The New York Times–bestseller from the Hall of Fame basketball legends. "Finally a book that tells the story of Magic and Larry from their vantage point." —Denzel Washington In Celtic green was Larry Bird, the hick from French Lick, with laser-beam focus, relentless determination, and a deadly jump shot, a player who demanded excellence from everyone and whose caustic wit left opponents quaking in their high-tops. Magic Johnson was Mr. Showtime, a magnetic personality with all the right moves. Young, indomitable, he was a pied piper in purple and gold. And he burned with an inextinguishable desire to win. When their matchup 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 1980s 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. "An exhilarating ride down one of the most competitive rivalries ever." —Pat Riley

本作は単なるスポーツ回顧録を超えた、対極の魂が響き合う「二元論」の叙事詩です。冷徹な勝利への執念を抱くバードと、眩い光を放つマジック。互いを宿命の鏡として高め合う二人の内面が、生々しい質感で描き出されています。そこには、時代を創り上げた者だけが知る孤独と誇りが、文学的な深みを持って刻まれています。 物語の核にあるのは、激しい憎しみさえも超越する「魂の共鳴」です。過酷な現実に直面しながら、宿敵という絆を通じて真の理解に辿り着く軌跡は、読む者の心を激しく揺さぶります。人生というコートで戦い続けるすべての人へ贈る、勇気と共感に満ちた至高の人間讃歌といえるでしょう。