Editing Larry Bird (section)

====Falling short (1986–1988)====
In 1987, the [[1986–87 Boston Celtics season|Celtics]] made their last Finals appearance of Bird's career, fighting through difficult series against the [[1986–87 Milwaukee Bucks season|Milwaukee Bucks]] and [[1986–87 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit Pistons]]. In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Boston trailing the Pistons 107–106, Bird stole an inbound pass. Falling out of bounds, Bird turned and passed the ball to teammate [[Dennis Johnson]], who converted a game-winning layup with less than a second left. The dramatic play saved the series for the Celtics. When they reached the NBA Finals, the Celtics lost to a dominant Lakers team that had won 65 games during the season. The Celtics ended up losing to the Lakers in six games, with Bird averaging 24.2 points on .445 shooting, 10 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1987_finals.html |title = 1987 NBA Finals Composite Box Score |website = Basketball Reference |access-date = December 31, 2015 |archive-date = August 8, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110808123105/http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1987_finals.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The Celtics fell short in 1988 losing to the [[1987–88 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit Pistons]] in six games in the Eastern Conference finals as the Pistons made up from the heartbreak the previous season. Between them, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. During the 1980s, either Boston or Los Angeles appeared in every NBA Finals.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://www.nba.com/history/season-recap-index |title = NBA Season Recaps: 1946-2018 |work = NBA |access-date = November 24, 2018 |language = en |archive-date = April 20, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210420043950/https://www.nba.com/history/season-recap-index |url-status = live }}</ref>

Throughout the 1980s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers—both during the regular season and in the Finals—attracted enormous television audiences. The first regular-season game between the Celtics and the Lakers in the 1987–88 season proved to be a classic with [[Magic Johnson]] banking in an off-balance shot from near the three-point line at the buzzer for a narrow 115–114 Lakers victory at [[Boston Garden]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/pgl.cgi?player=birdla01&year=1988 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120730215557/http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/pgl.cgi?player=birdla01&year=1988 |url-status = dead |archive-date = July 30, 2012 |title = Celtics-Lakers Box Score |website = Basketball Reference }}</ref> The historical rift between the teams, which faced each other several times in championship series of the 1960s, fueled fan interest in the rivalry. The apparent contrast between the two players and their respective teams seemed scripted for television, as they were polar opposites in nearly every way conceivable. Bird was White, Johnson was Black; Bird was an introvert from a small town playing in blue-collar Boston, while Johnson was the gregarious personification of the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles; Bird's Celtics played gritty, physical, defence-first basketball, whereas Johnson ran the Lakers' fast-paced [[Showtime (basketball)|Showtime offense]]. A 1980s [[Converse (shoe company)|Converse]] commercial for its "Weapon" line of basketball shoes (endorsed by both Bird and Johnson) reflected the perceived dichotomy between the two players. In the commercial, Bird is practicing alone on a rural basketball court (in reality the court was one Bird had made on the property in French Lick that he had purchased for his mother), when Johnson pulls up in a sleek [[limousine]] and challenges him to a one-on-one match.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkwzqG4How |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/GmkwzqG4How |archive-date = October 28, 2021 |title = Converse Commercial (1986) with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson |website = YouTube |date = June 3, 2010 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Despite the intensity of their rivalry, Bird and Johnson became friends off the court. Their friendship blossomed when the two players worked together to film the Converse commercial, which depicted them as archenemies. Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993, and emotionally described Bird as a "friend forever."<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-05-sp-1105-story.html |title = Bird's Garden Party : Celtics Make It a Magical Night for Larry Legend |website = [[Los Angeles Times]] |date = February 5, 1993 |access-date = June 23, 2021 |archive-date = June 24, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204649/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-05-sp-1105-story.html |url-status = live }}</ref>