"He had a personal vendetta against Laker fans": Ice Cube pays tribute to rival Larry Bird's greatness
For most of the early stages of NBA basketball, the Boston Celtics were the team to beat. It all changed once Jerry Buss acquired the Los Angeles Lakers, but even then, the Purple & Gold had to deal with Larry Bird.
Celtics and Lakers starred in the fieriest rivalry in NBA history, and Boston's star had his fair share of epic moments against his most hated rivals.
That's why rap icon Ice Cube, a diehard Lakers fan, had no choice but to tip his hat to him, eventually being sold on his greatness after hating him for years.
"Back in the day, watching him was like a nightmare. It was as if he had a personal vendetta against Laker fans," the Hip-Hop icon told Footboom. "I had a deep-rooted dislike for him because he always clashed with Magic. One moment, Magic would come out on top, and then the next, it would be Bird who’d steal the spotlight.
"I couldn’t wrap my head around how he became that good. Yet, over time, I learned to respect him deeply. His finesse, his ability to retain composure and control the tempo of the game—it was something you just had to admire."
Magic Johnson speaks about his iconic rivalry with Larry Bird
Larry Bird's rivalry with Magic Johnson was a perfect storm for the then-struggling NBA. The league needed to improve its image, as NBA players had a bad reputation, and the league wasn't as financially sustainable as it is nowadays.
Bird and Magic had the utmost respect for each other on the court, and knowing that the other was always lurking around and trying to one-up him was more than enough motivation for both to give it all on the court on a nightly basis.
"I knew that Larry Bird could beat us at any time," Johnson said in 2008. "I knew that he was one player, nothing we could do with him because he was gonna score, he was gonna get his rebounds, his assists. Then, his will to win was higher than everybody else's.
"The thing that I tell people that Larry had that was probably unmatched with anybody, he knew how to make his other players better. I think that still today nobody has surpassed him when it comes to that."
Bird and Johnson wound up being friends, knowing their careers would be tangled up forever thanks to a rivalry that may have saved the NBA.