Larry Bird's Greatest Game "I should have quit right there" 

was it really 6 years? I thought it was about 3?

Jeremy Gray as far as i remember it happened in 1885 or 1886, i seem to remember having heard that from a documentary :D - but i could be wrong considering im born in 88 :D

I think you mean 1985-86... He could stand for 100+ years... :D

Nikiforos Vlachos Hehe Correct :) a little typo just happend :P

yeh it was that long. the 3 years you're thinking of (the last 3 years of his career) his back got so bad he was in a back brace because of the damage to his spine. its give me chills to even think that someone would play through that much pain, but he Larry was raised very tough, and wanted to be there for his team no matter what.

hahaha, it always bothered me

Matt C and that open layup

Do you mean the one he was fouled on?

LMAO ! BEST COMMENT ON HERE !

or you're not white.

race is a myth

Profound words from philosopher

without writing an essay, scientists have mapped the human genome which shows that ALL humans are 99.9% identical genetical. 1/10th of a percent is not enough to justify the idea of significant differences necessary for 'races' Why people that look a certain way to us ACT differently and THINK differently is all NURTURE, all cultural--you treat people differently, they start thinking and acting differently an example of the confused mess that is race is Obama slid out of a white vagina, but we call him 'black'...why? Looks. But just because something looks a certain way to some folks doesn't make it a certain way. I hope that wasn;t too long basically, 'race'='witches' they used to hang witches because they thought they were different too in 100 years, historians will laugh at us, the way we laugh at witches

regardless if ur not of "white" persuasion or cultural influence you probably don't like Bird

And MVP's.

and no hand check in todays game. he'd torch everyone even tho he did when he played just fine

Bird and Magic made passes in traffic, with the spacing in today's game, it would make it even easier

SLIP NORRIS spacing back the made it easier to get assists tho. illegal defense rules meant if you could score 1v1, theyd have to hard double you instead of guarding an area to force you into weaker spots. if they had double it's a free assist for great passers. I'd argue today's spacing is harder to get a lot of assists.

Joshua Caleb he wouldn't lead the league in assists. he'd probably get around 7 or 8. still elite numbers but you're underestimating some of the playmakers today.

In my day we played like that on the playground. I'm 5'9-1/2 and regularly played against guys up to 6'5". It's the way the game should be played.

@@anonymike8280 haha ok

yes, Bird is very, very sound with his fundamentals.

@@anonymike8280 As soon as you said "In my day" I knew what you were going to say. Basketball has NOTHING to do with the wanna-be "tough" guys pushing, shoving, hitting, cheap-shots, ... ... ... . In fact, the more "thug" you are the more you are revealing the fact that you have LITTLE or NO basketball skills.

@@jking5008 Man you're loading it up. Trash talk. Loaded words like "wanna-be". Pushing. Shoving. Hitting. Cheap shots. ......., whatever that means. All CAPS for emphasis. I've worked as a professional journalist during my lifetime. Well, you've FORCED me to agree, the more THUG you are, the more you reveal your LACK of skill. I am also qualified to teach college freshman English. I'd take care of you real quick or you'd be back driving an ice truck again. By the way, last time I was in a pickup game was November 28th, Thanksgiving day. It was three-on-two and I had to run around guarding three people because my one teammate, who was young and six feet or more just wanted to hang around the three point line. These were not very good players, but they still played and they could make shots. Fortunately, they did not move the ball around very fast. I made the game shot too, on a putback. BTW, I'm 71 years old.

Lived in Beantown at the time - absolutely the most incredible entertainment you could ever buy ( if you were damned lucky).

Born in Cambridge, grew up in Medford. Larry Bird is the GOAT, right there with MJ.

Different class, that’s what he was.

One of my favorite shots ever. Unbelievable.

+GeorgiZhukov33 Ya My Fav' Even over Gretsky

Smart people all of your comments, this guy, for all his supposed weaknesses always got the job done my favorite, and sometimes I wish I could be back with my Dad watching again, peace.

+KristaL Mac LeoD even over gretzky??

Tom Brady is the only better player to watch than Larry Bird

TupacolypseNow no one dominated team sports like Wayne Gretzky did. not even close. He retired owning 61 NHL records. Unparalleled. Not taking anything from Bird, just saying

Thank you. I feel the same way about Ervin "magic" Johnson. That dude was so awesome , he may have been better than 🐦, different positions though so you know .,.,.

Bird and Magic, best era of basketball.

Roy Villa-Agustin Same respect right back at those great Lakers teams!

LeBron James is better than Larry bird.. period !!! Domt answer me with useless reply

@@gyatsogurung6215 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It was unfair to add Walton to that lineup. LOL!! and I have been a die hard Lakers fan since 1978.

@Brian Neary the Chief was GreaT anddddddddddddddddddddd how he played through them ankle's sprain's was just INCREDABLE RoberT WAS A Special Big Man,

And don't forget DJ in the backcourt. Bird always said he was the best teammate he ever had. Bird's steal of Thomas's inbound pass against the Pistons is one of the great moments in Celtics history, but it wouldn't have mattered if DJ hadn't immediately reacted and darted back toward the basket to grab Bird's pass for the layup.

agree icecreamforcrowhurst

@@headlinewizard 100%

kingjason354 yes. in a league dominated by big men no less.

To be fair he was 6'10 +...

Larry was 6'9" McHale was 6'10" with gargantuan arms and the Chief was 7' I was around during those Celtics championships and watched many many Celtics games in those years. I personally feel like Larry Bird would be a bigger star in today's game than he was then. Back then the paint was routinely packed with players collapsing on the ball carrier and looking for rebounds. I have watched probably 30 or so games this year as well as re-watching some of the Celtics games of the eighties. In today's game you will often see the defense stacked out by the 3 point line, many times a simple faked hand-off allows a clear path to the hoop, or a pick and roll or screen opens up a pass to a cutting player for an uncontested layup. That very rarely happened back then. I don't know of a better passing small forward in NBA history; Larry with open lanes to pass and an eye for when and where he could get a pass off would be a supreme passer in today's game. With less physical abuse and less sticky defenses played in today's game he would score far more and be so happy to shoot buckets of threes. Don't forget the 3 ball was really really rare then. With free reign to shoot the three ball, Larry would have added probably 3 or 4 more points per to his already gaudy career point total. Larry Bird is perhaps the NBA's greatest rebounder for his size and position and that was then, as someone else mentioned, in a league dominated by big men, Bird would surely garner even more in this day and age, he was almost always in the right place to grab rebounds. When you see vids of Bird you rarely see the incredible way he boxed out, he was a genius. This from a pretty slow guy for his size, who couldn't really jump, and wasn't exactly a physical specimen... IMAGINE THIS Larry Bird all buffed out with a modern gym regimen and a body on par with say Lebron James? Yeah, Bird in today's game would clean up... a buffed Larry on the roster for today's Celtics?? The new front-runner for NBA champs!

I agree with a lot of this other than Bird being the best rebounder in NBA history for his size. Dennis Rodman was 6'6 and averaged 13 over his career with a season best of 18.7 and 7 straight years of 15+

Well, let me first say that Rodman took on rebounding like Bird took on every facet of his game. So, yes pound for pound Rodman was ONE of the greatest rebounders of all time. This is made even more incredible by the fact that he was at any moment in danger of being blown over by a stiff breeze, I chose the term "for his size" because Bird is 6' 9" Rodman is, as you say, 6' 6" making him probably the greatest rebounder for HIS size in NBA history. BUT that does not make him the best rebounder in NBA history Bill Russell with a gaudy 22.5 and 8 games of 40+ rebounds in his career is pound for pound the BEST rebounder of all time, but I will gladly cede Rodman for #2 pound for pound! Having said that, Bird if he had wanted to, made it his mission, would have grabbed far more rebounds than he did, ALSO remember Bird played with a couple of Hall Of Fame rebounders in Parish and McHale so he didn't have to...

Because you are witnessing NBA history / sports history like it may never be seen again. Despite Jordan, Magic, Abdul-Jabarr, maybe even Russell and James - Bird could and did do it all. Simply an athlete for all-time...

Because we will never see the likes of Bird again. Once in a lifetime talent.

Because those of us who were lucky enough to watch it in the 80s knew we were seeing something we would never see again.

Jeff Moss because of the soundtracks 👍🏼

Due to the fact that you are a basketball fan. To love Bird is to love basketball.

Now adays people talk about lebron, Curry, KD, Kobe and others deservedly so.......but it's good we gave the tech. so young cats can scope the old school.....and Larry Bird personifies old school basketball, legend.

He personified winning basketball*

Robert Moore while in my opinion Michael Jordan is the G.O.A.T, trust and believe I have not forgotten about Larry Bird. Larry Bird was an absolute beast on the court and I easily have him as my top forward of all-time.

For team games I like to choose G.O.A.T.s by position and my 1-5 are Magic on point, Jordan at SG, Bird at SF with Elgin Baylor coming off the bench, Sir Charles at PF and Bill Russell at center.

MJ was a great player no doubt but sometimes I think the praise is just a bit overdone. Other players could have scored a similar amount of points as Jordan but simply didn't shoot the ball as much. Bird is just one example. Bird's basketball IQ was easily the best of all time. What he lacked in physical talent he made up for with skill, innovation and quick thinking.

+Ernesto Hendrix yeah, players today would flop with that hand to the face at 3:42

Ernesto Hendrix Yup! Sampson was like "I taller, but today, You Da man! "

Ernesto Hendrix yeah man people who want to win and people who believe in their ability. Everyone cries today cus they know they ain't shit compared to these legends.

Stealing that jump ball from Olajuwon was genius. Did you see how Bird turned just a split second before the ref tossed the ball up and gave Olajuwon a hip to clear him out of the way?

@@TieOnRadishAnd they’re always yelling to the ref whenever someone breaths on them when go in for a dunk or layup. It would be comical if it weren’t so sissy.

Dei Horus I really don’t want to be that guy, but LeBron gives him a run for his money undoubtedly

Aboood165 that’s what I was saying, LeBron definitely has a case for the most complete player ever

Dei Horus BS!!!

For the first half of his career, Lebron didn’t want the ball at crunch time. Bird demanded the ball, told the opponent where he’d get it, then hit the shot. Pull up Reggie Miller w Dan Patrick make the comparison between Bird and Lebron at 30 yrs old. Bird - 30 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast, 2 st and a block. “Larry Joe for the win!”

@@lmbscriptsharcs2044 That's funny because I seem to remember LeBron scoring the Cavs' last 25 points and 29 of their last 30 including the shot to send the game to OT and the shot to win the game in 2OT on the road against a team (Pistons) that had been one of the top 3 defensive teams the previous 4 seasons including that year in game 5 of the 2007 ECF. The single greatest takeover and clutch performance of all time and it happened in his 4th season. Come again?

Damn right he was.

+Edward Anthony Leone Agreed! No question the Celtics would've drove past L.A. in 87 final, with Bias coming up big on scoring, to neutralize Worthy! Len Bias, already showed he could play well against jordan in college. The celts needed 1 more gun to offset the younger pistons.

+chris miller he did Coke occasionally he wasn't a junkie. Stop spreading lies.

+Alluviale Daempfer It is amazing he would say it was the ONLY game he ever felt totally prepared for. Shows how much he expected of himself.

+Joel Villarreal Heavens no.

+Edward Anthony Leone He has no case over Magic in 1987, led his team to 65 games, while averaging 24/6/12. It was his best season. Jordan averaged 35 in 1988 and took an extremely average Bulls team to 50 wins. He edges Bird that year. And please stop with the "what-ifs?" on Bias. KC Jones rarely played rookies, Len Bias would have been nothing more than a nice bench player in 1987, if that. That's not going to put the Celtics over the Lakers that year.

Oops Oops right?! Lol Larry bird was the king of chest thumping! That's part of why he's a legend!

Broo Larry Bird is one of the biggest trash talkers of all time

Could be because he is not black

Thank you. When men played not prima donna pussies. Damn i miss the 80s

better than Queen James

Greatest Sf of all time

+Ethan Frater i'm a real fan oof larry, he is my all time fav player, but LeBron is a monster different player, but verall better player imo

Sorry he isn't. Lebron is faster and better defender

+Ethan Frater And a lot dumber.

200mphz06 haha for sure

I think he has to be in everyones top ten all time. I understand if hes not in some peoples top 5. But Magic and Bird saved the NBA and turned it into the global league it is today. The Lakers vs Celtics rivalry allowed the NBA to gain traction, respect and TV ratings for once. I like to imagine what Bird would have done had he been born with a body like Lebron, Kobe or Jordan.... I dont think hed have anyone close to him. Guy made himself into an all time great on grit, work ethic and determination alone.

@pat442389 right!! David Stern is on record saying how the Magic/Bird rivalry saved a dying thug league and then Jordan came in behind them and took the league global.

+Mark Sandilands Hey, he doesn't like Champagne. I'm sure Larry had a few also - and they weren't "light" ;)

+Mark Sandilands They didn't play any games back then lol

Mark Sandilands Well he is Irish

The Celtics Loved their Beer back in the day....especially Larry. He literally had to pump the brakes after his first few years and when he did he won 3 MVPs and 2 Championships

+Andrew BlackopGOAL GOAT .........

+Andrew Blackop GOAT, dude.

+KristaL Mac LeoD +FavreianVengeance Wouldn't go that far, but he's certainly up there.

***** A top 10 player who's the greatest SF ever is overrated garbage?? I think you need to FOH

+chris miller That's your ridiculous opinion.

Boiler Up Depends on which LeBron. If it's the 2015 Finals LeBron, just isolating every possession since he basically had nobody, then I agree, but something like the 2012-13 version was great to watch.

Yes, me too. I like watching smart player more than an athletic player. I also enjoy enjoy watching fundamentally sound player. Lebron always travels and flops. He is fundamentally flawed. I also enjoy watching tough player, not whiners. Hey, I believe James is the most athletic player in the NBA. But he is not so smart compare to MJ,Kobe, Magic and Bird. He dominates by his strength and athleticism. He is not tough mentally. That was why he went to Miami, he averaged dismally in the 4th quarter in the Finals, etc.

Lebron combines that elite athleticism with an amazing IQ too, are you really going to explain that he has a higher assist average than Larry, known by all as a great passer, over a longer period in the league. I love watching Bird's highlights more than Lebron's too, but don't let his athleticism fool you into believing he ain't a smart player too

Sorry, but I've never seen any evidence of LeBron having a higher than average basketball IQ. I'll give you the elite speed, strength, athleticism, and defensive skills, but not the high basketball IQ. LeBron is neither mentally strong nor mentally quick. Hence the reason he has failed to deliver so many times in clutch situations. Bird on the other hand was a master craftsman of the mental side of basketball. He excelled at everything from anticipation (three time NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team despite slow foot speed), floor positioning (outstanding rebounder), intimidation/psychological warfare (the greatest, most notorious trash talker in NBA history), leading (would always dive and sacrifice his body for loose balls), and rising to the occasion in clutch moments (still regarded by many as the most clutch player in NBA history). Absolutely no one got inside Bird's head, but Bird got inside everyone else's. There is ZERO comparison between LeBron and Bird when it comes to basketball IQ.

Without a doubt. Magic and MJ were funner to watch to but Bird was funnest ever.

bart simpson loves donald trump Not for a longer period of time however but yea I agree that those years in 84,85,86 he was the best player in the game no question.

I have heard no one spoke more shit on the court than Larry Bird

@@georgeelmerdenbrough6906 HAHA! And that's just one more thing that I LOVE about him! Plus -- he BACKS UP his trash talk!

He's not better than LeBron Larry would tell you himself he's not.. and ppls main argument is "I.Q" as if LeBron isn't as smart as larry. LeBron is smart enough too know not too work on farms when you're a multi- million dollars athlete...

LeBron who? Larry is G.O.A.T.

I'm 31 sad didn't have a chance to see him play live on TV I did to Jordan though in the 90s

+chris miller Yeah and many say they would not be HOFers if not for Larry being their teammate. Dennis Johnson would have been worthy regardless. McHale, Parish? Hmmm. Don't know.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached Peak Bird.

If his FTs are taken into account, Parish is unlikely to get to the HOF kingcam0775 . His free throw percentage was simply dreadful. Watching him take them was simply heartstopping

Bird > Lebron

kingcam0775 the trade from Golden State to Boston put Parish in the Hall of Fame.

Great points all. To me the thing that sets Bird apart from all the rest is what he did immediately when he entered the NBA. The Celtics had become a moribound team. They were coming off a combined total of about 60 wins the previous 2 seasons. In Birds rookie year with basically the exact same team except Larry and backup guard Gerald Henderson added as the new additions they improved by 32 wins and had the #1 seed in the east. They lost to the 76ees in the conference finals. I know Tim Duncan eventually passed Bird as greatest rookie turn around with the Spurs but that Spurs was far from a moribound team. David Robinson got injured after 6 games and missed the year and former all star and starting forward Sean Elliott missed half the season. That team had been a 56-58 win team the previous seasons so Duncan didn't really add anything to what was their actual win total. There is no playrrzin NBA history that comes close to Larry Legend. Not Michael, not Kareem, not even Magic and certainly not Lebron. Larry had an incredible array of skills and his basketball iq was off the charts. His athleticism is also shortchanged because people make the continued misconception because he was white. This is foolish. You don't do what he did to the best players on the planet without being athletic. I have also always thought he was closer to 6'10" than 6'9". Larry was one badass dude on a basketball court.

dude..... i got jealous....

I know Jordan is considered the GOAT (and I don't necessarily disagree), but as far as ALL-AROUND greatness, Bird was great at everything: great shooter/clutch shooter, FTs, outstanding passer, great rebounder, and he's even ranked 35th all-time in steals (and many ppl don't know that Bird also made the All-Defensive 2nd Team 3X). If you think about it, who else was as great as Bird in all those areas? Jordan wasn't a great rebounder or as great a passer as Bird. Magic wasn't as great a shooter or a rebounder as Bird. Etc., etc.

+Mike S Bill Russell was a great too very underated the G.O.A.T imo

trha2222 why is dunking any reason to think someone is good? when your 7+ feet tall it isnt really hard?

Bill Rusell was very very great. But Bill Rusell when he played was NEVER considered as great as Wilt Chamberlain. As far as scoring points Wilt was unsurpassed but when Wilt arrived even Russell thought he was then the 2nd best rebounder behind Wilt. Russell was a true team player and cared only for winning and that is to his great credit. Auerbach had 5 HALL OF FAMERS ON THE FLOOR AT ONE TIME. So Russell would pass out to 4 hall of famers who only shot when then they were open (they just passed and ran around until they were open - Cousy wouldn't give up the ball UNTIL SOMEONE WAS OPEN. It was by watching Russell and learning about RusseLl that Kareem was taught that the way to win a championship was to hit the open man. That is why Kareem is the greatest center. He had an unstoppable shot but also knew to pass out to the open man when he was doubled. Just a great great player. All these guys are super great. Funny thing about basketball. They asked Auerbach how would Russell do against Shaq. He said that Russell (who was the 4th fastest man on earth) would run so fast up and down the courr that Shaq literally would not be able to play. They asked Russell how he would do against Shaq and he was insulted and replied, " the question is How Shaq would do against me". You see Russell could jump very high and could front Shaq and many times Shaq would not have even gotten the ball. You can go on youtube and watch a play with Russel and Jerry West. West had the ball and was all alone on the opposite side of the court and he thought he had an easy layup. But Russell form the OTHER SIDE OF THE COURT, sprinted to West and just as West was going to lay it up, Russell blocked it. THESE GUYS WERE JUST AMAZING.

Kawhi he always recovers on defense also very calm like Larry Bird

Renzo Castillo you millennials really are stupid lol

True, but a case could be made for Wilts 76ers championship team

Wilt's 76er team was a great team, a team that won the NBA title during the Celtics run.

everybody new, it was bird who took them to the finals, and made the Celtics win. McHale never even won a mvp award

+Wei Qi I agree that this is the greatest team of all-time. Parish, McHale and Bird down low, with Walton coming off the bench. DJ and Ainge in the backcourt. Wedman and Sichting coming off the bench. Great team.

+Mike Solomito WAS PISTOL PETE ON THAT TEAM?

You Sir, are 100% right. Larry got royally fucked out of what should have been his 4th straight MVP in 1987 when the PC media started pimping "Magic for MVP" in the pre season in the 86-87 season.

BoB NICE OBSERVATION.

Kobe

Yeah right, it's so scary that a woman can simply make an accusation and cause so much damage to a reputation. Remember that hotel employee said she left that hotel as cool as a cucumber? Man you better watch out if you're rich & famous, Eric Williams said he installed cameras in his house just out of fear that a date might make a fake accusation. Now if the evidence said otherwise I'd be the first to say throw Kobe's ass in prison

MrYounis26 Kobe didn't have class or soul....

Bird was an epic sh!t-talker. I think bill Russell was a pretty classy guy, Magic and Kareem were classy as well. Barkley seem cool too and Shaq. Bird still GOAT fuck the h8rs

Yes, he def was a shit talker, alot of guys in sports are, the only difference was he backed it up too... You know as well as I do that it's one thing to shit talk, and another to back it up. lol

I'm stoned right now and I agree!

I’m both and I can’t stop watching this damn video!!

Damn Right

I say it too. 100% agree

He couldn't fuck wit magic he said it himself he was good though one of the best forwards n the game

@@kahmuadfavors2726 - better shooter and better rebounder than Magic. As good a passer and better FT shooter than Magic. You said what again?

He wasnt better than magic bro magic beat them that last time and he said magic is the best bro jus stop magic was 6 9 too and could play every position like lebron magic was the 1st yall better go back check the history books

Don’t get me wrong. I love Larry and saw him up close for the first 8 years of his career, but I wouldn’t call him a great defender. I’d call him a good defender within the team concept. I think he’s even on record as saying that he could afford to gamble (free safety if you will) when he had great defensive players like Parish, McHale and Walton to back him up.

Its one of the greatest playoff games ever.