Larry Bird claimed NBA forced Game 7 vs Magic’s Lakers for TV ratings

Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players and an undisputed Boston legend.

But while the NBA is a global sport in 2024 and Game 1 of the Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Celtics and will be watched across the world, things were much different for the league in the early 1980s.

Michael Jordan hadn’t entered The Association.

Major League Baseball was still America’s most popular sport.

The NFL was on the rise.

Then there was the fact that the NBA was desperate for increased TV ratings and fan relevance.

Enter Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, Bird and a fierce Los Angeles Lakers vs Celtics rivalry that still inspires passion 40 years later.

“The trophies and the rings and all that didn’t matter. It was all about beating the Lakers and beating Earvin,” Bird said. “That’s all that mattered.”

Johnson’s Lakers won it all against Philadelphia in 1982, then fell to Moses Malone, Julius Erving and the 76ers in the Finals a year later.

In 1984, the NBA’s first big stage was set.

Johnson’s Lakers vs Bird’s Celtics for a shining trophy.

Game 1 went to Los Angeles.

Game 2 was won by Boston.

Game 3 was claimed by the Lakers.

Game 4 saw Bird grab 21 rebounds while the Celtics evened the series at 2-2 with a tough 129-125 road victory at The Forum.

With the NBA receiving a lift from a growing Lakers vs Celtics rivalry and the Finals down to a best-of-three scenario, a winner-take-all Game 7 became a real possibility.

And that’s where things got crazy.

“Stern told a fan that the NBA needed a seven-game series, that the league needed the money,” Bird said. “When the commissioner makes a statement like that to a fan, you know it’s going to be tough.”

The eventual Hall of Famer, 12-time All-Star and three-time NBA MVP doubled down on his theory that Game 6 was rigged to force a TV-friendly Game 7.

“When Stern makes a statement like that, things are going to happen,” Bird said. “You just don’t make statements like that and expect anything out of it. He’s the commissioner and he shouldn’t be saying anything like that.

“The NBA wanted a seventh game because they wanted to make more money and they got their wish.”

Bird’s comments have faded into league history but they would absolutely dominate TV and social-media headlines in 2024.

If Game 6 was rigged by the NBA, Game 7 was more favorable for Bird’s team.

The Celtics won 111-102 at the Boston Garden.

Brian McIntyre, then the NBA director of public relations, said that Bird’s accusation was “ridiculous.”

“There’s nothing to it,” he said. “It’s all third-hand.

“I don’t think he (Stern) would ever say anything like that. It was a throw-away line if it was said.”

Either way, the NBA got its wish with a must-watch rivalry.

For the next six years, either the Celtics or Lakers were in the Finals.

And MJ was on his way to lift the league to an even higher platform.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics host Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks in Game 1 of the 2024 Finals on Thursday night.