Dan Patrick reacts to Dennis Rodman's comments about Larry Bird saying if he played today, he'd be playing over in Europe and it leads to the discussion of whether or not Larry Bird is still a top 10 player all-time
Bird is the worst possible example for "he couldn't make it today." He's probably the best example of "he'd be even better today." For the way the game is played today and also the medical advances that would keep him healthier.
And Rodman's the perfect example of a player that wouldn't make it today. And I love Dennis Rodman. Well at least when he's not talking smack about Bird.
Bird has a 3 peat of MVPs, two Finals MVP's and is one of the best shooters and playmakers of all time. I think he will live a very long time in the top 10
@@darrel7589 You could say the same things about Magic playing on a super team and being lucky to be drafted by the Lakers. Bird was the best player on the Celtics. His run from his rookie year to the 87 season was crazy - MVP Place: 4, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2
@@darrel7589the Celtics won 29 games when he was drafted. The next year won 63. Year after that a chip. You don't know jack shit. Btw I'm a Lakers fan haha
@@darrel7589 What "superteam" did Larry Bird play on in his first year when he single handed took a 29 win team the year before, to a 61 win team in his rookie year? I'll wait..... Oh, yeah. And MJ NEVER beat a Larry Bird led team in the playoffs.
@@darrel7589it wasnt a superteam u marionette the celtics were competing against other teams that also had 3-5hofers thats how the nba was b4 expansion watered it down durig the late 80s and mid80s and mj never won a single playoff game against him and mj got shut down in game 3 once boston actually took mj srsly something they didnt do going into game2 because he had scored 49pts in game 1 without ever coming close to even holding a lead let alone winning
@@Vic-Vega Yeah Seton made it sound like its imminent or maybe even here, but like I would HOPE by the 150th anniversary of the NBA this would be self-evidently likely....cause he'd have to be top 5 now to even expect to still be there in 75 more years...or the game degrades and very few legends pop up in the interim which would be terrible.
Larry was the first best shooter, the best passing forward, the best big man shooting the ball, one the best passers, his game transcend over time, in today's game he would be great as he was back in the 80s!!!
He also was the best trash talker because he always backed what he said ; the best team player of all time; and his his pain tolerance was extremely high; and basketball IQ was the best !! Not bad for" a slow white boy"
Jordan and the Bad Boy Pistons didn't win anything until Bird's back went out. Bird also elevated several of his teammates to HOF levels. Anyone that doesn't have him in their top 10 is just too young to have seen it.
Especially a guy like Parish, with that dude's skill set he has no business in the HOF. But Bird elevated Robert's game. DJ and Mckale, maybe they do well without Bird but not Parish.
Exactly. Parish didn't do much with Golden State before he was traded to Boston. I don't want to take anything away from McKale because he had one of the best post games ever, but Bird's ability to shoot and pass spread the floor and elevated his teammates game. That's the thing these kids don't understand. Jordan, then And 1, convinced an entire generation that to be great you had to be ball dominant and try to score every time you touched the ball. They didn't see the greatness in Bird in Magic in that they had that triple threat every time they got the ball. I wish more people understand that it's a team game and not just about going 1 on 1 @@williamdavis9562
I remember when Rodman and Isiah Thomas laughed at Bird and said if he was black he'd just be another dude. They said he got the press he did cause he's white. Then Bird went out on the court and destroyed Rodman in consecutive games. That was almost 40 years ago and this is the first time I've heard Dennis dare to say Larry's name since.
Rodman said it after Bird scored 37 in the decisive Game 7 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. I was a Pistons fan, but it was sour grapes by an immature kid and a dumb thing to say. Isiah thought he was sticking up for Rodman but should've known better.
Why are there conversations taking place regarding Larry Bird “falling out of” the Top 10 greatest NBA players ever? A guy with 3 chips and the last player to win back-to-back-to-back MVPs in arguably the roughest era of the NBA is not falling out of the Top 10 any time soon. And I’m only 32 years old saying this. This is ridiculous
Its pretty obvious these discussions are going on because he's white. When you know basketball and watch Larry Bird it's obvious the man still deserves to be in the top 10. The hate against whites is real. The liberal media is anti-white. ESPN is so bad!
And with all due respect I would take Larry Bird over Tim Duncan in a heartbeat. Even Phil Jackson said he would take Bird over Magic. So suck on that.
If I had to start a team tomorrow the first 3 players I'd pick would be Bird, Magic, and Jordan. Those 3 will always be in the top 5. That's eternal. You give me those 3 players in their prime and I'm gonna win a lot of games and championships. I don't even care who my 4 and 5 are, I'll be in great shape.
LEGEND is the greatest shooting forward, clutch forward, passing forward and small forward of all time and it's not at all close. He also dove for every loose ball he was anywhere close to and played every minute of his career as a merciless assassin where winning was all that mattered to him. Pat Riley once said, if I needed to pick someone to hit a shot to win a game, I'd take Michael Jordan. If I needed to choose someone to hit a shot to save my life, I'd choose Larry Bird.
Dennis was one of my favorite players, but Jokic just showed what Bird could've accomplished today. Birds IQ was so high. I get he's not flashy but dude was a savant on the court. Saw plays before they happened, anticipated passing lanes, found cutters behind his back. Shoot, he redefined shooting mechanics and was 2nd player ever (after Pistol Pete) who could hit shots from anywhere. He made other HOFers look stupid. Guy was best college player & carried a team of nobody's to the finals. Went to 5 championships. Maybe Dennis is still mad he lost to Bird in the conference finals. By proxy that begs the question, "if Bird doesn't belong, but Bird beat Dennis, then where's that leave Dennis?"
-- speed and hops are entertaining: Ja morant, D Rose, Westbrick, Vince. But skill overtakes athleticism. Jokic, Duncan, Bird, Luka, Magic. But, but...skill and athleticism? MJ. Lebron. Kareem.
Bird killed during the toughest era of basketball. I want you guys to look this up. The 80s decade of players currently occupy the most top 10 spots, the most top 20 spots, then the most top 30. It is also has the most teams in the top 10 greatest teams of all time, Lakers, Celtics, Detroit, Philly. Look it up not my list.
@dantefazzina9037 players today are better on average then the 80s. bird is my favorite player but players today on average are far more skilled then 80s
Such disrespect to Larry Bird. He is so underrated. I would put him over Magic Johnson. He is Magic Johnson plus a jump shot. The man is a legend. Would have thrived in today’s NBA.
Bird won 3 championships won 3 mvps(in a row) won 2 finals MVPs and took a 29 win team to a 60 win team. That peak and when you look at accomplishments shot 50 40 90 twice. he was always top 3 in the MVP conversation when he was healthy. He beat the show time Lakers, he beat doctor j 76ers, and bad boy pistons those three teams are in the top 10 teams of all time.
The year the sixers won they were considered one of the greatest teams ever. Bird didn't beat them that year obviously. No other year were they considered that. That wasn't a dynasty.
Plus he told players where he was taking the last shot, before he shot it right in front of their face to win the game with no time on the clock. The dude was a cold blooded machine.
-- Luka and Jokic are destroying the league. Bird has already fallen out of the Top 10 but...if I'm building a team (outside of MJ), I'm taking Bird and Hakeem as my first 2 picks.
@@johngalt60 -- Looking at careers, there are 10 contenders -- although Bird robbed us of his twilight years by doing his own concrete work. But AGAIN, my 2 favorites are: Bird and Hakeem. And hitting a game winner? For me its MJ #1 and Bird #2.
@@dparks2856 No defense? 😅 He’s 3x All-Defensive, 4x leader in Defensive Win Shares and 7x top10, 5x top10 in Defensive Box Plus/Minus, once 2nd in Defensive Rating and 6x top10, 38th in steals per game in NBA history……. Just because you didn’t see him play, and CLEARLY don’t know the great impact he had on the defensive end (Celtics much worse without him and much better with, on D)!
Larry is one of the rare players that hustles in every aspect of the game. He would STILL dominate in today's league. MJ, Kobe, Larry; they never let up.
Not only that, but the Bad Boy Pistons might have never won a title. Even MJ might not have won 6. Len Bias is one of the all-time great "what ifs" in sports history. It's tragic.
If Bias was around to take the load for McHale and let him heal his foot for the playoffs, that sure would have made a difference both in 1987 and going forward.
Bird was a 28, 10 and 7 small forward who shot 50-40-90 in his MVP prime and was clutch. I can't see Steph, Giannis or Jokic ever surpassing Bird, but I admit I'm an 80s-90s guy.
Larry Bird could even possibly outshoot steph curry in today's NBA. He was that cold. Even damn Kareem said that Larry Bird was the best player he ever played against.
The one thing that all of these players had in common was mental toughness. MJ, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, Bird, all the greats, if you provoked them, they would only get more motivated to make you look stupid... and it wouldn't take much. They had a greater sense of competition and motivation that was border-line psychopathic. We laugh at MJ about him saying "I took that personal". That was MJ's only source of motivation; once you get to a certain amount of money and fame, you have to hunt for ways to keep going, and talking trash to these guys was like putting blood in the water for a bunch of sharks. To be in the top 10, you have to be like that, and Bird most definitely was. Winning wasn't enough. Making money wasn't enough. Getting rings, not enough. They also had to make you look foolish enough to be there or walk back something stupid you said.
DENNIS RODMAN has acknowledged LARRY BIRD (3x NBA CHAMPION, 3x NBA MVP, and 3x 3pt SHOOTOUT CHAMPION) as among NBA'S GREATEST PLAYERS of ALL TIME before. During BIRD'S PRIME, RODMAN can't guard him, can't stop him from scoring, was schooled and trash talked to, and was dominated by BIRD. RODMAN deliberately insulted BIRD because nobody's talking about him anymore and wants to be relevant.
I'll draft peak Bird over anyone.. and this coming from a showtime Lakers fan. Think most of us remember Pat Riley"s famous quote regarding Jordan and Bird, so I won't bother repeating it.
You draft bird over Kareem, who just won 3 consecutive national player of the year awards and 3 national titles, Jordan whos the greatest player ever, or Lebron who has a 20 year prime. I love Bird but let's not be ridiculous. There's am argument to be made drafting him before other people but not those 3.
I have Bird and Magic (they're equals to me) 1 and 1a of alltime. They lifted both NCAA and the NBA. They literally, "Made everyone better." as entire (basketball) industries:):)
Huge Nuggets fan for 40 years, but I was a Bird fan before I moved to Denver from Indiana in 1983. Channel 4 out of Indianapolis aired all of Bird's games his senior year at ISU. I watched nearly all of them, and I watched Larry every opportunity I had when NBC aired Boston's games in the 80s. My take about this Bird-Joker comparison: As much of a generational talent as Jokic is, Larry Bird was better. Bird was Cirque du Soleil; Joker is Barnum & Bailey. Both world-class wonders, but Bird added the element of magic.
@@brashadcarr6759 Bird dominated a game with his left hand plus told opponents the play before he shot it right in their face to win the game. Fuck nostalgia, you can't even find this in the NBA anymore.
I’ll take Bird in top 5 until I see another small forward able to perform at such a high level in all basketball skills. Bird is still the unicorn. “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." - Legendary Lakers Coach Pat Riley
Yeah he was smarter than all those black dudes that played,that sounds more racist than saying Bird was out jumping and out running all those black players
Bird is the greatest small forward to play the game. He is the greatest all round player to play the game. He invented the point forward position. He was the first big man to shoot from the three point line with great efficiency and is the greatest clutch player. They used to call the 4th quarter in the 80's "Bird Time". His teams beat all the great players of that era's teams when they all were in their prime (only Kareem was on the latter part of his prime).
Bird is a clear all time great...and not only was he a 3 time consecutive MVP, he was also an absolute KILLER on the court in terms of mindset and tenacity. What he lacked in athleticism, he made up for fully in IQ, instinct, and CLUTCH ability. The inner hunger to win alone was something that is super rare today. Jordan, Koby, Isaiah, etc....all legends and absolute killers on the court every single day.
@@penkima4923 But look at what he did nearly every year he played. He took a team of nobodies into a team of championship contenders nearly every year he played in the NBA. How many other players in the history of the league have ever done that?
I saw old and hurt Larry Bird play very well and score on Scottie Pippen and Jerome Kersey - athletic players, and he had bad back and a double heel surgery prior to that, towards the last 3 years of his career. I'd take what Wilt, Kareem, Magic said about Bird, not what the one-dimensional Rodman says. That dude never was the top dog, never 2nd dog, he rode to coattails of Thomas-Dumars-Laimbeer and Jordan-Pippen.
Bird was not a bad athlete though. As Bob Knight said, he might have the best hand-eye coordination of any player he'd ever seen. That's an athletic ability. You can see this in many phases of Bird's game - his shooting - but it really shows in his passing. Particularly his full court throws, which were as a good as a quarterback. If he were shorter he would have been a great quarterback. He would have understood the game, picked apart defenses, and been able throw with tremendous accuracy. I think he was skill-for-skill better than Jordan, but if not then he's the #2 or #3 player after Kareem maybe. But that's it. No way Lebron, Kobe, Shaq, Curry, or whoever else is going to crack that top three.
Not sure if Bobby Knight is the best judge of Bird's talents. Guy inexplicably let him slip away and almost landed him in obscurity because he let his seniors haze the freshmen. Knight just shrugged a generational talent dropping out of college under his watch like it didn't matter at the time. Yeah, Knight's eye for talent literally turned Larry Bird into a garbageman before Indiana State convinced him to give basketball another shot.
This is wild because Jokic’s game today is essentially post 88 Bird after the bad heals and broken back. And that’s not a knock on Jokic, it’s a commentary to how great Larry Bird was 87 and prior. Only MJ is in that discussion of level of player.
Bird was clearly a gifted 3-point shooter in an era when that just started to exist. He'd be way better today. Besides his back, he took an absolute beating in the 80s. Today, he'd be living easy.
He EASILY is (top10 GOAT). His prime/peak as an overall player is top5 or maybe even top3 all-time!… and then he has all the accomplishments you could ask for. Only thing that he doesn’t have in top tier “category” is longevity; pretty much because of injuries (way he played and even the way he was), but even so…….. Furthermore, Bird would’ve been even better in today’s game!
@@mj23goat3 With that username you shouldn’t be talking about cults 😅 Btw, go check out what Jordan said about Bird.. calling him the GOAT forward, saying stuff like “I’m glad you’re gone” when Larry retired, so on and so forth. MJ level of respect towards Bird says a whole lot.
@@BasketballJones48021 Simply stating the _incontrovertible fact_ that Jordan is the GOAT doesn't make one a member of a cult any more than me stating that gravity makes things falls would make me a member of the Cult of Gravity. It's simply a universal truth. As a GenXer we all correctly believed that Larry was a Top-10 all-time player. But a bunch of little Millennial and Zoomer dumba*s sheep that have been inundated with Bird videos on RU-vid their entire lives began to convince themselves that he was more than he actually was. First it was "He's Top-10 all-time" then it was "He's Top-5 all-time", then "Top-3 all-time" and finally it was "I think Larry's the actual GOAT". Hence, my term, Cult of Larry. And, by the way, it's practically a cliche at this point but I'll say it anyway since you don't seem to be aware of it, but Bird himself once alluded to Jordan being "God" on the basketball court. Ain't no higher respect than THAT.
@@mj23goat3 Damn! Spoken like a true maniac cult member 😅 Even comparing a FACT, an actual physical fact.. to some subjective stuff like who’s the GOAT at basketball (mind you that I do agree Jordan is, if I had to pick one). Just ridiculous, that crazy rant 😂 Smdh
Rodman has lost his mind ! I didn't like Bird or the Celtics either but he was a killer . He could shoot, make his FT's, underrated passer, and would pick and choose his spots defending in a much tougher era. Just because players can jump , have great handles in today's cookie cutter league means nothing without mental toughness and killer instinct which a lot of today's players lack. Bird had that. Most players today if they can't win want to form a superteam ...That's a weak mentality. Analytics have nearly ruined because of the numbers only . The numbers don't tell the whole story
Bird would totally be better today, his brain is suddenly worthless? No hand checking? No one boxes out anymore? C’mon. How many people in todays game, all historical players, do you take over bird? 6-7? KD or Bird? Bird makes my team better overall and what about big time shots? Bird 100%
I'd take Kareem out of the top 10 way before I'd take Bird out of it. Also I think Magic is super underrated, he'd be my #3 behind only Michael and LeBron.
I didn’t grow up any where near Boston. My parents aren’t fans. The Celtics weren’t hyped during my teen years. And I still never understand how anyone can hate on #33. I didn’t know about Larry legend until Kevin Durant said he’s one of his biggest inspirations.
@@mj23goat3 I am a Hawks fan. Hate the Celtics. Jordan never beat Bird. He was overrated until Pippen was drafted. Dominque was almost good as Jordan for like 8 years. If Magic didn't play in same era, Bird would have won like 8 chips. Same with Magic if Bird wasn't around. NBA is barely above WWE. Officials made sure Jordan won
@@MP-mn6we Lol. 'Nique? You mean The Black Hole? The ball went in and it never came back out, with his measly 2.5 assists per game avg. Please. Just look at what Jordan did when Doug Collins asked him to play PG back in that '89 season. Human Highlight was a great scorer but NO WAY could he have done what MJ did at that position. And yet another one with the clueless "Jordan never beat Bird" line. Jordan was basically playing all by himself against Bird's multi-HOFers _dynasty team_ then Larry conveniently retired before Jordan had his _own_ dynasty so that MJ could turn the tables around. "Officials made sure Jordan won" Wow, you're really hittin' all the tried and false anti-Jordanisms aren't ya'? Michael's FT att. per game for his career are pretty much in line with the other all-time greats. And seeing as how he was the most vicious attacker of the rim in league history he should've actually gotten _more_ attempts than his less savage counterparts.
@@mj23goat3 NBA is a marketing sport, barely above WWE chair shots at end of games. Jokic is first player to win NBA title without a second all-star. Jordan couldn't win until he got another all time great. His first 7 years, he was a blacker hole than Nique
@@mj23goat3 Bulls won 55 games after Jordan went to play baseball lol. They didn't 4 peat because of a bs official call at end of game 7. Replay clearly showed Pippen didn't touch Starks. Jordan has been and always will be over-rated. He is a great player no doubt. Not the GOAT. Your name tells me u r not objective
Larry Bird epitomizes what hard work and basketball IQ will do for you. The man used to run 10 miles after the game. Sacrificed his body for lose balls even when it didn’t matter. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t translate today.
I think he's still a top 10 player. My top 10 would include: Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, LeBron, Russell, Duncan, Robertson, Hakeem, Magic and Bird. That 11-15 group for me would include: Shaq, Kobe, Durant, Steph, and Jerry West.
I would have Magic and Bird a little higher in the top 10 if your list is in order, but I really like your 11-15 grouping and think it's fair. I wouldn't argue with anybody who thinks Kobe and/or Shaq should be in the top 10, but I love that you haven't forgotten about the great Oscar Robertson.
I think my top 10, in order, would be Michael, LeBron, Magic, Bird, Wilt, Duncan, Curry, Hakeem, Kareem, and Kobe. 11-15 I'm probably going Shaq, Moses, Bill Russell, Dr J (who is wildly underrated now), and maybe Durant.
As a Lifelong Detroit Pistons fan I have to disagree with Rodman. I was front row during The Bad Boy years. My fellow fans and I would talk all day at work about how to stop this Larry Bird. Bird was shooting "deep" 3s before Steph Curry was even born. I'll never forget one night Bird must have felt it because he was shooting the ball from somewhere in coastal Massachusetts and turning around and heading back up the court before the ball was halfway through it's trajectory. The only other player that I have seen do that successfully was "Jesus". Ray Allen aka Jesus Shuttlesworth. I'm certain that many players have done this but Larry Bird was my 1st. Rodman makes really weird "statements" when it's necessary to him. I also believe that current Finals MVP Jokic has studied Larry Bird and Lebron James extensively.
Larry with today medicine and technology and training, nutrition etc would’ve been bigger stronger faster as well as having his career extended and avoided all those back issues. Silly question
Karl Malone gets so much disrespect lol, it's really a shame. The only reasons why Malone gets so much hate is simple, he never won a ring, and people give him a hard time because of that time when he was dating that underage girl back when he was in college. Malone definitely is worthy of being at least close to the top 10 and in the discussion. It's not Malone's fault that his team had to go up against maybe the most dominant team in history in the Finals, the Bulls of the 90's. Nobody beat those 90's Bulls teams and I wouldn't use that as a negative against Karl Malone. If not for the Bulls, Malone would probably have 2 rings, instead of 0.
One of the greatest and toughest. Isiah Thomas once said: If you were to put us all in a room, Jordan, Magic, Bird and myself....Bird would be the one to make it out.
Really bizarre take about Larry dropping out of the top 10 by the casual. He’s probably 4-7 on 95% people’s top 10 if they saw him play. Sounded like an agenda or clout chasing maybe because everyone not playing but behind Larry are sort of obviously in much more danger of dropping out (Shaq, Timmy, Wilt, Hakeem, etc). That’s sort of how it works babe. Anyway gonna take someone with equal skills and impact and well legend to move Larry out of the top 10 so good luck with that, I’m not sweatin it 🤷♀️
@@theesotaricitalian6338 Would I personally rank Larry over Timmy D? As a baller and legend? Yes, without hesitation. Do yo have to? No. ❤️ I think it’s a decent debate but boils down to longevity in Timmy’s favor which is a little boring. Larry vs Kobe and Larry vs Magic is a more interesting and close debate for me. Larry vs Shaq is mildly interesting because of the contrast of one of the most skilled legends ever vs a bully baller, and Shaq is one of maybe 5 players who can stack their peak against Larry. I’m comfortable with Timmy as the #1 PF and around 8-10 all time tbh.
Bill Russell wasn't a "great player" Dan? He might have less hardware had he not played in Boston, but he'd have been a great player whatever team he played on in the 1960's NBA.
Many people consider Michael Jordan the greatest player of all time. But he never won a championship against great teams that had a top 10 all time player. Larry Bird took a 20 win team into a 60 win team and went up against great teams that had multiple top 10 players and won 3 championships. If Larry Bird is falling out of the top 10 then at least half of the top 10 has to go with him.
The theater of 80s and 90s nba was must-see-tv. Hard to desc the drama. Plus the explosion of Ads, shoes, sports talk radio, 24 hr sports. It built it up to a frenzy which left a mark that will probably never be duplicated for the nba. Maybe world basketball gets to a point like the world cup but until then, the nba will be great and more skilled, just won't leave the "mark" like the golden years.
Rodman is all about Rodman. Bird would be killing it today. Bird averaged less than two 3 pointers a game and he averaged 24 points a game for his career. you give him 8 or 9 attempts a game?
so Jordan and Magic too? Because he was MVP and 1st and 2nd MVP candidate right next to them, and next to Barkley, Hakeem, etc. He played in the same league as they did and excelled.
Bird is a solid top 4. The 80s was the pinnacle of the NBA. Todays game is unwatchable with all the over dribbling and bad shot selection. Big men shooting threes. Its hard to judge if a player is good today with the game looking like a practice.
Bird won the 3 pt contest without taking his warm-up jacket off BTW. Sure he might've thrived on a loaded team. But he could shoot and that would translate. Rodman has always been a master at attention getting.
" I'd choose Michael to take a shot to save a game and Bird to takeva shot to save my life " Pat Riley .a 50 + year member of the NBA as s playeer, coach,GM .
I would say it really depends on how you weigh career accomplishments vs how great at peak. Larry's career was short and if career accomplishments is your main factor i guess you could leave him out of top 10. I still have him right after MJ for one game, one series, one season at his peak. I value that more than longevity
Shout out to Jonny Arnett cuz his videos are a really good at showing how good sone of the older players were. Bird is top of that list. He was an absolute monster
Larry Legend is top 3 all time. Dennis is crazy. Best clutch shooter ever. Best passer, team player, rebounder, steals, Cmon, Top ten. Top 3 ever. Way above Lebron.
It's the illusion of being more athletic today. When a defender can't touch a player, the ball handler is allowed to carry and travel, and there are no rim defenders due to defensive three in the key? The NBA is a beer away from being the WWE.
