Honestly, it's hard to remember a time when the NBA wasn't a global juggernaut. Today, we argue about load management and trade demands on Twitter, but in the late 70s, the league was basically on life support. Then came the 1980s. If you want to understand how we got here, you have to watch ESPN 30 for 30 Lakers Celtics—specifically the three-part "Best of Enemies" saga.
It's five hours long. Yeah, I know. That sounds like a lot. But directed by Jim Podhoretz, this thing doesn't just feel like a dry history lesson. It feels like a war report.
The Dual Narrators: A Stroke of Genius
Most sports docs have one voice of God narrator. Not this one. Podhoretz decided to lean into the tribalism. He got Donnie Wahlberg (die-hard Boston guy) to narrate the Celtics' side and Ice Cube (the king of L.A.) to handle the Lakers' perspective.
It's brilliant.
Wahlberg sounds like a guy you’d meet at a Southie dive bar, dismissively calling the L.A. Forum "the arena that doubles as a nightclub." Then Cube comes in with that West Coast swagger, painting the Celtics as these stiff, lucky guys who only won because Red Auerbach probably sabotaged the air conditioning. It’s not "balanced" in the traditional sense; it’s two people who genuinely hate each other’s teams giving you their version of the truth.
Why 1984 Changed Everything
Part two of the ESPN 30 for 30 Lakers Celtics series focuses heavily on the 1984 Finals. This is the peak. Before this, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had this weird, long-distance rivalry that started in the 1979 NCAA Championship. But 1984 was the first time they met in the NBA Finals.
The documentary highlights some really gritty stuff that modern fans might find shocking.
- The Clothesline: Kevin McHale absolutely leveling Kurt Rambis on a fast break. Today, that’s a suspension and probably a police report. In 1984? It was just a common foul.
- The Heat Game: Game 5 in Boston. No AC. The Garden was like 97 degrees. You see the players literally gasping for air while fans are cheering like it’s a Roman coliseum.
- Tragic Johnson: The doc doesn’t shy away from Magic’s failures. After some late-game turnovers, the Boston media started calling him "Tragic." It shows how close he came to being remembered as a choker before he finally broke through.
The rivalry wasn't just about hoops. It was about culture. Boston was seen as the gritty, blue-collar "fundamental" team (which was often coded language for white fans), while L.A. was "Showtime"—fast-paced, flashy, and Black-led. The film handles the racial tensions of the era with a lot of nuance, showing how these two teams became proxies for a much larger divide in America.
More Than Just Magic and Bird
While everyone focuses on the two superstars, the ESPN 30 for 30 Lakers Celtics documentary gives credit to the guys in the shadows.
I never realized how much Cedric Maxwell mattered until I watched this. He won the 1981 Finals MVP, but he’s often forgotten in the Bird-McHale-Parish era. Then you have guys like Byron Scott and Danny Ainge. Ainge, by the way, is portrayed as the ultimate "guy you love on your team but want to punch if he's on the other."
There’s a great scene where they talk about Jerry West. Most people know him as "The Logo," but this doc shows the deep, psychological scarring he carried from losing to the Celtics over and over in the 60s. He’s the executive for the 80s Lakers, but he can barely watch the games because the trauma of the "Green Menace" is so deep.
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What Most People Get Wrong
People think this rivalry was always a mutual respect thing. It wasn't. Not at first.
They genuinely hated each other.
It took years—and a Converse commercial shoot in French Lick, Indiana—for Magic and Bird to even speak to each other like humans. The documentary shows that the "respect" only came after they had beat the living hell out of each other for a decade.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Fan
If you're going to dive into this, don't try to binge all five hours in one go. You'll get "80s fatigue" from all the short shorts and grainy footage.
Watch it in three sittings:
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- Part 1: Focuses on the 60s (Bill Russell vs. Wilt) and the arrival of Magic and Bird.
- Part 2: The 1984 Finals. This is the heart of the documentary. If you only watch one hour, make it this one.
- Part 3: The 1985 and 1987 Finals, plus the eventual end of the era with Magic's HIV announcement and Bird's back giving out.
Once you finish, look up the 2008 and 2010 Finals. The documentary barely touches the modern era, but seeing Kobe and KG go at it hits differently once you've seen the 80s footage. You realize they weren't just playing for a trophy; they were carrying the weight of fifty years of animosity.
You should also pay attention to the tactical shifts. The Lakers' transition game was revolutionary for the time. Compare their pace to the modern "three-point revolution" and you'll see where the seeds of today's positionless basketball were actually planted.