led by Bird and Johnson, helped bring national attention to the NBA. In just their first Finals matchup, game 7 drew in a record breaking 40 million views on CBS. As a result, CBS started to shift their focus on the Celtics and the Lakers, showcasing a double header with both teams playing every weekend. With the two future Hall of Famers, the league won a whole generation of new fans. The rivalry between Bird, Johnson, and their teams contributed greatly to the success of the league during the decade; according to Bryant Gumbel, "Magic and Larry saved the NBA." Sports journalist Larry Schwartz of ESPN asserted that Johnson and Bird saved the NBA from bankruptcy. In every single NBA Finals series during the 1980s, either the Lakers or the Celtics were present. Many basketball experts also mention how Bird and Magic changed the way the game was played. They gave people different perspectives on the game, like making that extra pass on the fast break or going up hard for a layup. They were basketball geniuses and played a game that required fundamentals and hard work; something that can be replicated by the fans watching their games. Jerry West, when talking about Bird and Magic, said that, “They definitely had a positive impact on the league”. Playing off their rivalry in the NCAA and NBA, Johnson and Bird reunited to promote Game 5 of the 2018 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers (of which Johnson is a part-owner) and Boston Red Sox. In contrast to the frequent Lakers-Celtics championship match-ups, the Dodgers and Red Sox were meeting in the World Series for the first time (since the Dodgers franchise relocated to Los Angeles). 1990s: Lull and rebuilding During the 1990s, the rivalry died down. Only the Lakers made an appearance in the NBA Finals that decade, losing the 1991 NBA Finals to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the first championship in the Bulls' dynasty. This would prove to be a defining moment of the NBA, a changing of the old guard as the Lakers and Celtics fell into mediocrity, while the Bulls won six titles led by Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson, who would cement their respective reputations as the greatest player and coach in NBA history. Both teams also faced set backs in the form of personal misfortune. On November 7, 1991, Johnson announced