Maxwell who was the Finals MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals when Boston beat The Houston Rockets. Maxwell had 24 points,8 rebounds, and 8 assists and he led the way. The Celtics once again beat the Lakers by score of 111-102. Larry Bird was the MVP of the Finals averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds.

The aftermath of this series is that saved the NBA and it NBA was fantastic again because Bird and Magic gave the league a shot in the arm. They would meet 2 more times in the 80s but the Lakers would win in 1985 and 1987. There were so many great players on both teams in the 1984 NBA Finals like Kareem ,Robert Parish, Kevin Mchale, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Jamaal Wilkes, Dennis Johnson, Michael Cooper, Bob McAdoo and Magic Johnson.

This series had the 2-2-1-1-1 format that would change in 1985 with the 2-3-2 and wouldn’t return to this format

until 2014.

From a television perspective the Finals of 1984 was on CBS which was the gold standard of covering the NBA with play by play man Dick Stockton and analyst Tommy Heinsohn. The 1984 NBA Finals was ratings bonanza. This Finals had everything within the contrasting of styles with the Showtime Lakers vs the blue collar fundamentally sound Celtics. East vs West and obviously the racial element was very fascinating between Magic vs Bird: black vs white. This series in 1984 was a game changer for the league featuring great team vs great team gave the NBA Finals life in terms of having live games in the Finals instead of taped delay before Michael Jordan there was Magic Johnson and Larry Bird who were truly changed the NBA Finals and NBA forever with their team first mentality and passing and winning dominating a game without scoring but doing the other things whether it be rebounding or passing just intangibles that transcends stats but the apex, zenith of the art of winning.