MAGIC REAPPEARS : Bird’s-Eye View: No Comeback in Boston

The Boston Celtics, as is often the case these days, were losing in the FleetCenter when one fan turned to another and said, “If only Larry Bird were in the game.”

No sooner had he gotten the words out of his mouth when a hush fell over the crowd, a spotlight shone on the players’ entrance to the parquet court and No. 33 emerged to again lead the storied franchise to victory.

That was the premise of a beer commercial Bird filmed in Boston on Monday while, at the same time on the other coast, his longtime on-court foe and off-court friend, Magic Johnson, announced a real comeback with the Lakers.

The basketball careers of Bird and Johnson were intertwined for almost a decade and a half--from their memorable meeting in the NCAA championship game in 1979 to 12 full seasons of playing the principal roles in the NBA’s resurgence, including three in which they met in the finals, and, finally, to teaming with each other in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Each had already played what was believed to be his final NBA game. Bird ended his career after the 1991-92 season, one that was only seven days old when Johnson announced he was leaving the game after learning he was HIV-positive.

“These are probably the toughest days I’ve had since my father passed away,” Bird said upon learning of Johnson’s condition. “I was hoping I’d never have to go through anything like that again.”

On Monday, Bird, 39, said that he is looking forward to seeing Johnson, 36, play again. But it is a pleasure Bird intends to enjoy from a distance in his role in the Celtics’ front office as a special assistant.

“I have no desire to come back,” Bird told reporters during a lull in the commercial shoot at the FleetCenter, adding that he did not enjoy his last four years in the NBA because of chronic back pain. “Once I was done playing, that was it. I made up my mind to retire.”

As for Johnson, Bird said, “I don’t think he’ll be at the form he was when he was 28 or 29. But I still think he’ll be a very good player for them.”

Asked whether he is concerned either for the health of Johnson or other players because Johnson has the virus that causes AIDS, Bird said, “If he wants to play, I think he should be allowed to play. I think it’s good for the league. Magic should do what makes him happy.”

In Los Angeles, Johnson said that he would be happy if he could play the way Bird did in his role as a forward who passed, rebounded and scored with equal ease.

“Yeah, I’ll be doing my Larry Bird imitation,” he said. “He was kind of a point forward for Boston all those years. I’m going to run a lot of tape of Larry.”

If Bird’s skills have similarly diminished, it was not evident from a recent 10-minute scrimmage that he was recruited to join during a Celtic practice. He scored a three-point basket and had the assist on the winning shot. But even that did not tempt him to think about returning.

“There’s more to life than basketball,” he said, a lesson he learned in retirement that others sometimes do not.

* Times columnist Mike Downey contributed to this story.