1984 Overview
From Hoopedia
1983-84 NBA Season
Whoever wrote “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” must have somehow foreseen the 1984 NBA Playoffs.
After four seasons in the league, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would finally renew their college rivalry in a championship showdown. Johnson’s Lakers had won two titles and Bird’s Celtics had captured one, but not against each other. Their teams met only twice a year during the regular season, and they would both later admit to wanting more as they followed each other’s progress in the morning papers.
The playoff system underwent a radical expansion. The field was expanded to include 16 teams instead of 12, which eliminated the first-round byes and the best-of-3 miniseries. Instead, each First-Round series would be a best-of-5, and even the division winners would have to play in the First Round. To be crowned NBA champion, a team would have to win four series for the first time in NBA history. That hardly deterred Boston or L.A.
During the regular season, the Celtics rolled to 62 wins and took the Atlantic Division by 10 games over the defending champion 76ers. Philadelphia won 52 games, but was ousted in the first round of the playoffs by New Jersey, the high point in that franchise’s history. The Celtics eased past Washington, defeated the Bernard King-led New York Knicks in seven games and easily moved past Milwaukee to reach the Finals.
The Lakers had won 54 games during the regular season and had played especially well in the spring, finding the kind of chemistry that awed opponents, even the Celtics. By playoff time, Los Angeles appeared to be the best team in the league.
The Laker spring was further highlighted with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ascension as the NBA’s career scoring leader. On April 5, in the unlikely locale of Las Vegas, where the Utah Jazz played some of their home games, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain’s mark of 31,419 points.
Once in the playoffs, the Lakers defeated Kansas City, Dallas and Phoenix, losing only three games along the way and building up a substantial head of steam for their meeting with Boston. The Lakers won the first game in Boston and led Game 2 115-113 with 18 seconds left and possession of the ball. The thought of a series sweep was on the minds of players on both sides. But Boston’s Gerald Henderson intercepted James Worthy’s crosscourt pass and went in for an uncontested layup to tie the score. Boston won the game in overtime on a shot by Scott Wedman.
The Lakers easily won Game 3 in L.A., with Johnson setting a Finals record with 21 assists and Bird fussing afterward, “We played like a bunch of sissies.” Spurred by that criticism, his teammates rebounded with a physical win in Game 4. The Celtics forced overtime by overcoming a five-point deficit with a minute to play, in part because Johnson missed two key free throws. Boston then outmuscled the Lakers in the extra period, after another crucial miss from the free throw line by Worthy.
“We had to go out and make things happen,” Henderson said. “If being physical was gonna do it, then we had to do it.”
Bird scored 34 in the pivotal Game 5 in a sweltering Boston Garden, where the temperature at courtside was 97 degrees at game time. L.A took Game 6 at home, setting the table for Cedric Maxwell to come alive for the Celtics in Game 7, with 24 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds.
The Lakers couldn’t overcome the feeling that they had given away the championship in Games 2 and 4. Even the Celtics felt that way. “To be honest, they should have swept,” Bird said.
The season also saw a significant change off the court. Larry O'Brien, who had presided over the merger of the NBA and the ABA, retired as commissioner. In his place came David Stern, the league’s executive vice president with a knack for marketing. He would oversee the development of a cohesive and profitable broadcasting strategy and lead the sport into a period of unprecedented global popularity.
