A lot of people say that the NBA's turnaround began when Bird and Magic entered the league in 1979-80. When Bird and Magic were rookies, the NBA was considered too black, there was a big cocaine problem, NBA playoffs and final games were on tape-delay, and the league was considered to be dying. Bird and Magic's rivalry was a big catalyst in making the league popular(and MJ's arrival really re-inforced that). But, a lot of that attribute that to the fact that Magic was a Laker and Bird was a Celtic.
In 78, Bird said he was going back to school, and the NBA sent out a memo that said not to draft him since he was going back. Auerbach decided to draft him anyway. People were shocked, but Red said that "you know how short of a time a year is". What if he didn't do that? What if nobody picked him, and he entered the 79 Draft? Speaking of the 79 Draft, the Bulls and Jazz had the coin flip for the #1 pick, and the Jazz won. However, they had to give the pick to the Lakers for an earlier trade for Gail Goodrich. What if the Bulls won? Or, what if the Jazz didn't make that trade? Would the NBA's popularity have grown in the 80's if Bird and Magic were on different teams?