When the Game Was Ours, a book authored by NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird is to be released tomorrow on November 4th, 2009.

(Buy When the Game was Ours from Amazon or discuss the book in our forums)

The book created buzz when excerpts of the book were leaked to the media, causing a stir and starting a war or words between Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson.

In the book, Magic admitted to holding a grudge against Thomas for allegedly starting rumors about Magic’s sexuality after he announced his retirement from the NBA in 1991.

Isiah responded that their close friendship began to stress when Thomas’ Detroit Pistons met up with Magic’s Los Angeles Lakers in the 1988 NBA Finals.

With all that in his mind, even after Isiah helped to include Magic in the memorable 1992 NBA All-Star Game, Johnson conspired with other eventual Dream Team members, mainly Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Karl Malone, to keep Thomas off the Dream Team.

The team is widely-regarded as the best basketball team ever assembled and would easily go on to win the Olympic basketball gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Below you can find the official product description:

From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s — Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness — together

Bird and Johnson collected 8 NBA Championships, and 6 MVP awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it 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 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.

A compelling, up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball’s most inimitable duo, WHEN THE GAME WAS OURS is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball’s best times.

Wait, Isiah didn’t co-write this book with Magic? Larry Bird did? You could have fooled me. Anyways, when the full book finally releases, it will prove to be an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the two main characters in the NBA during the 1980s.

Purchase When the Game Was Ours from Amazon.com.