When the Game Was
Ours, by Larry Bird, Earvin
Johnson and Jackie MacMullan
 |
| Source: Amazon.com |
From the book’s cover:
From the moment these
two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical
and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to
symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball
epics of the 1980s — Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old
School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness —
together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships, six MVP
awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When
it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong
friends.
With intimate,
fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this
electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of
two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of
trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to
understand Larry’s obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him
on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain
and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star
struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team
leader. We are there the moment he learns he’s contracted HIV and hear in
his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in
basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail.
A compelling,
up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball’s most inimitable duo, When the
Game Was Ours is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is
also a rollicking ride through professional basketball’s best times.
