Larry always wanted the ball to move and to have everyone involved, he never cared about personal stats, he just wanted to win. They don't make them like that anymore
imo people failing to recognize this is one of the #1 reasons Larry gets underrated. Everyone trying to talk about how their favorite player is better than larry, they always wanna go FG% or PPG, where Larry is still an absolute legend, but even for those players that are on Larry's level for stats with regard to FG% and PPG and such, it fails to appreciate the fact that Larry was giving half his shots away to his teammates. If you watch a lot of Larry, you will start to notice the number of times Larry could easily take the shot and get the point, and his accuracy is so good, you know he could get it no problem, but he gives it away instead. Then come 4th quarter, if giving it away to his team didn't put them in the lead, Larry says it's clutch time and turns it on. He did that again, and again, and again, and again, so there's no denying it. People disrespecting Larry can't see the forest for the trees and that's that. That's not to say Larry never cared about personal stats, cuz he did. (For example, the time he dropped 60 just to beat Kevin McHale's scoring record immediately after McHale got it.) Larry was competitive and he liked going for those records and stats, but that's not ALL he was about. Whereas these people who are like "well my favorite player is better than larry with this one specific cherry-picked stat". They're just trying to find anything they can in the numbers, but Larry is good in a way that just the numbers won't tell you, which is incredible, cuz the numbers are damn good. I mean you see a similar story looking at someone like Pistol who was obviously one of the best players there ever was, but if you're just looking at, like, wins or something, he doesn't look that good, but Pistol would smoke a mf. Stats aint everything, but people will always act like it is, if the stats make them look right.
Larry was so much fun to watch, because even the passes that didn’t end in baskets, were so impressive, that you were going to be astonished by his skills.
One of the many reasons why larry bird is the best team mate to have. If you are open and you know how to shoot well then odds are good you will get the ball passed to you. Once the ball is in your hands you better not fail. This way larry always ensured his team got the win even if he hardly did any serious scoring of his own.
What most people don't know is that Bird passed on shots to help teammates get their average/game. He was aware of who needed a basket and he could have been selfish and padded his points, but he wasn't. 3-4 times a game he did something where everyone was wow, how'd he do that? 1980's-early 90's, best era of basketball ever, best talent throughout league. You'd never see a player take a night off for load management.
Ultimate team player and leader. Was like having another head coach on the floor at all times. He saw everything that everyone did every second of every play and took advantage of every misstep by opponents on defense. All time great in every single aspect of the game, no matter what.
Larry was the slowest running guy but had such upper body strength and reflexes like a jaguar.....just used what he had.He was probably the most passionate player on the court.
Agreed. And he was lightning fast with the passing refexes. Couple that with that other pair of " eyes in the back of his head ", to go along with that cock sure confidence/passion and one of a kind court vision, the man was just phenomenal. .... They called him Larry Legend for a reason.
Good stuff guys!. @26:40 That's the Palace at Auburn Hills, Michigan. It indeed a large place...I believe it was the largest arena used regularly for basketball at the time with 24,276 seats.. The next largest I reckon was Madison Square Garden with 20,000. The smallest at the time I believe was Boston Garden with 14,890. I hope everyone will sleep better tonight knowing this. ;)
Total faith in your teammates to pass like that. Bird trusted all of them. The second you don't, is when a turnover happens. IMO, that's what basketball is all about. Trust your teammates...even if you know they might miss the shot you gave them. Gotta keep the ball moving to throw opponents off guard.
Larry Bird led the Celtics in scoring every year. He was such a good shooter. He caused a lot of problems for opposing defenses. When he was driving to the basket, they had to collapse on him, which Always opened up two of his teammates. People have always said he was slow. I don't know about that. But if you watch enough of his game highlights, he's usually leading the break 🤣 Also, he was always listed at 6'9. But Larry was a legit 6'10. And 240 lbs.
That was Bill Walton that passed it to Bird. Best passing center ever. Bird and Walton had a great time together. Walton had a lot of injuries after winning a chip in 77 with Portland but Celtics took a chance on him and traded for him as a backup to Parish. 6th man of the year for the Celts as they won the title in 86.
I fondly remember the finals match up of Lakers and Celtics in the 80s but it was hard being a Sonics fan to watch Larry dismantle your team even when you almost catch up to the Celtics they still crushed you. Kareem was also a scoring machine in those days with very little answer for his sky hook and Magic knew had to crush teams too.
Magic & Larry, resurrected the game of basketball......My dad loved basketball, but stopped watching, until the competition between Johnson & Bird was highlighted......What my Dad used to say, Larry's game reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, hockey, baseball, track & Field, soccer, football, & strategic chess in his head, and that's what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
Love your reactions guys, keep it going! Couple of suggestions for reactions to some a bit lesser known videos: "Jerry West - The NBA Logo Career Tribute (Version 1.1)" "Top Six NBA Centers of the 1960's - The Truth About Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell's Competition" "Making the Case - Bill Russell" "Oscar Robertson Royals Video" "Elgin Baylor Scouting Video (Best All Around Basketball Player Ever Candidate)" "Making The Case - 1972 Lakers"
Is it really any wonder why he was known as Larry "Legend"? He wasn't just a fantastic shooter, he wasn't just a first-rate rebounder, nor was he JUST a transcendent passer or an unmatched trash-talker, he was a genius play-maker who improved any team he was on.
Bird was unreal ,I was there, I grew up on him ,he was gonna do something ever game that made us talk about it all week, it was real bball ,don't know really what to call what they play today ,real talent, but refs damn let them play ball for real ,just my opinion bird 🐦 major love to you ,McHale, dj,chief, Danny, loved yall ❤❤
This is why we love Larry Bird! He was such an exciting player to watch. It wasn’t all about hogging the ball to rack up personal stats, but rather getting the whole team involved to secure the win. Larry Joe Is indeed a LEGEND and the GOAT all around player IMO. Plus he gets extra points for being the NBA’s best trash talker!
I forget which video I saw it in, but it was stated when Larry would study tape he would also study his teammates' situational tendencies and that was what allowed him to do all those no look passes.
The pass at around 14:00 that you guys were screaming about that not being Larry with the crazy move- that was # 44 Danny Ainge. (Yes, THE Danny Ainge that is currently the CEO of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz , after being executive director of basketball operations for Boston from 2003-2021) Fun Fact : Danny Ainge was a High-School All-American in THREE sports (football, basketball and baseball) … he played basketball for Brigham Young University… *and is only one of 13 athletes ever to have played professionally in Basketball AND Baseball* ! (In MLB, he played for the Toronto Blue Jays - the Boston Celtics had to buy out Ainge’s MLB contract to be able to sign him for NBA)
Y'all suddenly made me aware of the number of great potential assists Bird had that didn't become actual assists because his teammates couldn't finish a layup. He was such a good shooter and passer and always seemed to exploit double teams.
Watching you guys make me 😂😂😂Imagine seeing it live back in the mid 80’s and the time when Michael came into the league! It was an exciting time in the NBA.
I'm guessing that part of why these are the (1) "never seen before" passes and (2) there are so many missed shots after the pass is because most clips don't show the great passes his teammates missed. It's bound to happen sometimes, and it's really nice to see the great passes, even if his teammates didn't' finish the deal sometimes.
I had more fun watching the two of you than I did the video. You are hysterical. I have seen Larry lots of times but he never ceases to amaze me. Used to go to the Sixers games and saw him in person quite a few times. If you think he was incredible on video you would have lost your mind watching him in person. Keep up the good work. Glad to see youngsters enjoying the greats of my era.
These were my favorite years in the NBA and my favorite team, so watching this gave me flashbacks to all brilliant passes that didn’t get finished and me screaming in agony at the tv. If there was a weakness on those great Celtics teams, it was that too many times he’d feed someone and they couldn’t finish, even when undefended and right under the bucket. There were a lot of games, including playoff games, that were lost because of it. Most of the time, McHale, Parish, Johnson, Walton, and Ainge were reliable, but once you got past those guys it became more problematic. Just thinking about it makes me take a blood pressure pill.
@@AfrikanLifestyle BS Legend had the best court vision of anyone, ever. Listen to the other pros who played against him and the Celtics; listen to what they have to tell - Bird was better than Magic. Nice try, though.
@@kenhasibar2624 Dude, its okay, everyone has their own opinion. Larry was fire but Magic was hotter. They played the same number of years, 13, Larry played in 897 games and Magic played 905. Magic has 10,141 assists and Bird has 5,695...End of story...
Larry was one of the best passers ever. This man seemed to know exactly where everyone was at all times. For someone a little more sneaky try Jason Williams. Players on his team needed to be ready cause he could be passing you. You'll love watching Jason do his magic.
Maybe maybe not, but who else has a claim to goat passer, goat shooter, goat leader, goat toughness, goat trash talker, goat clutch, avg 26+/10+/6+ his entire career, 3 straight MVPs, 3 Rings, 50/40/90 club founder and never lost a playoff game to MJ? No one. Also a legit 6'10" and it's pretty obvious watching these passes that Larry was actually super athletic. He had lightning fast hands and feet, and NFL QB arm and a IQ and awareness off the charts. Put some respect of The Legend's name. GOAT
If Larry's teammates delivered everytime he made a great pass, Boston would have literally never lost a game! Keep in mind a lot of these plays end with defensive fouls called.
You see how great his passes are and I wonder how much better his assists stats would have been, if his teammates actually made all of the shots after getting his pass. Or, how much higher his scoring stats would have been, if he didn't give shots away to his teammates. Good reaction. Thanks for sharing.
In the past 50 years, here are the highest Total Career Avg Stat Points (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK - TO) #1) Jordan = 44.7 #2) LeBron = 44.3 #3) Bird = 43.1 #4) Kareem = 42.9 #5) Durant = 40.8 #6) Magic = 40.2 Just to put things into perspective:
I don't mind the missed buckets. A lot of Bird's best passing isn't shown because the play wasn't finished. It's about the passing though not the buckets in these vids.
Larry is my goat and yes he is one of the greatest passers, but Magic holds the title. That is what was one of the things that made Magic and the Lakers fast break so special, so I do not want to take that away from him. Larry was just as good but with out the numbers maybe because of position or play style. So many special players in this era that it's a none argument for everyone to have their Goat pick.
There are full Celtics games on RU-vid. You should watch them to see that passing happen in the flow of the game. I grew up watching the games. Larry made his entire team better and more dangerous. There were times when it was easier to track a hockey puck than the ball in a Celtics game.
There is a rumor (and I can’t substantiate) that Bird wouldn’t get angry with you if you missed a shot. He’d get angry with you if you didn’t expect a pass from him.
his teammates didn’t always finish. But they learned they had to stay aware and be locked in, every second. Bird could have shot himself most of those times, but that would have made his teammates basically spectators. He knew what he was doing and why. It wasn’t pointless or unnecessary. It made those Celtics better, every one of them. Those missed finishes sharpened their steel, it wasn’t for nothing. I hated Bird and the Celtics. Still do as a Magic/Lakers fan. But I’ve got nothing but respect for him. You could have a half hour video of his full court QB passes alone. And they were always delivered in the exact perfect spot.
Hey you guys are great. Love watching ya, but I’m not a huge sports fan…. I just like seeing younger guys discover Larry, he’s been so overlooked. Have you guys considered reacting to music. Maybe old school hip hop or other older music. I could see you guys being a blast with that.
yes, many of Bird's amazing passes were never assits, which is why you haven't seen them. He made so many passes like that, some are going to miss. 50% is 50%.
While these are highlights, these happened EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. You didn't want to miss a game because the next day your friends would ask, "Did you see that pass/shot/rebound last night?"
ALL I CAN TELL YOU GUYS IS THAT. HAVING LIVED IT IS BIRD MADE PLAYS IN EVERY GAME THAT TOTALLY AMAZED US ALL WHETHER IT WAS A PASS A REBOUND OR A SHOT REALLY MATTERED LITTLE. HE WAS STILL THE MASTER. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW HIS FREE THROW PERCENTAGE ALONG WITH HIS STEALS PER GAME CEMENTS HIM AS THE BEST ALL-TIME ALL AROUND NBA PLAYER OF ALL TIME. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bird averaged more assists per game than Allen Iverson, Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, etc. He also averaged more rebounds per game than Patrick Ewing, Chris Webber, Ben Wallace, Giannis, Robert Parish, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Etc. In the past 50 years, only two other players have slightly better stats than Larry Bird and that Michael Jordan and LeBron James
You guys can go back but courtside lots of times we would be wondering how the ball got over there and have to watch the highlight reel to figure it out.
Basketball greats from the past and present prefer to play with Larry over LeBron and Michael because they know Larry will always locate the open player without making eye contact since Larry knew precisely where everyone was on the floor at all times, something you can't teach.
@@maelguiraud3568A lot of the guys that on the roster of the US Olympic the college team that practice against the dream team got to play against both Larry and LeBron because James came straight out of high school. But still not enough of a comparison.
I hear a lot of people say they wonder how Larry would do in today's league. But my question to you is how do you think today's players would do back in the more physical 1980s?
This is just one more example of how great Bird was. If you put one guy on Bird that guy would get outplayed if you double or triple team him you leave Mc Hale Parrish or DJ open.
This a b roll of Larry's passes their is a whole other video where his teammates don't miss and there is a 3 minute segment of just Larry's touchdown passes. These are passes that didn't make the first team.
Wish the sound would have been left in, loses its game feel without it. Also given the bad quality of the old video clips it would have been nice if the game frame itself would have been bigger on the screen instead of the reactors taking up most of the screen.
I watched Bird back in the day, and he was a total player, and an incredible passer. That said, there are other guys that have as much passing skill as Larry. Curry comes to mind, for one. The guy is exceptional, and can hit shots Larry could only dream of. Fact.
