The two biggest stars in college basketball, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced off in the highly anticipated 1979 NCAA tournament final.

The match-up between Bird’s Indiana State and Johnson’s Michigan State remains the highest-rated game in college basketball history. Ultimately, Johnson and Michigan State came out on top, winning by a score of 75-64 and Johnson earning Most Outstanding Player honors.

This would spark one of the greatest rivalries in sports between the two players. In addition to the players’ rivalry, they would also reignite the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers that began during the 1960s. From 1959-1969, the Celtics and Lakers met in the final 7 times and the Celtics won all 7 times. After Bill Russell and Jerry West’s retirements, the rivalry was at a pause until the 1980s. After Bird and Johnson entered the NBA, a decade of dominance for the Lakers and Celtics began. The two teams combined to win 8 of the 10 finals in the 1980s, with the Lakers winning 5 and the Celtics winning 3. In the 3 finals match-ups they had during the decade, the Celtics took it home in 1984 while the Lakers came out on top in 1985 and 1987. In total, the two teams have met 12 times in the finals with the Celtics winning 9 of those 12 match-up.