LARRY IS DIFFERENT!!!|The unique skills that made Larry Bird a GOAT candidate|Mekhi Reaction Video 

This guy was and is the most fascinating player ever, in my opinion. The clairvoyance, the trash talking, his pain tolerance, his game, everything. They don't call him Larry Legend for nothing. Thanks for the video!

They were afraid that three pointers were easily intercepted. Larry's shots were rainbows no one could reach.

i got MJ and Bird as the best players but I slightly prefer Birds ALL AROUND TEAM game.

Thanks for this....

LARRY LEGEND IS A UNICORN AND THE TRUE GOAT!!! 🐐 ☘️

Back then, they didn't practice shooting three's. Most of the scoring was in the post or mid-range. Put Bird in todays Game? He'd average a thirty point triple double in only three quarters. No holes in his game. Possibly the most versatile player the game has ever seen, and for my money remains as the greatest small forward all time.

Thanks for the video. 🙂 ☘️ Larry Legend

Great commentary, iTz!

This guy is hitting the can't run and jump BS a little hard. And, Bird was a master at finishing through contact. This guys saying his free throw rate was low becasue he avoided contact. That's a joke. Bird always looked for contact. How many 6'10" guys are as agile as Larry was? How many 6'10" guys do you see who snatch a defensive rebound and attack, taking off dribbling, and leading the break. This guy doesn't have the frame of reference to make some of these comments and it shows.

I find it interesting that he says Bird's finishing is a glaring wart yet, then shows how Bird found numerous ways to thwart the bigs at the basket if they were in his way. As Bird, himself, has said when he identified a weakness in his game, he worked to turn it instead into a strength. Jordan has said this very thing about what Bird’s weakness was. For that very reason, Bird didn't have a weakness in his game.

Seeing him live was amazing, it wasn’t the highlights you see in vids but his off ball play was special. How he maneuvered and set up his positions, he would just lollygag and wander around and you wondered what he was doing then everything fell into place and he would explode and dominate the play like he actually had choreographed everything. His muscling a player and foot placement before his move is not properly represented on the highlight clips

Bird was a better passer, I watched them both in person, his passed so many times in a game, my mouth was open. He is the Goat!

Nice

Bird was a very good defender and you forgot about defensive rebounds bird averaged 7 a game also he made 3 defensive all teams

It is crazy it took the league nearly 30 years to fully understand/accept the value of 3's over long 2's.

They were told to limit the 3 point shot because the 3point line was just introduced to the game and in the first year in use the coaches didn’t know of trumps ability and that line appeared to be the most risk to miss and the extra point at that distance almost didn’t make an attempt was too risky to take for just a single point extra if the attempt was made so the coach just wanted them to keep there shots in the 2 point range that they were all used to make because it was thought to have a much better odds that the old fashioned two point shot attempt would be made. You have to remember that there wasn’t a such thing as a 3point shot before the 80’s. It makes a lot of sense why the coach encourage his players to ignore the new line.

On strong defenses, his assist numbers rose to cover less shooting

The 3 shot wasn't recognized in the game until like '79 and even then it wasn't widely accepted by the ogs as proper, traditional game play. Larry won the first three 3 point contests, and was the founding member of the 50 40 90 club :)

The thing about three points and how they looked at it of course it's worth more. Play you always have a higher percentage of making closer to the basket.

1:11 #6 is Bill Russell.

You make good vids.

Dude was really different 😳

Traditionally the game was played in the paint mostly and the 3 point line was not introduced until 1980.

I’m not crazy with this analysis, especially when he says “Bird missed a ton of layups…” That’s simply not true. Bird RARELY missed layups. I think this guy just needed to find fault with something, anything, and that’s the only thing he could come up with. I’ve watched countless full games & nothing like that stands out.

Both Julius Irving AKA Dr Chapstick and Oscar Robertson were sublime.

Jordan. Then my favorite Bird 🐦. Gotta give MJ his tho. Even though he never beat BIRD in the playoffs 😂

People seem to forget Bird made Pistol Pete retire earlier than expected and Bird was a better passer than Magic but Magic was flashier if that makes sense in a way

Three pointers are a generally low percentage shot that also has an unpredictable rebound direction. It was far more a dagger in important situations….not half the shots in a game. In birds day they actually had defense and played it. Today it’s all about offense and hugs.

on ball defense is part of it. you need to know WHEN to rotate, when to double, defensive schemes.. being athletic is not all there is to defense. intelligence, preperation, focus, determination.. .

yea you should do the entire series, its dope. but not ALL accurate, but pretty close. after watching this series I realized the importance of OFF BALL movement so my STARTING lineup is Curry, Jordan, Bird, Kevin Garnett and Shaq.. off ball movement. i dont like ball stoppers.

After Seeing This Can You Now Understand Why So Many Would Pick Bird To Start Their Team. Bird Turned So Many Players Into Good & Really Good Players. Because He Was Like Their Teacher/Coach On The Floor. Can You Imagine How Their Practices Were. He Helped Teach Them How To Read Each Other & For Sure Him. He Could Be Everywhere On The Court To Help His Teammates. You Really Can't Name 1-Thing-(except slam dunking, but he didn't need to)-That He Wasn't Really Good At On The Court. Still To This Day, No One Has His ALL Around & My Favorite-He Had & Has The Best BB IQ. Also It's A Known Fact That Bird Practiced More Then Any Of His Teammates. There 1 To 2-Hours Early & Stay An 1 To 2 Hours Late. He Also Ran At Least 3 & Sometimes 4 Miles A Day While At Home-(Boston)-Away Games 2 & Sometimes 3 Miles. That Is Why He Could Last Out There So Long Without Breaks OR Short Breaks. Everytime He Was Interview, He Always Saids, I Worked Hard To Be Able To Do Those Things. He Always Thought If A Player Has Some Skills AND If He WORKED HARD He Would Be Great. That's Why Jordan & Koby Were Very Good At Certain Skills They Had BECAUSE They Out Worked Everyone & Wanted The WIN.Except It Took Them A Lot Of YEARS To Know How To Be A Team Leader. And That's So Important.

Bird was a great defender prior to 1988. Anyone including this guy that says anything else is simply ignorant.

they didnt want 3 pointers cuz not too many good 3 point shooters since it had JUST been introduced to the league. Magic controlled the rock and got 11 assists a game. Bird DIDNT control the rock and got 6 assists while in the FLOW of the game.. to be fair, EACH player CREATED the offensive flow of their respective teams, just in different ways. Magic ran that ball up relentlessly and was like an engine. Bird was like the OIL of a WELL OILED MACHINE..

3 pointers are a gimmick. If one of today's teams would forsake the 3, and pound the ball inside, they'd dominate. The paint is a much higher percentage shot, and also allows for more opportunities for offensive rebounds. The 3 point shot ruined the game. I'd like to see a rule change where anything beyond the 3 point lane was 2 points and anything in front was 3.

Magic was flashy. Bird hit his mark

Nobody and I mean nobody averages more points or higher percentages against stronger defenses. Common man

% 4 3 was below % 4 2. That simple

Bird had the same vertical 34 inches as Karl Malone and was probably faster than Malone but no one ever says Malone couldn’t jump and was unathletic

MJ? kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

3s were discouraged because its much lower pct shot...PLUS it takes you out of the rebounding...rebounds win..3s LOSE

mj never beat bird

Larry played on his feet, on his back, under the scorers table diving for loose balls, in the crowd trying to to save an out of bounds, guy was the ultimate player, unselfish passing off to teammates to let them score when he could have made an easy lay up, etc, faked out opponents making them look silly and could hit the outside shot at any given moment, just my $.02