"I remember when Ralph Sampson hit that shot to beat them with one second on the clock," he said. "I know all of us felt down because we wouldn't be able to play the Lakers again."

Before the Magic-Bird duels, there were epic battles in the 1960s between two teams, including the 1969 final featuring the Celtics' Bill Russell and the Lakers' Wilt Chamberlain.

This year's championship pits the teams with the best record in the East against the top mark in the West.

Lakers' guard Kobe Bryant has won three titles but captured his first MVP trophy this season.

Boston all-stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are appearing in the Finals for the first time after leading the Celtics to a 66-win season. Last year, Boston won just 24.

Bird, currently the head of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, thinks Bryant's big-game experience might be the difference.

"Kobe Bryant's been there before," he said. "He's won three championships. So he'll be a steadying force for the rest of the players. They look up to him so much when things get tough he might be the one that can pull them through."

Johnson said the players outside of the spotlight, like the Lakers' Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and the Celtics' Allen, may make the difference.

"You know Kobe is going to play well and Paul (Pierce) is going to play well," he said. "It's going to come down to Garnett and Allen and Gasol and Odom.

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