In a showdown that set the stage for the legendary Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird rivalry, Michigan State defeated Indiana State in the NCAA Championship Game
On March 26, 1979, Michigan State defeated Indiana State, 75-64, in the 41st NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The title contest marked the beginning of the legendary rivalry between future Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. To this day, it is the highest-rated game in the history of televised college basketball, with a reported 35.1 million viewers.
In what was viewed as a David vs. Goliath match-up, Magic Johnson had 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and went a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line to pace the Spartans to victory. Meanwhile, Bird kept the Sycamores in the game with 19 points and 13 boards.
Bird had already been the National Basketball Association’s sixth overall draft pick the year prior by the Boston Celtics, but returned for his senior season. At the time, the NBA had a rule that allowed teams to draft a player before their college eligibility was finished, as long as they signed them before the next draft. Bird would ink a deal with the team just before the 1979 draft deadline. He would go on to win the 1980 Rookie of the Year Award, with Johnson finishing second.
Magic would be selected 1st overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The pick actually originally belonged to the New Orleans Jazz, but had been traded to the Lakers years earlier — one of the most consequential trades in league history.
Of course, both players would go on to win multiple NBA championships with their respective franchises, while propelling the pro game to a whole new level in the 1980s. For a decade, the two re-defined the game, and both of the friendly rivals went on to be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame when their groundbreaking careers concluded.
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