First Time Reaction | Larry Bird Passing Highlights | Reaction 

It is said that Magic made easy passes look amazing. Bird made amazing passes look easy.

Bird elevated everyone around him. He was ALWAYS unselfish and it translated to the whole team. ☘️ Larry Legend

Bird is widely considered the best passer of all time.

Theres an even better re-edited version of this video with Larry making like 25 spot on full court accurate

I say LARRY is the better passer. Ive seen both play & Larry has more variety of passes, he has more power, more creativity & accurate af in traffic. I’ve never seen Magic do what Larry does between the legs, quarterback passes, bounce passes with backspin….come ON.

Almost everyone i have seen dissect Bird's passing game, MISSED Bird's interview after he retired! He said he would constantly watch game footage of other players, McHale, DJ, Parrish, ETC. ETC. and he knew what they did when around the basket, and what move they did instinctively! So when he made passes to players, he knew where to place the ball because of there natural body movement. That is something i NEVER heard from another basketball player.

Bird was great not because he was unselfish, but because he trusted his teammates. It was reciprocal.

Love watching Larry Bird

I’m glad you gave props to his teammates for being ready for those passes. A lot of people overlook that. The best passer in the world can’t do anything unless his boys are ready for that ball coming their way.

Bird did pretty good his rookie year without his squad.

You are right about the Celtics team. In the 85/86 season they were 40-1 at home and the next season they were 39-2. So over the course of two full seasons they only got beat 3 times at home. 79-3 Now that's crazy.

Wish I had a dollar for every time one of the announcers said "...to McHale..." 😁

His confidence!

This made me happy. Nothing like Larry Bird and Home Free on the same evening. They are both my favorites in their areas. I was here to watch Larry Joe at the time he played. And I wish there was more footage. Because he truly was something else. His heart and hustle are unmatched.

80's Jordan had far more than Boston in Bird's rookie season. Bird already had taken basucally a junior college team to the NCAA finals, then took a last place team to almost 70 wins as the only addition. Jordan had a great jump shooter in Kyle Macy, a super athletic Orlando Woolridge and more. Bird would have won 70 with that team. He just raises the play of his team.

Larry knew where everyone was on the court. He also had eyes in back if his head. Larry and Magic were almost too similar to matter who was better. Magic was flashier, but Larry had the same results.

Even Magic says Bird was better, but that Magic was better at defense. And Bird agreed Magic was better at defense….. but even I know that. But when it comes to passing, Larry perfectly combined basketball with football and volleyball with those full court and one touch passes. He was definitely elite.

The question isn't whether he's a top-10 passer. It's whether he's the greatest passer of all time.

There's also a Larry's passing re-edit that has some incredible footage. And there's my favorite Bird is the word - 15 minutes of Larry Legend. The first song will drive you nuts, but the next three- especially the last one shouldn't be missed. Thanks!

This video doesn’t show enough of Bird’s full court passing. There’s much more that proves that Bird is the passing Goat which in turn proves that Bird is the GOAT!

The rest of the team scored because Larry fed them the ball when there were many shots he could have taken them himself. When the team was down, he took over himself. Magic just looked flashier for the same results.

Bird made great play infectious even among the competition. All the great players of that era said they had to up their game when they played Boston.

Jason Williams was awesome. Probably one of the top 10 of all time.

Bird was NASTY!! #33 GOAT

Bird throwing dimes that point guards in today's league can't make. Great reaction and commentary bro.

Bird was 23-11 against Jordan in regular season games. A number of these wins came after 1988 when Pippen arrived, and Bird was breaking down. Bird came as a rokie and turned a 23 win team into a 61 win team with no a

In the 78/79 season, the Celtics had a win/loss record of 29/53. In the 79/80 season, with Bird being the only addition to the team, the Celtics had a win/loss record of 61/21. In Bird's second year 80/81, with the addition of Parish and McHale, who was a rookie and not in the starting line-up, Bird took the Celtics to an NBA championship win. Jordan, as great as he was (and he was great) was unable to accomplish that with the Bulls. It took him several years to do what Bird could do from day one. I believe most of the Celtics players will tell you that Bird was the one who inspired and motivated them to the heights they reached.

I love watching his passes. And your commentary is excellent!❤

Top passing big man ever. Remember, this guy was a forward. He put up triple doubles frequently. Lots of assists from the forward position and scored and rebounded.

They won 29-games the year before Bird. Won 61 his rookie year.

When Larry was drafted to the celtics they were terrible. They only had 29 wins before Larry was drafted. THey didn't have Parrish, McHale, Johnson or Ainges. He turned them into a 61 win season his rookie year.

And you are right, MJ didn't have a good team in the '80's. But I retort, he didn't elevate his team like Bird did. Remember, when Bird came in, there was Cowens on his last leg, Pistol Pete, later in the season, also on his last leg, Tiny Archibald and Maxwell. Both Cedric and Tiny were great players, but they were the 2nd from the bottom the last 2 years. Then Bird showed up and turned the team around IN ONE YEAR. His rookie year they increased their wins by 30 games and were in the conference finals. But yeah, the Celtics were great, but they will all tell you it was Birds that made them great. Parish often says like 5000 of his points were from Bird. Watch "Making the Case: 1986 Celtics" and "The Beautiful game: 1986 Celtics" The latter one is short, but I think you will love it. But both highlight the whole team.

Larry walked onto a team that won 29 games the year before Larry came first year with Larry 61 wins just added Larry next year CHAMPIONSHIP

Bird is the "GOAT"....

“ to the greatest player ever “ - MAGIC “ Bird is the only player that I ever feared” - MAGIC “ there will never , ever be another Larry Bird “ - MAGIC “ I gave Bird a great pass , and he just gave a great pass back to me “ - MAGIC “ I’m sorry your not playing tonight , Magic . I’m gonna put a show on for you “ - LARRY BIRD “ I wanted to take two of Magics front teeth home with me “ - LARRY BIRD

A lot of people forget how Bird took an Indiana State team of role players to the NCAA championship game. It was the only game they lost that season.

Mchale one of the best post players. It was his footwork and long arms. I have him on my top 10 list.

You're not going to convince me that Bird is a better passer than Magic... because I'M ALREADY CONVINCED !! 😂❤😂

It seems like it's all about the teammates being ready for Bird. He's fantastic, but he's like this chaotic secret weapon, and the Bird pass could come at you at any time from anywhere without warning, and you need to be ready. If the team didn't know how to capitalize on Bird, who knows.

Bird was 6'10"..!!! passed like a point guard..

Bird and Magic inspired each other to push themselves beyond absolute greatness. It wouldn't have been the same without the rivalry turn great friendship. You should take into consideration that Bird shattered his finger before signing with the Celtics but after the draft. Played with a broken back for years. Double Achilles surgery and back surgery. Had to lay down on planes to travel for games. Would check into the hospital after games to spend the night in traction and had to wear a fiberglass body brace. Was 1 steal away from a quadruple double in the third quarter and sat out the last quarter because they were leading by so much.

ALL the players that played with bird will tell you that it was because of BIRD that they all passed the way they did. did Bird make them great or did they make Bird great? well bird was great from DAY ONE of his rookie season PRIOR to Parish, McHale and the rest of them.. Mchale was a 6th man at first and BECAME a starter later on. NOBODY made bird great. he was great already (look at his college career also) and he MADE others great around him.

Red Auerbach outsmarted everyone with the moves he made to build that team. He drafted Bird the year before he came out of college. If the Celtics didn't sign him before the following draft, they would lose his rights. He drafted Ainge even though he was playing baseball in the Blue Jay's organization. And the best was Red trading the #1 overall pick to Golden State, who picked Joe Barry Carroll, for Robert Parrish and their 1st rd pick. They picked McHale with it!! 😮

That's why they were a team! I watched Celtics vs Lakers in 80's and it was awesomeness!

For an even better look at Bird's passing see the "greatest passer ever with re-edit" version that shows alot of Bird's full court passes. The names of the players that are always compared to Bird are great point guards. Bird never played the PG position but he did have PG court vision. I love Bird's game = not only was he a phenomenal shooter but his passing skill was spectacular and he was an under rated rebounder!!!

All around He's the goat of all time plays for the team every body better with bird on the floor team members get easy buckets

Thank you so much for Birds teammates I like Bird a lot but its so annoying that his teammates for the most part dont get very much accolades they deserve so much more credit

He is the best blind behind the head passer ever period

12:49 It was the perfect storm of greatness: Bird, Parrish, Dennis Johnson and Mchale. They had great trust and chemistry. I always seem to write the full name of Dennis Johnson again because of my mom.

Larry told his shooters to just stay open and he'd get the ball to them!

From the moment Larry Bird joined the Celtics in the 79/80 season Larry changed the Game. Larry was without question the best player on that squad but he didn't take every shot even tho he was the best shooter from every place on the court. He raised the whole team from the worst team in the 78/79 season to championship level in 79/80. Magic joined the best team in the league in 79/80 and Larry the worst, but it all worked out for the best.

When your "star" is willing to think pass first. To dive out of bounds or on the floor for a loose ball. To spend more time in the gym and working out than anyone else, it translates to the team.

Your comment about "coach friendly" passes amused me. I had a coach once who said, "On the break, never pass the ball closer than the free throw line. It's too crowded." That was before Bird and Magic started playing.

Bird didn’t do the “razzle dazzle” passing. He didn’t need it for his ego but Magic did.

I was reading something by Bird. He said (paraphrasing) each team only had so many opportunities in a game, so you can't waste them. The minute you get the ball, you look to see who has the best shot. It's better to get 15 points and win, than 30 and lose. He also said something about not looking as you pass. I guess it throws off defenders. I don't understand how that's done. But, he obviously has that mastered.

Magic says BIRD is the GOAT!

Bird facilitated the way that squad worked. The whole team revolved around his wizardry with the ball. Two years with bird at the helm, completely changed the Celtics playstyle. Not the coaches, it was bird who trained this team. I was there those years and remember it well.

you need to see the re edit version of Larry Bird

Credit to his teammates always being ready for the ball.

Ok back in the day this is what most people would say “ Magic will take an easy pass and make it look difficult, Bird will take. A difficult pass and make it look easy.” That too me sums up their passing styles. Oh and yes he’s top 5 greatest passers ever. See you got it wrong Bird made these guys better. Parish and McHale both have said they probably scored 7000 points because of Birds passing.

You mentioned Jordan not having a good team around him in the 80s. Fair enough, but consider these three things; 1) The Celtics went from a 29 win season to a 61 win season the next year, the only difference being a rookie Larry Bird. There was no Parish, McHale Dj or Ainge. His Rookie of the Year award was well deserved. 2) The level at which the 80s Celtics played (especially '86) was largely due to Bird. Yes, McHale was beast in the paint. Nobody could really hang with his contortions. DJ was a fabulous point guard, especially in the half court. Parish was fast and smart, Ainge was an intense player who was a three point shooting maniac and had a special talent for pissing off their opponents. But Bird helped make them all better, because as Captain of the team he wasn't chasing personal stats. He was all about winning and making sure everyone had a chance to get involved in the effort. Listen to ANY of his team mates today. They adore him and give the credit for being that type of leader. 3) Bird and the Celtics were still going tooth and nail with the Bulls, even after MJ got his world champion team mates and Bird was on his last legs. There are a small number of players who reach that elite level (duh, that's why it's elite LOL). All I know is, in his day Larry's only equal was Magic.

They said Larry was at his most dangerous when he didn’t have the ball, he drew multiple defenders off his teammates so they were always open

On Ainge: he was a HS All-American in 3 sports 🏀 🏈 ⚾️. He was 6’5” and his Sr year at BYU he won the Naismith award aka best player in college.

Besides all this Larry and Kevin stuff, few people know how crucial a role was played by DJ. DJ had Larry's complete trust and they were connected psychically. That 86 Celtics team may have been the best team ever especially with Larry, DJ, Kevin, Danny, Chief all peaking, but then having Bill Walton off the bench to spell Chief. Are you kidding me, Bill Walton off the bench?

8:36 I remember my mom saying after a particularly grueling game with the Lakers that she wanted to hug Parrish-give him a mom hug.

Magic make easy passes look hard bird made hard passes look easy

In one video, the announcers were calling Larry Bird a NFL quarterback. For timing of his passes, check out one of his steals.

His situational awareness was so great and that improved every aspect of his game. You need to react to Making the Case Larry Bird , hell react to the whole series.

Have you seen the video with new footage and re-edited? That’s the one to watch!

It is super difficult to compare Bird's and Magic's passing during the 80's. They were definitely two of the top passers, though John Stockton was a better passer than both. I believe that Magic truly loved to entertain, and that if he could make a simple pass with the same effectiveness as a flashy one, he would go for the flashy one even if it's not needed. Bird didn't give a damn about flashy. Not his style. He just cared about effectiveness. And no team was ever able to double and triple team Bird without paying a heavy price with Bird ALWAYS finding the open man! Position - Let's not forget that Magic was a point guard and therefore his job was to mostly find ways to assist his teammates. Bird was relied on to score (and boy did he score!), and his own scoring removed a lot of opportunities for way more assists. Similarly, Magic could have scored more (though probably not as much as Bird) if he was not a point guard.

Great reaction. I will tell you something. I was in high school in the 70's and our coach taught us all those touch passes just like Bird does. No one did them because when they got the ball, they wanted to dribble around, drive, or shoot. No one wanted to give the ball up right away because of ego. It wasn't that other people didn't know about touch passes. They were just too selfish to execute them! By the way, I grew up watching these guys. No way Bird is as good a passer as Magic, but he is pretty damned good. Back then most TV was regional. It wasn't until a few year ago, thanks to the RU-vid generation, that I realized Bird was a good passer. By the way, I love the way you shake your head. It is hilarious. You might like this these videos. First, the tribute to the 86 Celtics: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O4Td5QRfzj4.html And second, the amazing nonverbale passing game between Dennis Johnson and Bird: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tQYs5rsSud0.html

Bird is a far superior passer to Magic. Most all of Magic’s passes are premeditated flashy set ups assists, while Bird’s are not. Larry was an organic passer making spit second reactive decisions in real time and space. Legend is the🐐

When MJ had Pippen, Bird beat them on a double team. He won the game with that shot. It was toward the end of his career, and wasnt in the best of health. Watch the game video.

Would any of the Celtics on that squad have been hall of famers? Maybe Dennis Johnson, but Bird took them ALL to the next level

Rookie of the year voting BIRD 63 MAGIC 3

Always loved Walton...I'm from Oregon, so, when the Celtics took him on, he just added another dimension to that Celtic team. Ainge. Well, he came from Eugene Oregon, of where I live now, and when I was younger, sixty miles away. Such a great team.

Jordan played with the Iceman and didn't try to use him at all. Orlando Woolridge was pretty good but Jordan wouldn't pass.

Larry & Magic are the best passers in history…….great reaction young brother

Don't forget Maxwell. A killer.

Bird is the best all around player in NBA history

A factbthat cant be dismissed. In Birds rookie year, he turned the second worst team in the league- 29-53- into a 61-21 team with no other change to the roster, except Pete Maravich, who,because of bad knees,vwould retire after that season. With the additions of Robert Parish,a third year player and rookie Kevin McHale, the Celtics won the title in Birds second season. When Jordan entered the Bulls were a losing team. They remained a losing team until Scottie Pippen arrived in1988. I agree Jordan is the best player, but he never turned a losing team around by himself. The turnaround in Birds rookie year is still the biggest turnaround in league history.

How can you declare that, before seeing the vid? The greats will tell you that Magic doesn't even hold a candle to Larry Legend's passing IQ. Those touch passes were a result of a lightning fast reactionary awareness. He had the BEST court awareness.

The thing is a lot of the players you mentioned were known as passers and attempted more passes than Bird did. Bird was a scorer/shooter and rebounder more than he was a passer. At the end of the day though how many players can you name that were 50/40/90 shooters that averaged around 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists per game for their career? I'll make it easy for ya, there are no players that can match Bird across the board, ZERO! Let me put it in modern terms, take Steph Curry, DOUBLE his rebounds per game and you then have Larry Bird.

Yup he certainly is. Imo he was the better passer between him and Magic too. Magic made easy passes look difficult, Larry made difficult passes look easy. Nothing taken away from magic botb top 5 passers imo

Bird's teammates were the first to say that the way Larry played improved their games. He made them better at passing and finding the open man themselves. There was more than one occasion where Larry came out of the game due to injury and the Celtic's kind of imploded. Fair point about Jordan, though. MJ was solo going against Boston, and there is really no denying it. Once he got better help, he was nearly unstoppable.

Bird is right up there for me as a passer. Magic is #1 all time, then you have to have Bird up there, Kidd, Williams, Lebron, maybe Maravich. He was a great passer, handler, and scorer and people seem to forget about Maravich!

Bird was 6'9 and a half, legit. He played small forward, and averaged 6 assists. His teams were extra pass focused.

Larry Bird Greatest Passer Re Edit on MERKIN MUFFLY'S CH.

Bird for his position as a small forward was the best.there are some great point guards that should go ahead of him.

He also beat the Bulls with Pippen, Paxson, Cartwright. I think a lot of people also underestimate that Bulls squad. That argument about Jordan didn't have anyone is just not understanding the history. He DID have teammates later on when Celtics were still beating the Bulls. Not to mention, Bird took the second worst team in the NBA to the championship in his second year when he was the only real addition. I've heard that argument my whole life and I was alive back then watching. That Bulls team wasn't filled with nobody's like everyone likes to claim. All you have to do is go back and look at the standings back then. I'm not saying the Celtics weren't a great team overall, but the idea that Jordan had nobody, that's just untrue. That might have been true the first two or three years, maybe, but after that it was a pretty damn good squad. In fact, Jordan won a championship with that exact same squad in '91.

good reaction, check out Larry Legend rebounding highlights, he was a beast, including 20 rebounds in playoff game.

I can’t agree more about the team matters. I biased bc I’m in Boston but. The passes he made…. How many other teams would even be ready to receive them bc half of them, I don’t see coming and I’m here w my jaw dropped like wtf between the legs??? How did the they know he was gonna pass it there?????

You mentioned Stockton, and I do get it, but at his size 6'0 and usually playing against bigger opponents, he had to be the ultimate text book basketball player.

I love Bird but he’s just in my 10. The history of Bird and the league and Magic and a load of other guys makes me so impressed

You don't get it. The other players didn't make Bird better, he made them all better. They knew that if they got open, he would find them and deliver the ball. He just didn't show-off like the Lakers.

Remember, Bird came into the second worst team in the league (29-53) his rookie year. With that same team, Bird took them to 61-21 and to the ECC where they lost to the 76ers. The next year with the addition of McHale, a rookie, and Parish, a three year veteran, who had not stood out, he won the title. I do get tired of the " he didnt have enough help" excuse. Bird didnt get Ainge and Johnson until, I think 85, a year after Jordan came into the league. Jordan didnt have a winning record until 1988, when he got Pippen. The 32 game turnaround with Bird is still the best in league history.

Larry Bird is the best passing forward in NBA history!! (And it’s not even close)

Before ‘i88, the only other scorers that MJ had were 3 point shooters Jon Paxton and Sedale Threat.

When you have two players that are that good at passing, how can you choose? Just sit back and admire their abilities- they were monster players in their own unique styles and ways

Your incorrect. It was Rick Robey who missed the shot after Larry did the over the head pass. It was not McHale. It from Larry Birds Rookie game. Celtics vs the Clippers 1980. Just pointing it out is all. Love your videos.