There are just a few people I would like to meet and thank them for what they have given me in my life. Larry Bird is one of them. He was not just a basketball player. He played the way we all wished we could and for a play or two we were Larry Bird. A shot, a pass, a steal for that one moment we knew what it was like to be Larry. Basketball perfection. To me the greatest player I have ever seen play. Never anyone like him and thank God he was born and played.
I'm lucky enough to live in Terre Haute and got to see some games while Larry played at ISU. I was 9 in 1979. Then watched him throughout his career at Boston. Greatest player of all time.
I was 9 too. I was born in 1969, October, point Pleasant beach NJ where Jersey Mike's came from. My step dad was a celtics fan and my dad was a Yankees fan. Notice that Larry made those points before they came out with the 3 point line. I guess they added the 3 point line in 1980 unless the pros were different. Dennis Rodman has the hustling skills of Larry, but Larry also had passing and shooting above Dennis.
I don't care Larry bird is the best player I've ever seen. and I've watched hours of mj footage. mj is absolutely spectacular. but Larry bird is like a basketball poet/basketball ballerina. the way he handled that bad pass? like I'm actually astonished at the way a guy caught the ball... only bird.
The first shot I saw Bird take was in this 1979 NCAA run. Running towards the corner, he received a high bounce pass.He jumped with his back still to the basket, caught the ball while he was in the air, swiveled in mid-air and dropped a 20 footer. Still looking for the "next Bird".
I think this was Bird's first nationally televised game;my old man and I had season tickets to the celtics;the same year we bought them the Celtics had two of their most miserable years ever;we were on the fence about renewing when word came out Aurbach had drafted this guy as a Junior Eligible-first shot I remember him hitting was that baseline shot after that incredible ball fake against that poor Wichita guy;we re-upped our tickets-for the next 11 years...Thank God...
+mrbriscoe2001 Actually this games not a nationally televised game. The game between Kentucky and South Carolina(non league then) went o the Southeast US but this game went to a majority of the country and due to the limited exposure of college basketball then it was the 1st time Bird was seen by most of the country.
Bird's catch & shot at the 1:47 mark is an incredible play. Amazing hand to eye coordination. One of the best college scorers ever and without the 3 point line. He was probably as better shooter in college than the pros. After graduating he almost tore the pinky finger of his left hand off playing softball. He said "I never had the same feel for the ball after that injury. Could you imagine him being even better as a Celtic than he was! One of the smartest, toughest, scrappiest NBA players ever.
Correction, It was his index finger. I don’t know how his pinky got mangled but various sources have all detailed that softball injury prior to signing with the Celtics…
I remember this game well. For most people, Larry Bird means Celtics. But, for some southern Indiana kids like me, this college version is the Larry Bird that first comes to mind. He was SOOOO astonishingly good during those late 70s ISU seasons it defied belief. Carried an undermanned low talent unathletic supporting cast ON HIS BACK to an undefeated regular season, No. 1 ranking and to the national championship game. His college career gets underrated because he was playing at a little MVC school and not many saw him play back then, but he's still BY FAR the best college player I've ever seen. If he'd been at a major power program like Kentucky or UNC he'd probably be remembered as the best college player ever today.
BigRedRIP problem with Pistol Pete was he was the only scorer on his team. His father recruited players for their ability to throw a screen rather than score. Although Pete was ahead of his time he was by no means Larry Bird, MJ, Magic, or even Isiah Thomas. Pistol Pete was a scorer, Larry Bird was a winner, Magic was a winner, MJ was a winner, Isiah a winner. All players won State titles, Everyone but Bird a National Title, and NBA titles.
I agree with you. But I would like to add that he was good at more than just shooting. Shooting was only a fraction of what he did on that court. In my opinion he's the most complete player of all time.
When I was young I didn’t care to watch the NBA. I was too busy with other interests. I am now very sorry that I missed watching the greatest player ever when he was in his prime. So thankful for RU-vid videos now, or I would never have known how great Bird really was.
olajuwon carried a middle of the pack rockets team (lots of former cba players) to two titles. I always think if these two guys were more valuable to their teams than any other in history. They affected the game in far more ways than pure scoring
Other greats had a combination of excellent skillset and tremendous athleticism. Bird succeeded at the highest level with only skill. His body paid the price though.
Amazing cause he was able to have ball 15 20 feet from basket. Fake drive with jab step keep pivot foot down. Pull ballup to shoot then if guy bites takes half step to shoot but then passes to guy coming from weakside. The guy could not take a step and passed up 2 shots then drives left a half step to hit a wide open cutter. Like gretzgey. Magic could run the break and dish from low post or the urinal. Bird was scary just 20ft from basket. I cant recall if the celtics ever used the dou le high post with walton. He was a great passer. Then again so was Tom Boerwinkle with bulls in 70s. Bird didnt have to leave feet or dribble to score assist.
Bird's body was more chiseled in college than it was in the pros. Most typically for other basketball players it's the other way around. Had he kept a better diet and less beer in the pros and had he never tried to pave his mother's drive way, there is no telling how much better he could have been. As it was, from 79-87, I've never seen a better player.........ever.
Yes, he looked smoother in college, because he didn't carry that beer weight around. He worked hard to stay in shape, but didn't give up the liquid diet. No telling how much healthier he'd have been if he had. A healthy Bird probably adds another title or two to his resume.
Bird himself also says he was a better shooter in college...it was after his college career and right before his pro career that he broke his ring finger on his shooting hand playing softball...despite a couple surgeries it could never be straightened out...just jutted out there at a 45 degree angle. Lol.
My buddy Derek Van Dyke played for Ray Meyer's De Paul teams. ESPN archive footage. .... "There I am." he says. "Where?" I ask. "See the top of my afro as he lights me up with a jumper over me?" .... oh yeah... 😂
it was freezing cold that day and most everyone was snowed in and missed school or work the days before. So, naturally most everyone in the Mid-west tuned in on a Saturday afternoon to see what the big deal was. Larry did not disappoint on the Sycamores first National TV appearance.
I grew up one state away, in Ohio, and was as much of a college basketball junkie as one could be then, and this, I think, was one of the two TV games I got to see of Bird before his senior year NCAA tournament. Different world then.
There is about 6 shots that (would have) been 3 pointers had there been a line. And I am sure he had some brilliant assists in this game also. Just a phenominal shooting display by the BIRD man.
I grew up 45 miles from Larry Bird and was just two years behind him in school and yet few of us in the area thought he was any great player in high school. Ever heard of Steve Collier? He was picked as Mr. Basketball in Indiana in 1974. His school in Hanover was about 90 miles from Springs Valley high, Bird's school, so it wasn't a matter of Larry being hidden away from the media who vote for Mr. Basketball. Somehow, I think Larry Bird got over being passed over for Mr. Basketball!
I can remember people saying during his college and pro career,that Larry was nothing but hype.I use to try and argue with these f..........morons,but then I came to my senses and realized that you can't and should not argue with people who don't have enough sense to come in from out the rain.
Listen, Bird had over 60pts because those deep shots that were only 2s, would have been 3s today. I counted about 10 of them. Maybe the best i ever saw, Incredible!!!
-Remember when they actually used to televise the ANNOUNCEMENT of the starting lineups?! It added drama and excitement to the game. Now, they play commercials while the players are being announced. Boooo!!!
-Yes BUT....if they had the 3-point rule when Maravich was playing college basketball, teams would have had to have 2 or 3 men on him at all times. It would have left his teammates wide open. As a result, Maravich's scoring would have been lower if there was a three-point basket, but LSU would have been a Final Four caliber team. Just my opinions. :)
He had a game vs Bradley where he scored 4 points. Bradley double teamed all night so Bird went to the corner and watched his team play 4-on-3 and destroy Bradley.
Is there no 3 point line? Was that added in 1980 in the pros? In other words he would have had more points if there was one. I'm a Bird watcher too. He's green and white and has a shamrock shape on him. Mostly found in Boston at times, also French Lick Indiana. He's number 33 if that helps. He's not the state bird but he's more popular. He's also a goat. Any guesses yet??? He's number 33, LARRY THE LEGEND BIRD!
Maybe but whatever level of talent he ever played against he ripped them a new assh*le. NBA included. This is the same sort of bullshit criticism he received his whole life until he made the NBA.
vdogg43 Don't get it twisted. Wichita State University is the name. Where is ISU now. Still in the Valley and well we're ranked #7/8 and in the AAC. BTW nice victory over Indiana.
The only thing I'll say about Larry is the man won wherever he was and his teams won big also...ISU was nothing before or after LJB (Larry Joe Bird)..., w/ LJB the go 33-0 and to the NCAA Finals where they met a much better team loaded with NBA talent, ISU hasn't been seen since...Go look at BST Celtics record before LJB, he comes there, instant winners/contenders, set NBA record for turn around, then BST is essentially the king of the Eastern Conference loaded with great teams and amazing talent, they win multiple championships, he wins 3 str8 MVP(s)....Look at him as a coach then, takes Pacers and makes them a legit contender and really shoulda beat Mj's Bulls, he's coach of the year....Then they stick him in management and he becomes General manager of the year..This man won at an elite level no matter what he did and all his teams are instantly better with him being part of it....So yes , if I'm starting a team, gimme LJB cuz he is simply gonna do whatever it takes to win and all his teammates are gonna be better..No disrespect to any of the great players who have played and there are many but gimme LJB and surround him with NBA talent and its off to the races winning rings/banners...
If Bobby Knight was such a great coach why did he let Larry Bird leave his campus without so much as a conversation!? Arrogant Knight. Cost him 2-3 national championships.
