Stein: Bird steals the spotlight

— -- KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. -- Larry Bird got visibly embarrassed when the other guys talked about his greatness, then made the stunning disclosure that nothing in basketball offended him more than being guarded by another white guy.

LeBron James started out shy, referring to Larry Legend as Mr. Bird, before gradually speaking with as much conviction as the vets, eventually referring to him simply as Bird.

Magic Johnson predictably did more talking than the three guys to his left, when he wasn't smiling that smile, and Magic even did some of the asking, because he can't stop himself from running everything, even in an interview setting.

Carmelo Anthony, meanwhile, was probably the quietest guy in the foursome, but 'Melo still managed to make a rather memorable promise when he conceded that he and LeBron "don't have stories like these two have stories yet ... but we're gonna get there one day."

'Bron and 'Melo have great stories to tell now, actually, and you'll have the opportunity to see why Thursday night before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. That's when ESPN airs an unprecedented summit called "Two on Two," which brought James and Anthony together with the storied rivals who preceded them by 25 years.

Throughout their shared rookie season, these kids were billed as a modern-day Magic and Bird, ready or not. ESPN's Jim Gray managed to get them all together for the first time, in the jump circle of the famed Hoosier Gym that served as Hickory High's home court in "Hoosiers." What ensued was a wide-ranging discussion, and an experience for 'Bron and 'Melo -- all four, really -- to pass on to their kids.

And a quote for everyone to remember.

"The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA," Bird said, "was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me. I still don't understand why."

The SceneOn the eve of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the four guests were summoned to this historic spot in the basketball heartland, some 30 miles outside Indianapolis. The setting alone got them juiced.