If you want more details on Larry's back, watch the 5 Times Larry Bird Was Injured But Refused To Quit video. You won't believe some of the stuff he dealt with. BTW, when Bird injured his face in that fall, he came back to the game but had double vision that lasted for awhile, well past this one game.
people compleatly misunderstand how much physically ruffer the game was then and the most blazingly clear ying and yang black and white of it all.. if you remove 1 person from either of thease 2 mens path.. Bird from Magic or Magic from Bird and the others record would be a wholesale slaughter of the entire league to which their would have been no stopping... my favorite remark was when they were talking about trying to guard or stop him and some of the greatest players of all time say " their was no stopping him " even after he told you exactly what he was going to do.. he didnt say that to some random college kid, he told the greatest players of the time..i need a challenge.. ill tell you what im gonna do and you can try and stop me...
Something he missed was the doctor left to get the ambulance, returning to see Larry had left the locker room . Sure bet the doctor checked his retina’s for dilation with a pen light, prognosis of a potential concussion. Wager that doctor was freaking out over Larry’s lack of concern of the doctors concern.
that double vision just fueled Larry's lust for a challenge. Once again, he rose to the occasion!! You Go Larry. Forget about the neah sayers they're not very smart anyway
To answer your 1v1 question, Bird. Jordan didn't start winning championships until 91, when Larry was past his prime and the Celtics were not in the playoffs. Larry and the Celtics swept Jordan and the Bulls twice in the playoffs previously. He SWEPT Jordan.
And he only player to have a winning record agaist jordon bulls regular season and play off,17 to 11, 6 and 0 play off jordon could not get past celtics
Not only did he rally a comeback with a concussion, broken face, and double vision, he came back out late in the 3rd quarter. How hard did he have to work for that win?
He messed up his back shoveling gravel in the driveway of the new home he'd built for his mom in 1985. He severed the nerve in his lower back that caused him excruciating pain for the rest of his career. His orthopedic surgeon said that only a handful of people in the world could handle that kind of pain the way that Larry could. The worst kind of pain is nerve pain, especially in your lower back. The doctor said that "Bird's pain was like getting your finger stuck in a door, and someone still pushing on the door!" Just hearing that makes me cringe. Bird had to have special procedures done hours before each game. He'd have to be messaged, and then the doctor slipping his spinal chord in place to take the pressure off the nerve in his back. Enough to hold him over for 4-6 hours, then he'd go play a game at night. Bird's teammate, center Robert Parish said that what impressed him the most is that Larry never took any painkillers, pills, shots or anything. Ever! He just sucked it up and delt with it. Amazing tolerance for pain, I can tell you that.
That kind of pain is an old friend. I separated my spine from my pelvis. Spine was resting on my spinal cord. They left the disks in when they fussed it so they are completely encased in bone. Inflammation causes them to swell. Only one way for them to go.
@Sam Doe 🍀Listen Sam Doe!😒🍀 You are ..WICKED WAY WRONG?!😒 You Dummy... He tells the same story.. And magic walked down the same driveway and told the same story his mother told him??? Stop it.. Your wrong
@Sam Doe Sorry Sam, I saw that other Bird video too. The young kid that narrated the video got the wrong information. I had Celtics season tickets at the Garden from 1981-1992, Bird's entire career. Everyone who lives in Boston or just knows their sports knows it was from shoveling gravel at the house he had built for his mother. And there's a video out there that has his own orthopedic therapist telling the story of how Bird messed up his back. And this is exactly what he said! He said, and I quote: "There's Larry Bird, the superstar, out there in his mom's driveway shoveling gravel." Word for word from one of his orthopedic therapist's lips. I certainly think he'd know how the injury happened. So, if you choose not to take it from a life long Bostonian, fine. I think you'd probably take the word of his own therapist though. If not, then you're definitely someone who just can't accept being wrong....
Drazen Petrovic was a dog, man. He was taken before his time in a car accident. He was one of the first European players to threaten to leave his mark on the league. He famously scored 112 points in a basketball game in his home country. We'll never know how good he could have become in the NBA.
The best description of his back injury is in the tribute documentary about him. The back doctor equated it to having your fingers slammed in a car door and someone pushing on the door. He would spend 4-5 hrs having his back realigned before every game so he could play at the end of his career......name me one soft ass player of today who would of played through any of Birds other injuries let alone the back from 85 on....the GOAT for so many reasons....if he had today's soft rules and medical advances.....he would own the league.
@@andrusmotto1257 Yeah, Drazen was going to give you 25 a night, plus good number of assists and rebounds. Lewis had All Star future ahead. I recall when each death was made known to me. I don't really care as much about the game as I did those two ( and others, before and after these two tragic losses ) men's family and loved ones. Lewis made some coin when he signed, but he didn't make enough for his family's security, just my opinion mind you. The NBA lost two stars, the teams they played for had huge gaps needed to be filled by their losses, but the families lost a son, husband, father, uncle, and so on. Cool.
I would pick Bird in your ten point shoot out. The biggest difference between Bird and Jordan on the court was, Bird believed in team work, and worked well with other players. Jordan was a more look at me guy, not look at my team.
I THINK THAT THE MOST BADASS BIRD HIGHLIGHT WAS THE STORY ABOUT THE GAME WHEN HE BROKE HIS CHEEKBONE, WAS CONCUSED, HAD TO LEAVE THE GAME, BUT HE WILLED HIMSELF BACK INTO THE GAME JUST SO HE COULD "KILL" THE RIFLE MAN BECAUSE HE GOT TOO COCKY ON THE COURT AND HE WASN'T HAVING ANY MORE OF THAT BULLSHIT...🔥💪🏻🏀🦅💜
Larry didnt have "back problems" he had a broken fakking back. An injury the doc said would land most people permanently in a wheelchair. And he played with that for 7 years, won an MVP with that broken back in the most stacked league there ever was. Go watch *"5 time larry bird was injured but refused to quit"* and you'll understand
“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
Larry was building a driveway at his mother's house in '85, the same year of Jordan's entry into the NBA. Talk about the worst timing to get such an injury. He permanently injured his back and compressed a nerve and ruined the stability of his back. He even said at one point he thought he was going to be in a wheelchair.
The thing about Jordan is that they would call his peak the years after Larry (and Magic) retired. The fact that Larry was still winning after basically being crippled, I would say that those 2 retiring made Jordan look so much better. Not trying to put Jordan down because Jordan was a beast. But Bird was still hanging with him and besting him even after Larry had basically lost his 3 point shooting, lost his spinal stability, had a double achilles surgery which most players never came back from back then. Larry was in pain putting his uniform on.
The scene at 6:11 ... when Larry calmly fakes, fakes, fakes, defenders go flying in other directions, then Larry sinks a shot from a nice open position... for me, that's one of the best low-key Bird moments. Just solid *solid* fundamental basketball.
Celtics were a great team. There is a video called "Making the Case 1986 Celtics" Larry was a great leader, they had a starting five that could all give you twenty points a night. They passed the ball and Larry made sure that if a player wasn't getting the ball enough that he passed it to him. They loved playing together.
I LOVE that video. There are some highlights I've never seen any where but here. Some of those games they so outplayed their opponents that the Celtics look like a bunch of teenagers playing keep away from five year olds.
Bird snuck back out behind the team doctor’s back when he went back out in the 4th quarter. “Basketball Jesus” was one of his nicknames. Laimbeer was one of the dirtiest players in the NBA. Watch “Crazy Stories that Prove Larry Bird is the Toughest Player.” The man never gave up until he HAD to!🏀👍🏼💥
Imagine playing 7 or 8 years with back injury , its imposible i injured my back and i could play 1 month and i surrended , but Larry is somthing imposible
A game going to just 10 with MJ one on one I pick Larry He would just drop 3s, Not saying Mike can't go deep just not with the same consistency as Larry🤷♂
in his prime there is only 1 choice.. Larry Bird..and thats not just Me because I am from Boston and got to see Larry play several times over the years.. but he made MVP 3 years in a row with some of the best out their.. the first 3, 3 pointer contests in a row.. and out of all the greats.. Bird is the only one MJ never bested..
Larry's game doesn't translate well in a 1 v 1 format because he's an elite teammate for a team sport. However, Larry doesn't like to lose. And in his prime, Jordan couldn't stop him from scoring...and Larry, at 6'10"...or nearly that, with quick hands...might make Jordan miss one. . And that's all she wrote. Cuz Bird wouldn't miss...and there's nothing Jordan could do about it.
I love watching you watch Larry Bird. I am old enough that he was playing while I was in college so I got to see this back then and it was such a blast.
In a way, Larry played every year injured with his finger like a boomerang is what he says. He lost his ability to feel the ball properly. But played 8 years out of a 12-13 year career with a serious back injury and if you look at him versus Barkley in 89, you wouldn't be understanding that by then, he had a bad finger, bad back, bad feet and Barkley was the one who fell to the floor.
People have described his back injury but I will add that the doctor called it an unstable spine where it could just suddenly go into any position without notice. He played for almost 8 years with it and refused to take pain meds. Larry Bird didn't look particularly strong, but he was tough, that has been proven.
legend is 6-0 against mj... he never lost to nr23 in playoffs as a player. did as a coach... i still think both are on the unranked top 10 list off all time...
Jordan 100% could not guard Larry, like at all. Bird was too big, he would back them down in the low post and snatch their soul. You can find video after video of Pippin and Jordan guarding Larry and getting dropped. But Larry could sometimes guard Jordan. So, the edge goes to Bird, but barely.
Larry Bird would win because he was so smart and diversified in passing, rebounds etc. Very unusual. It's said that Larry Bird was playing Chess when all the others were playing Checkers, straight from an opponent
Man that would be a show. Hard to call that one I'd go with Larry though. He best muscle Was The one between his ears. His court sense to was unmatched
The winner of the one on one would be the guy who had the ball last. One might go out for a moment but the other one certainly will come back they’re just way too competitive and as always peace love and joy to you and yours
I'm sure someone commented this already but.. MJ is 0-6 against Larry and the Celtics when it counted most.. the playoffs. It is often said that "to be the best you have to beat the best." So..
he originally hurt his back in 1985 shoveling gravel to help build a driveway at his moms house. along with needing to be put in traction before games near the end, he also had to deal with double Achilles tendon surgery and bone spurs in his feet
You asked "why wouldn't they just leave larry alone?" Like most people they see Bird as a slow white guy and couldn't fathom what all the hype was about and that THEY would be the one to shut him down. Well.. we seen how that went
Top NBA career combined stats per game (pts, reb, ast, stl, blk) additional career fg%,tp%,ft% 1. Jordan 44.7 -50-33-84 2. Lebron 44.4 -51-35-73 3. Bird 43.1 -50-38-89 4. Kareem 42.9 -56-06-72 5. Durant 40.8 -50-38-88 A bunch of guys in the 40’s….
If you can imagine it, he was in too much pain to put on his uniform, breaks his jaw, and around then he also has bone spurs in his feet where they thought he had a broken foot and he had a double Achilles surgery and still came back. He wouldn't use pain meds and still played at an elite level. But, yes, he didn't have many years left after the foot problems and jaw.
I don’t hate much, but I hated Bill Lambier with a passion. With that being said, I always wanted to see the Pistons play Boston at every opportunity back in the day. My dad, my brothers and me would pile in the car and head from Maine to Boston (2.5 hours one way) a few times a year when I was a kid, even if we had to take some “obstructed view” seats. More than once, the crowd would head out early and we’d migrate down to the Loge. From there, we were (my best guesstimate) about 50 feet from the stars on the court. People who actually PAID for the Loge seats would start off annoyed, but I never noticed. I’d take a seat and say, “I can’t believe you got to sit here for this whole game. This is AMAZING! You are so lucky! I hope you don’t mind that we wanted to get closer.” My dad says people would melt and suddenly become chatty with me. I was so absorbed with the Celtics that I never caught on to anyone ever being annoyed. I thought we Celtic fans were all one big, happy family. Anyway…I love your videos. Thanks for the tour down memory lane!
That’s actually a tough question man. Most would go with MJ 1v1 just off his athleticism and claim Larry can’t guard MJ. But on the flip side you KNOW Larry got that dad/son game where he just embarrasses you cuz you just aren’t there yet. Know what I mean? That was how Larry dominated everyone, by knowing more than them basketball IQ wise. So I think it would be a lot more competitive than people think
Chuck wasn't a rival to Bird. He was a shooter that stepped up his game during playoffs. He wasn't that great. Bird's real rivals were Dr. J., Moses Malone and Charles Barkley with Philly and of course Magic, Kareem and the Lakers. Throughout the 80's either the Celtics or the Lakers made the finals every year. Bird has three rings, Magic has five and they played each other three times.
I laugh at the white guy comment but I think it is partly because back in the early 80s there was a movie called, "White Guys Can't Jump" and the thing is Larry grew up playing basketball with black people before he joined organized sports and when he was growing up, it was a time of horrific racism and Larry took a stand. I think it was his way of supporting the black community with his voice. He was saving the NBA because the channels didn't even want to play the final games back then, and I think because it had become boring. There wasn't an ESPN. But it could well have been racism in the networks. But he used his voice to say that being black is cool.
My friend, you should check out hockey. There are stories like a guy getting hit by a car, jumping up saying “it’s ok, I’m a hockey player” and played that night. I can’t remember the name, I believe he was on the blue jackets, but he got hit in the face by the puck. Went off, got stitches, came back and scored the game winning goal
He didn't say he had a problem being guarded by a black guy. He said the exact opposite of that. That guarding him with a white guy was an insult, and disrespectful. He felt black players were better guards. The implication was that they didn't think he was good enough to need a black guard.
Bobby Knight heard Larry was leaving school. Arrogant Bobby said he didn't chase ball players. A few years later, humble Bobby said that's one he should have.
5x Larry Bird Was Injured But Refused To Quit ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QRHZToVAEFA.html Larry Bird Greatest Passer re-edit ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wwo4vtaZmsY.html
Ya , what happened was.... In 1987 , He was shoveling gravel in his mom's new driveway & 1 thing to know about Larry , He never had $$ , so is very cheap ,lol , so he did it himself & ended up wrenchjng his back...that was the start of it all.
No. Some player on a team isn't why Larry left Indiana. He left Indiana because he was home sick. He did not transfer to Indiana state, he left college and was working for the city where he lived in Indiana for a year before the head coach at Indiana state talked him into coming to Indiana state
I’m a Jordan fan, no bias, prime Jordan vs prime Bird? Bird would win, it would be the hardest life Bird would experience, but Bird would win for only 2 reasons, first Bird is mentality monster, as in, he play it smarter than Jordan. Second, Bird is far more consistent than Jordan down to the final minutes, he will always be there, and always deliver, clutch King. It’s not by coincidence that Celtics still won when Jordan scored 60 points, because Bird would bring the whole team against Jordan, while Jordan can’t do that, Pippen supported Jordan way more than DJ ever did for Bird.
Back in Indiana. Larry played all his pick up games in the hood against brothers. He developed his game against competition that was not white. At that time, it was like going from 1A to 2B comp.
You want a good example of how great Larry bird was watch the 84 finals against Lakers, one of the games in Boston heat wave led temp inside garden over 100 by end of game refs and Kareem literally on oxygen and Larry's looking fresh
