How Good Was Larry Bird Actually? 

Larry Bird came from a poor family with six children in total. His mom had to work two jobs. (And yes I know this could be the same for other players). Larry best friend was his dad. He had been really shy and those two went fishing or fixed up motors in the garage in the winter. But he was also an alcoholic. Many have no idea why he quit Indiana with Bobby Knight. Yes, one reason is the school was just too *big* and he couldn't "fit in". He had few friends. But his life ended when he got a call from his mom. His dad had called her and told her he was a failure as he couldn't pay his child support and she'd be better off with him dead. Of course she tried to plead not to. He hung up and shot himself to death. This is the real reason he quit college and went back to French Lick totally confused. He even got a job driving a garbage truck. Going to the smaller Indiana college was what he needed. 1.) Bird was the *smartest* man in basketball. He would spend hours studying the angles of the court and his shots from most of them. He played chess while others played checkers. He'd even run laps around the court and size it up. Almost like criminals casing it out. 2.) Bird seemed to know where all his teammates were without looking. 3.) Bird's passing was incredible. 5.) He *despised* Bill Laimbeer because he said he was a dirty player. He played pysically and that was no problem but actively *trying* to *injure* is dirty play. 5.) Reverse Racism. *Dennis Rodman and Isiah Thomas* . I'm NOT sure award or MVP, etc. but Rodman said the *only* reason Bird won is because he's *white* . [not outstanding or great but color of his skin]. These comments were parroted by Thomas. These racist comments were in the locker room or trainer's room. They thought it would just stay there. They guessed wrong. 6) Larry had to leave basketball after 13 seasons due to serious injuries (which he never wanted to be found out). His back was so painful he could barely bend over and get his shoes on. Bird needed a hard back brace to airplane rides. Knee and ankle injuries also. From a Bird fan.

We will never see another like him. Not just the way he played and won. But him

Many players trash talk after the play. Larry trash talked before the play. "You don't have to worry about it; you guys will set up a screen for me, I'm going to take the ball over in the corner, and I'll sink the winning shot." (Larry to Worthy) Then he does it. Only legends do such things.

Naming the 5 "greatest" players is one thing, Naming your starting five for a TEAM is another. Pick 5 players to form the best all-time team, and Bird is one of the forwards. But only if winning is important.

I think he is my favourite player of all time. It’s close with MJ and Magic but I think Bird just clinches it for me. Put some respect on his name, and if you ever hear someone try to discredit him, You tell them!

You got it right !! His name might be Bird but he’s really the GOAT !!!!!

Just listen to other greats. You can see and feel the frustration they had playing against him. Bird beat EVERY single superstar of his era. EVERY one. And 3 MVPs in a row during that ERA!!!! That's insane. Only Wilt and Russell have done that. He's Larry Legend because of it.

No question. Even his peeps like Magic will say it.....Larry was the G.O.A.T.

Best Basketball IQ to ever play the game. GOAT!

I love watching Larry Bird reactions from young people who don't know anything about him. Minds blown!! Best player of the 80's

Larry's step back jump shot couldn't be stopped. And with his competitive spirit, he loved taking the final shot and made many of them. Looking at Larry's eyes when he said everyone knew he was getting the ball and it was just up to the other team to stop him, let you know where the competitive spirit came from.

No one can ever replace the Bird!

He was GOAT good actually.

This guy didn't have basketball intelligence. He had basketball genius.

The best versatile player I ever seen play. If i had my first pic i would Pick Larry Bird.

Bird is the best example of great team player, basketball IQ, determination and winning attitude. That's not even mentioning a true class act.

Larry Bird, STILL Top 3 NBA player of all-time

Larry is the best SF ever. So, Lebron is not in the GOAT conversation ahead of Bird, plain and simple.

GOAT in my mind.

One of the best no doubt about it....I'd pick him over Lecrybaby James any day.

One of the things I respect about him is his intelligence, and his willingness to use his head in the game. So many of us, myself included, simply play hard and react to what happens. Larry used his head to see and to foresee game situations, and then put himself in a position to make a difference. I want to be like that, not in basketball, because I'm 65 years old, but in life. I am inspired by watching him.

Who says that they’re gonna shoot left handed in a game against the Portland Trailblazers, because he wanted to save his right hand for the Lakers, and no they weren’t all lay ups. Only Larry Legend would do that.

I loved watching Larry play as kid in Inglewood. My Larry bird basketball was kicked more than a soccer ball by older people in those days lol

Bird is the Man💥🙏Tremendous ,one of the Best for sure👍My personal favorite.

He was a legend.

For me Larry was ice! No one more clutch when it counted! Talked trash but backed it up.

And he’s an Olympic champion on top Of everything else. The best ever.

Bird is finally getting the credit from his peers he deserves. I think a lot of them didn’t want to give him his due, quite frankly, because he was white, but fortunately that no longer seems to be the case. Best small forward ever.

I used to have my ear pressed to the radio growing up in Brooklyn and hearing Johnny Most's voice in the 980s..I am so addicted to watching so many of these games that I watched being played live..

To ferthur cement the Legend,when listening to the National Anthem at the Garden,Bird always gazed up into the rafters.When asked what he was looking at ,he said "Number 4". The Bruins ,Bobby Orr's retired number. The beauty of sports. Brings tears to my eyes.

Bird had more HEART than anyone on the court! The man was mentally tough...can't say that about too many players in today's NBA. He's have a field day playing today....with no defense....imagine his totals!!

I aways ask people, if you were drafting players for a team you yourself were going to play on, would you pick anybody over Larry Bird? When you hear guys like Robert Parish saying that Bird added 5000 points to his career total, and when you hear Kevin McHale talk about all of the easy layups he got because Bird would pass him the ball at just the right moment, and when you hear coaches talking about how Bird would make sure that other players who weren't getting the ball enough get the ball enough, then The Choice is not a choice at all. You have to pick Larry Bird. Lastly, Bird's teammates would often say that when there were but a few seconds on the clock and the team was down by 1 or 2, all you had to do was give the ball to Larry Bird and get out of the way. He was a force multiplier extraordinaire, getting the most out of his teammates and bringing the worst out of his opponents. I hope to live long enough to see his like again.

Larry was so good that in 1985 during a game against the Atlanta Hawks, the Hawks players were giving each other high-fives.

Personally, I think Chamberlain, Jordan and Bird are the top three players of all time.

Larry was the most fun, dynamic player to watch. He just did everything like no other player.

Hard to appreciate just how good Larry Legend was!

Bird is such an underrated college player and his stats were ridiculous - he averaged over 30 points a game, 13 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and shot 53% from the field which is crazy considering all the outside shots he took. He was also clutch as heck and played his best against the his toughest competition with the exception of the NCAA final when he had an off night against a much better team in MSU that had 3 future NBA players on their starting 5 including Magic. It wasn't a bad night for most players in that he had 13 rebounds, 19 points, and 5 steals but Larry was not Larry. Bird was easily the consensus player of the year and may have been the most dominant forward in NCAA history because he could impact the game at a high level in so many ways.

Greatest SF ever

Nothing else can be said about Larry Bird...he is...was & will be among the all time greats

What many people don’t know about Larry’s NBA beginning was that a LOT of players believed he was all hype… or as Texans say, “All hat and no cattle.” Damn few held onto that view after Larry’s rookie season. It is truly a shame that younger NBA fans of today were never exposed to the type of league play Larry & Magic endured. Back then, teams actually played defense and you’d have to practically draw blood to get called for a foul.

One of the Best to ever play the game

Larry was drafted in 1978, yet played the 1978-1979 college season. That is its own great story.

1:12 knew he had the shot and walked away without waiting for confirmation. And from that range as well! supreme confidence in his ability!!!

“I’m fixin to bust a three on you and go home.”

With all due respect , Larry Bird is highly regarded in 2023 , especially here on YT . There are hundreds of GOAT videos , reaction videos to first seeing Bird highlights, Birds passing ,trash talking , shooting , hundreds of them , in fact Larry is blowing up ! And with MJ recently saying Bird was the best small forward to play the game that was the icing on the cake to many people .

Larry Bird is the best all-around player I ever saw.

The talent he had to go up against is insane.

They probably forget him because his bad back led to a short prime. But prime Bird might possibly be the GOAT. Prime Bird & Jordan would be the best duo ever.

The Greatest Of All Time...Larry Bird #33

Larry Legend is the GOAT small forward even if Larry was anything but small. He didn't have the benefit of modern sports medicine, special diets, modern training methods, today's precision surgical procedures, etc... Heck, Bird didn't even play in an era with private and spacious plane travel. With that said, Bird's prime was GREAT, he was a winner, and he was clutch throughout his career. 💪👏🔥

Bird is top tier

One of the great joys of watching those old Celtics teams was seeing Bird form an almost psychic link with guys like Bill Walton and Dennis Johnson. They just saw things that mere mortals couldn't comprehend. I think Prime Bird is a Top 5 All-Time player. It's just a shame he spent the second half of his career dragging himself up and down the court. I would have loved to see him compete against those Bulls and Knicks teams of the 90s.

Not only have only 7 other players joined the 50/40/90 club, only one player BESIDES Bird ever did it more than once.

Bird was otherworldly good! One of my heros growing up!

I swear most times it looked like he never left his feet when shooting a three.

Larry Bird is THE Greatest of All Time

Statistics don’t always tell the whole story. Imagine if Bird was able to play 20 healthy seasons. Possibly 1-2 more rings among many other things. But during his prime ‘83 - ‘87 or even more specifically his 3 straight MVP seasons and Bird is on the all time starting 5. If it means that Lebron gets moved to PF or even SG... whatever, but Bird is on that team.

Larry did more, much more at the highest level than any other player. He is clearly THE GOAT.

There are many great players but not one who called his shots on the court to the point where he would let the other team was set up for him or let the person guarding him exactly what he would do and execute it shot left handed for a half when he got board and so many ither amazing plays he is the GOAT

He is in his prime the best ...Legend

My dad went to school with Bird. He saw him on campus lol. But he was Celtics fan out of respect

Jordan bird magic best 3players all time

Larry Bird was a human anomaly. One of the best ever to play

Just imagine how good Bird would have been if he had not mangled his index finger and blew out his back grading his driveway

Yes another Larry fanatic!!! We are pretty obsessed with our legend!

Birds famous quote in the 3 point competition, 'who's coming in second tonight "

Kareem, Lebron, LB, MJ, Magic. The 6th man is Kobe.

Larry bird was the best and smartest player to ever play the game !

The best!

MJ,Bird, and Kareem are by now the 3 best of post 1980.

I am All in I think Larry legend is top 5 ever I watched every game he played in. It is so hard for even Lebron to even be in the same class as Larry Jordan Magic or even chamberlain and Russel. ??

Had bird not got hurt mixing concrete at home he'd been the greatest ever which he is as good as any one to ever play

How great was Larry Bird should be the title. You all don't realize there would be no NBA without him and Magic and David Stern. The NBA was going out of business until they came along and revitalized it. He won 3 championships, won 3 MVPS and did it with a bad back and a gnarled finger.

hes called Larry Legend for a reason....what an incredible basketball player of the highest order...

I am a huge nerd who never watches basketball but hear me out. If any of you have watched the anime Kuroko no Basket, Bird’s passes are just like Kuroko’s. What y’all say about his IQ is mad true. He passed so fast without looking at his teammates - he just knew where they were. That’s incredible. Never watched Bird before but just from those passing clips I’m very impressed.

My favorite player of all time.

Larry has my vote all the way!

Larry was the best all around basketball player there is ,was and ever will be

One of the highest basketball IQ's ever.

That assist at 3:53 is insane!!

Slight correction, well not really, Larry never won Defensive POY. He was selected to the NBA 2nd All Defensive Team 3 straight years, but never the 1st team. If you want an even more astounding stat on Larry for 8 CONSECUTIVE YEARS he finished in the Top 3 in MVP Voting, 3 1st, 4 2nd, and 1 3rd place finish. There are very few players EVER who can match or beat that stretch.

** Einstein of the NBA ..... PERIOD !!! No ONE even a close 2nd !!! A TRUE GENIUS of the Court !!!

His chemistry with Parrish and McHale to log all those assists in his career was insane

Who tells the defense what the play is beforehand, executes that play for the winning shot, then tells the opposition's bench with the coach standing there; "told ya so"???

GREAT PLAYER GOD BLESS U N UR FAMILY...💯💯💯💯

Larry Legend was so good that there will never ever be another Larry Bird. Period, prove me wrong.

Only people that don't know basketball leave LB out of the question on who was the greatest. He is the best SF of all time in any category and imo the best all around player ever. but don't take it from me: "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan; If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life... I'd take Larry Bird." - Pat Riley.

In basketball, Larry is the greatest .. no one can match him with combination of will to win, skill, ability to talk trash, coach and manage operation.

I have no opinion on who the greatest is/was, but I can tell you that Larry Bird made basketball entertaining. I didn't watch it before or since.

As bill walton once said 'We only had one play in the playbook.....Get the ball to larry'

Having watched NBA games back in the 80s, I totally agree with you!

Bird had some of the best ball handling skills of any player.... and combine that with his intuitive sense of where his team mates were at all times... and you have a small idea of his greatness. I don't watch much NBA action nowadays.... I'd rather watch classic match-ups from the 1980s on RU-vid!

The Greatest Show Of All Time.

LARRY BIRD WAS THE BEST ALL-AROUND PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY.

Best ever a True Legend 👍👏❤

1:50 Right between the legs. Who does that ? WOW

the chaps these days just do not know how freaking good Larry was, he is not particularly fast or dunks often or race inside the lane. most player's games are 3D; skills, teamwork and athleticism. Larry's game gives another dimension, brains. He is the smartest guy on the court, he dictates the game on another level. Plus at 6-10, if he plays post-up and makes a turn around jump shot, as Dominique states,'there is nothing much you could do about it..."

Really good. I didn't watch your vid to know that guy.

You are correct that Larry Bird won the first three 3-point shooting contests, but you are unfortunately mixing up which ones come first. In the first 3-point shooting contest Larry Bird amazed the crowd yes, but he did it by starting off hitting his first 11 shots in a row. In addition, this was while wearing a red all stars uniform. The contest that you refer to where he walks off while the last shot is in the air is actually the third contest that he won.

Probably the GOAT his peers seemed to think so. And look at his peers