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BOSTON: Basketball icons Magic Johnson and Larry Bird expect a new
generation of stars to lift the rivalry between the Los Angeles
Lakers and Boston Celtics to greater heights starting on Thursday.
Johnson sparked the Lakers to five National
Basketball Association titles in the 1980s while playmaker Bird led
the Celtics to three crowns in the decade, setting the stage for an
emotional rematch in this year’s NBA finals.
“Will they understand the rivalry? They will
know what it’s about when the ball goes up,” Johnson said on
Tuesday. “They may not understand what Larry and I went through.
They may not understand what the rivalry was like in our day.
“They are going to create their own rivalry
starting Thursday night.”
NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant, who sought
a trade when the season began, will join Spanish center Pau Gasol to
lead the Lakers in quest of their 15th NBA crown, one shy of
Boston’s all-time record 16 NBA titles.
Kevin Garnett, who joined Boston before the
season, has finally achieved his goal of playing for a championship
and together with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will power the Celtics
in search of their first crown since 1986.
“I’m happy to see these new Lakers and new
Celtics in the final,” Johnson said. “It’s not about us.
It’s about what we helped build. It’s not our stage. It’s
Kobe’s stage and Garnett’s stage and Pierce’s stage and
Allen’s stage and Gasol’s stage.
“If you picked fans around the world and asked
who they would want to be in the finals, it would be these two
teams.”
When the best-of-7 showdown is complete, the
Lakers and Celtics will have combined to win half of the 62 NBA
titles.
But the stars of yesteryear have gladly passed
the torch to today’s greats.
“It’s their stage. It’s really the players
of today’s game,” Bird said. “It doesn’t matter what
happened in the ’80s. It matters what happens today. It was an
honor to play against Magic and some of the best teams ever put
together.
“It was battles every game. You knew if you
didn’t play your best you weren’t going to win. It was an
extraordinary time. But now I look forward to the Celtics winning
another championship.”
It will be the 11th Lakers-Celtics title
showdown in NBA history. Boston won the first eight, most of them
during the Bill Russell-led 1960s dynasty run of 11 titles in 13
seasons, but lost to the Lakers in 1985 and 1987.
-- AFP
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