The 1979 NCAA championship game drew the largest television audience in the history of American basketball.

• The game pitted the Michigan State Spartans against the Indiana State Sycamores.
• What blew the TV ratings through the roof was the matchup of two superstars: G Earvin "Magic" Johnson of Michigan State and F Larry Bird of Indiana State.

Both moved to the NBA for the 1979-80 season although their paths were different.

• Boston General Manager Red Auerbach drafted Bird with the #6 pick in 1978 to ensure that the Celtics had the rights to Larry as soon as he got out of college. Those rights expired when the 1979 draft began. This move was allowed by the league by what came to be known as the "Bird Collegiate Rule." Larry decided to play his senior year at Indiana State to enhance his value.
• His decision proved a wise one when he led ISU to a 33-0 record before falling to the Spartans in the finals. He won the AP Player of the Year as well as the John Wooden and Naismith College Player of the Year Awards.
• After lengthy negotiations, Larry signed a five-year $3.25M contract with the Celtics just prior of the 1979 draft.

Magic Johnson's road to the Los Angeles Lakers was also complicated.

• The journey started on August 5, 1976, when the New Orleans Jazz signed Lakers G Gail Goodrich. Since free agency was a decade away, the Lakers were entitled to compensation from the Jazz. So New Orleans traded their 1977, 1978, and 1979 first round draft picks to the Lakers. The Jazz received the Lakers' second round pick in 1977, first round pick in 1978, and Goodrich.
• Since the Jazz, coached by former Laker great Elgin Baylor, finished with the worst record in the league in the 1978-79 season, the Lakers were able to pick Johnson with the #1 pick in the 1979 Draft.

So the two most storied franchises in the NBA had the two most exciting rookies to enter the league since Lew Alcindor in 1969.

• The Celtics had fallen sharply since winning the NBA title in 1976. Their 29-53 record in 1978-79 was the second worst in franchise history. They won 32 more games in 1979-80 with Bird in the lineup.
• The '80-81 Celtics won the NBA title in six games over the Houston Rockets.
• But Boston went downhill after that. When Milwaukee swept the Celtics in the 1983 playoffs, Coach Bill Fitch resigned after four years and was quickly replaced by assistant K. C. Jones, who had played for the great Boston teams of the Bill Russell era. A players coach, Jones was a breath of fresh air after the autocratic Fitch.
• Equally as important, Bird decided he had to improve his play. He worked hard during the off-season to improve his step-back jump shot as well as his ambidexterity and passing. Despite his lack of leaping ability, Larry positioning, timing, and strong hands made him an outstanding rebounder.
• Auerbach made another change heading into the 1983-84 season. He acquired 6'4" G Dennis Johnson in a trade from Phoenix. He provided the big defensive guard the Celtics needed.
• The changes moved the Celtics from second in the Atlantic Division in 1983 to first in '84.

The Lakers had not fallen as low as the Celtics when Magic joined them in 1979.

• The Milwaukee Bucks traded Lew Alcindor, now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to the Lakers in 1975 for four players.
• The Lakers made the playoffs in the three years before Johnson's arrival but didn't make it past the Western Conference Finals.
• They won the championship in Johnson's rookie year, beating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. If anyone questioned Johnson's magic, he removed all doubt in Game 6 of the Finals when he played center in place of the injured Kareem and scored 42 points and gathered 15 rebounds to spark the 123-107 title-clinching victory in Philadelphia.
• The Lakers received a shot in the arm when assistant Pat Riley replaced head coach Paul Westhead during the 1981-82 season.

The Lakers' only real competition in the Pacific Division was provided by the Portland Trail Blazers.

• LA finished the regular season 54-28 to win their division by six games.
• As expected, Kareem led the team in scoring with a 21.5ppg average.
• At 6'9", PG Johnson tied Kareem for the rebound lead with 7.3 per game.
• Assists was no contest, Magic leading the league with 13.1 per game. Michael Cooper was a distant second at 5.9apg.

After losing their season opener, the Celtics ran off nine wins in a row and never looked back to win the Atlantic Division by 10 games over the 76ers.

• To no one's surprise, Bird led the Celtic scorers with 24.2ppg.
• Robert Parish edged out Larry for the team lead in rebounds, 10.7 to 10.1.
• Thanks to his hard work during the summer, Bird topped the Celts in assists with 6.6 per game, 2.4 more than Dennis Johnson.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division Team W L % GB Boston Celtics 62 20 .756 -- Philadelphia 76ers 52 30 .634 10 New York Knicks 47 35 .573 15 New Jersey Nets 45 37 .549 17 Washington Bullets 35 47 .427 27	Central Division Team W L % GB Milwaukee Bucks 50 32 .610 -- Detroit Pistons 49 33 .598 1 Atlanta Hawks 40 42 .488 10 Cleveland Cavaliers 28 54 .341 22 Chicago Bulls 27 55 .329 23 Indiana Pacers 26 56 .317 24

Western Conference
Midwest Division Team W L % GB Utah Jazz 45 37 .549 -- Dallas Mavericks 43 39 .524 2 Denver Nuggets 38 44 .463 7 Kansas City Kings 38 44 .463 7 San Antonio Spurs 37 45 .451 8 Houston Rockets 29 53 .354 16	Pacific Division Team W L % GB Los Angeles Lakers 54 28 .659 -- Portland Trail Blazers 48 34 .585 6 Seattle Supersonics 42 40 .512 12 Phoenix Suns 41 41 .500 13 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 17 San Diego Clippers 30 52 .366 24

Eastern Conference First Round Celtics over Bullets 3-1 Knicks over Pistons 3-1 Nets over 76ers 3-2 Bucks over Hawks 3-2	Western Conference First Round Lakers over Kings 3-0 Mavericks over Supersonics 3-2 Suns over Trail Blazers 3-2 Jazz over Nuggets 3-2
Eastern Conference Semifinals Celtics over Knicks 4-3 Bucks over Hawks 4-2	Western Conference Semifinals Lakers over Mavericks 4-1 Suns over Jazz 4-2
Eastern Conference Finals Celtics over Bucks 4-1	Western Conference Finals Lakers over Suns 4-2

The Celtics had a slightly tougher road to the finals than the Lakers.

• LA rolled through the Western Conference playoffs, winning 11 with only three losses in the three series.
• The Knicks pushed the Celtics to the seventh game to defeat them in the Eastern semifinals. Boston then roared past Milwaukee in the finals 4-1.
• Because of their better regular season record (62 wins to 54 for the Lakers), Boston earned home court advantage in the finals.

The pairing of the NBA's two glamor teams produced high TV ratings for CBS

• Quarter 1
  The Celtics prevented the LA from getting a single offensive rebound in the period, but the Lakers were hot from the field, hitting 11-of-18, with Kareem scoring nine on the inside and Michael Cooper adding eight from the outside. However, Kurt Rambis was having trouble containing a very active Cornbread Maxwell, who made two layups and four free throws.
  Lakers 30 Celtics 30
  
  
• Quarter 2
  After missing his first three shots, James Worthy stuffed one home to give LA the lead to open the period. But the Celtics answered with eight straight points to move in front 38-32. Larry Bird sank two free throws, then took a pass from Danny Ainge for a layup. Then the two reversed roles, Danny laying in a give-and-go from Larry.
  Continuing to dominate the boards, Boston incresed the lead to nine. Robert Parish scored on a put back, Kevin McHale rolled in a layup on a fast break, and Maxwell completed a three-point play inside against reserve Mitch Kupchak to make it 58-47 Boston.
  Behind Worthy's rebound jumper and two free throws coupled with Kupchak's layup and foul shot, LA closed to within four. But Maxwell, who had 17 points in the half, hit 4-of-6 from the line after drawing fouls from Worthy in close.
  Despite shooting only 37.5% in the second quarter, the Celtics led by six at the break. Kareem tallied only two points in the last ten minutes of the half.
  Celtics 58 Lakers 52
  

• Quarter 3
  Boston missed three of their first four shots to open the period as LA, on a Kurt Rambis spin move, Magic's foul-line jumper, and a sky hook by Kareem, narrowed the lead to 60-58.
  Gerald Henderson, who played only seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, nailed three straight jumpers to keep the Celtics on top, 71-68, with seven minutes left. LA then failed to convert either of two straight Boston turnovers, and DJ Johnson made two free throws to stretch the lead to five.
  When a Worthy leaner and a Rambis reverse layup made it a one-point game at 73-72, the Celtics responded with Bird's short banker and a three-point play by Parish to pump the lead back to 78-72.
  Bird was on the sidelines waving a towel over his head to cheer on his teammates when the Celtics ran off nine points to spurt from 82-78 to 91-78 and take control of the game. McHale began the decisive run by nailing a fadeaway. After a Cooper miss, Ainge downed a 20-footer. Two inside misses by Kareem and a turnover led to three Celtic free throws to end the period. Celtics 91 Lakers 78

• Quarter 4
  DJ Hit two jumpers from the outside and added two free throws to put the Celtics up 99-85 midway through the period.
  Jones took Bird out again. "I took Larry out the second time," KC said, "because the defense was concentrating too much on him. He'd missed a shot, and then he traveled, and then he got a foul, and all the while, our offense was dead in the water, and there was no way we could sit on our lead."
  Bird returned to the lineup with 3:57 to go with the Celtics leading 101-93. But a 17-6 rally brought the Lakers to within 105-102 with 1:15 remaining as Kareem came alive, hitting on a hook with 2:52 left and a three-point play at 1:56. Then a Worthy jumper cut the lead to three. After a Bird miss, Magic rebounded and dribbled the length of the floor, but Parish blocked his shot. That sent DJ on a fast break, and he was fouled. His two free throws, and a Cooper miss on a three-point try with 35 seconds left allowed Bird to clinch the game with two foul shots with 0:26 on the clock.
  Boston ended the period with just three field goals.
  FINAL SCORE: CELTICS 111 LAKERS 102

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