Thomas J. Whalen

Ronald Reagan declares the Soviet Union an Evil Empire. The Apple Macintosh personal computer makes its debut. Michael Jackson's Thriller dominates the charts. And Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics capture the NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was 1984, and for the NBA and the nation, the year was full of milestone moments.

In Dynasty Restored, Thomas J. Whalen explores this dramatic season. The NBA had been struggling, seen as a minor sports league and suffering from poor attendance, lagging ratings, and drug scandals. The Celtics were beset by locker room turmoil, disruptive coaching, ownership changes, and underperforming stars. But Whalen reveals how that all changed when Bird and his fellow "Big Three" teammates Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, along with newcomer Dennis Johnson, banded together to lift the franchise to its fifteenth world championship and helped transform the league into a global entertainment brand.

Dynasty Restored offers insight into the barriers Larry Bird had to overcome to achieve NBA stardom, discusses the tensions that existed between Bird and McHale, and gives a probing analysis of the unique pressures Black Celtics players faced in a post-Boston Busing Crisis environment. And it shows how this singular season turbocharged the Celtics and the professional game to unprecedented heights.