No matter how many times I see it, when Magic says "to the greatest basketball player ever, but more importantly, my friend forever" I get tears in my eyes.
It's hard to compare someone to Larry. It's not just the stats. You really have to watch his game. I put him over magic because he could do everything Magic could and was the best shooter in the game. Good reaction
Agreed. What is hard is to thite a white guy could stand up and be that guy. He was badass as hell. Nobody ever talked trash and backed it up like him. Ever. Even MJ didn't. MJ did just do it to spite you. Kobe did. Magic just did it. Larry would tell you what he was going to do and do it. That is fucking just cold and mean. The mount Rushmore of hoops is all wrong. Nobody was as badass as Larry legend. Magic would testify. And I love Kobe. But MJ and Kobe aren't team players. Larry, magic and LeBron are
Well I would say the same thing about magic. Both had the intangible ability of court iq. Bird used that IQ to score, while magic used it to make team mates better. Honestly l can't pick one they are both beautiful and something that was really special
@@williamdorsey4680 first off, I grew up on magic and showtime. Magic did make the Lakers way better because of his talent and will. Larry, did the same, burt he did to his opponents was kill them by telling exactly what he was gonna and do it. You would think on the black players would talk the most trash. Not even close. Larry was the shit and backed it up. Jordan never beat him. Bird had to retire for Jordan to start winning. I still don't get how anyone says Jordan was the GOAT. He isn't. Not even close. Phenomenal player. Kobe had a bigger assassin's mentality and skills. But the eighties had more parity, more head to head rivalry.
I find it interesting after watching several different reaction videos by fans of either Jordan or Lebron, that the younger generation for the most part say Bird isn't even in their top 10. Yet when Jordan and Lebron were asked who was in their top 3 both named Bird in theirs.
Bron has Larry as his #1. I respect him for that.. Jordan told him he was glad he retired that Bird was the only man that put tears on his cheek, that's real and that is respect for the real GOAT!
@@brendawalters3728 yes as well as saying that Larry was the only player he feared.. I honestly feel that this was the last truly great generation of the game.. There are some very talented guys playing now, it just seems like the game has gotten soft...
I was there I'm 53 ,Larry bird 🐦 had it all it was unreal watching him ,he was more dangerous when he passes the ball ,he was a leader,he was Mr.Clutch, he was tough had nails ,he played hurt,he would dive for a ball in a second he played as a teammate, he was a killer on the floor ,etc, etc,,,,, and Jordan couldn't even beat him ,is basketball IQ was off the charts, we love you bird and you got coach of the year ,this man deserves his flowers 💐, we love you 🐦❤💯‼️
Bird and Magic had each other to battle. In the eighties one or the other went to the finals every year. Kareem is another goat candidate not just a great player. So yeah it does take away from Magic a little. It is interesting how people count chips for some players but discount Bill Russell"s 11. Bird wasn't really a stat player, he played to win. He played with his teammates and they loved playing together. He made sure everyone got enough touches and the Big Three played together for 12 years. They still have nothing but praise for each other. However clutch time everyone knew Bird was getting the ball and you couldn't stop him. Pat Riley said "If the game is on the line I want Jordan to take the shot but if it was my life on the line I want Bird." That is how clutch the man was.
MJ was the most explosive scorer I've ever seen in the years I've watched the NBA (I'm 60), but if there was an all time draft and every player was 20 I'd take Larry Bird first without hesitation bc he'd get every player involved from the get go. His rookie year will attest to that.
Bird wasn't just a shooter, over half his touches were passes, he made sure all his teammates got theirs, too...another part of why he was so unpredictable, no opponent knew what was going to happen when he got the ball. Jordan never beat a Larry Bird team, in two finals the Bulls with Jordan lost both 3-0 and 3-0...But Jordan was in his prime, Bird was past his Prime.
I believe what’s most difficult to convey to the younger generations is just exactly how alpha LB and Magic really were. The minute their shoes touched the floor in the NBA-and I mean the first second-they were the leaders of their teams. Their command over the game was undisputed and undeniable. The difference between the two, frankly, revolves around HOW they ran their respective teams. Both had the passing gift/gene and both knew how to get the optimum output from their teammates. Magic, however, knew it was statistically more likely to get more points if he FACILITATED scoring. LB understood it would often come down to HIM to take the load of scoring in some situations. What I hope does NOT happen is that some come to the conclusion Magic was averse to scoring. Magic could fill it up if he had to. The man was a scoring MACHINE. What Magic did that was so amazing is that he tempered that most of the time and spread scoring out among a larger sample. Bird did the same thing. Often. It just made better statistical sense. Probability worked in their favor when they did that. Both were amazing. Both were a mirror reflection of each other… two sides of the same coin. In the end, Bird will be more legendary because he was an assassin. I suppose that should be correct. We don’t look to LB’s stats as the definition of his greatness. It’s the legend that counts. He and Magic saved the NBA. That’s about as legendary as you can get.
Watching them play, was exciting and always seemed to become a nail-biting, sitting on the edge of your seat, screaming at the tv with the entire family, entertainment phenomena. Even as a small child, the competition, and amazing shots drew me into the room to watch the game.
@@sharonsimmons6427 such a great point. I talk too clinically about them. It WAS a spectacle. My family DID sit and scream at the TV. It was the best of times. We owe them so much.
If Larry’s career wasn’t cut short jorden wouldn’t have dominated the 90sand if your going to measure players by rings/ titles you have to give russle the goat title with 11 rings
Pat Riley said it: "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."
Looking up the number of triple doubles that Larry had doesn't help you out that much. He did not care about stats at all. He cared about making his teammates better and he cared about his team winning. He was nothing like today's players. He left a game in the third quarter when he had a triple-double plus nine steals. Coach asked him if he wanted to play in the 4th quarter until he got the 10th steal and he just said "nope, I'm good, I've done enough damage". If he had gotten that 10th steal, I believe it would have only been the second quadruple double in nba history
If Jordan would have been telling the other teams what play he was about to run and what he was going to do he wouldn't have put up the numbers he did. That's what separates bird from everyone else. He told them what he was going to do and they still couldn't stop him when the league wasn't soft and you could hand check
I saw bird play his whole career. I can tell you without a doubt, larry bird is the greatest of all time. People always said he was slow. He could jump. Unathletic. But all he did was beat everybody he ever played. He was the smartest most clutch player to ever play the game. He beat people with his mind, he was always three steps ahead of everybody. Magic is right. There will never be another larry bird. Jordan is my number two Goat. Jordan may have dominated the 90s. But bird dominated the 80s and he dominated jordan. Jordan never beat bird in the playoffs, 0 for 6 both sweeps. Jordan didn't win a championship until bird retired. That's all that needs to be said.
LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami because of a better supporting cast, the argument that better teammates has nothing to do with winning is a bad argument
Isaiah actually has MJ in his starting 5 so he can’t hate him too much…btw he also has Larry in his starting 5. In fact, Isaiah, Wilt, Bill Russell, MJ, Magic, Dr J (his new list) & Kobe ALL have Larry Legend in their starting 5. I’m sure there’s others too. Like Kevin McHale & Robert Parish…Larry is regarded as indispensable by his PEERS. By the greatest to ever play the game!
Yea and Its not like Isiah was a huge Bird fan or anything. There was the infamous steal from Isiahs inbounding pass. There was the Rodman incident. The all out war between the Bad Boys and the Celtics. Aside from Jordan, Larry was probably Isiahs least favorite guy in the whole League. On top of that Isiah was really good friends with Magic so if he was actually biased in that statement, the obvious thing would have been to give that comment to Magic. Giving it to Bird makes no sense unless he really meant it.
Oddly lebron would be the type of teammate that guys like bird and Jordan would hate to play with. He has no accountability and has horrible body language towards his teammates. Jordan probably would have punched him like he did Steve Kerr and bird would just have embarrassed him in practice every day until he grew up or got traded
9:23 Larry led the entire NBA in DWS (Defensive Win Shares) in '79 '80 '83 and '85 ! DWS is DOMINATED by great Bigs, Legend may be the only SF on the list (sorry no LBJ) jus sayin...
Those of us that experienced the NBA of this decade will freely admit that Kareem was the best player on those Lakers teams for the early part of Magic’s career. It was not really close.
If you can't say who had more help, then you can't count championships, those are team efforts. For the record, Jordan never got one on Larry and Larry dominated his era, turned an entire franchise around in fact. Larry was equal to and one could easily argue a better passer than Magic.
You talked and didn't listen to the fact that his three MVP's were. . .BACK TO BACK TO BACK. . .Only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird have ever done that! Let that sink in!!!!
If I had to pick one player who could shoot, rebound, and pass the best, it would definitely be Bird. Throw in clutch steals, and he's definitely in the conversation for the GOAT 🐐 I believe he's the only player in NBA history to have averaged 20+ pts, 10+ rebounds & 6 assists for his career.
Bird played Jordan in 6 play off games and Bird swept Jordan 3-0 both times. Jordan couldn't even get 1 game on Bird. Bird is my all time GOAT. Someone also said "Jordan made you slow, Bird made you look stupid."
For those youngins who never saw it, that 1987 Finals where he finally missed the last-second shot, the Celtics were the defending NBA Champions, began the series with 4 of their starting 5 playing hurt, and still battled Magic's Lakers to a SIX game series!!! If that last shot had gone in, Larry Bird STILL would have taken them to 7 games. Not only that, but as you saw, they were still able to be so competitive that BIRD probably would have got another ring that year!
Larry was the best all around player and it is hard to compare the past and current players, screw championships that’s a team accomplishment. With that being said Larry did single handed turn the Celtics from a losing team to a winning team in his rookie year, plus he owned Jordan 6-0 🤣
Bird dominated Jordan. Bird was 6-0 vs Jordan in the playoffs, and also had winng regular season record vs Jordan. Jordan didn't dominate until Bird retired. Bird is #1, Jordan #2.
If Larry was in today's NBA, with the nutrition, trainers, med advances and rule changes that protect the players more, he easily could of had a 18-20 yr career and no doubt could have competed against today's greats, just as he did, the greats of his era Jordan and Bird's career overlapped 8 yrs, and head to head, Larry schooled Jordan, until Bird's later yrs, when hurt
To add to your comment, The film is about Larry and Magic, how their early, personal lives made them the high achievers that they were, how the two became entwined because of circumstances and how they saved the NBA. You cannot talk about Larry without mentioning Magic and vice versa.
You may never see this comment but if you do and you do some more Bird reactions I recommend 5 times Bird was hurt but refused to quit. It'll put into perspective of why so many of us consider him the GOAT.
I agree about the “he had more help” argument. Particularly in this case. I really don’t believe that Worthy and 7-11 years past his prime Kareem are that much superior to Parish and McHale. From ‘83 -‘87 McHale was every bit as effective for Boston as Kareem was for LA. Worthy and Parish cancelled each other out overall. Worthy was SHOWTIME while Chief was blocks, rebs and easy dunks (from a double teamed Bird). Having said that I give Bird the nod over Magic as the better overall player. Watch Birds passing HLs ... they’re seriously AS GOOD AS Magics HL vids. As far as Magics 5 rings to Birds 3.... Throughout the entire decade of the 80s the Eastern conf was STACKED. The early 80s had the Celtics and 76ers having absolute wars. Boston won 🏆 in ‘81 and Philly did in ‘83. Milwaukee was much tougher than anyone LA had to face in the West. Hell they SWEPT Boston in ‘83 before losing to the 76ers. The Bucks took Boston to 7 games at least once and they were always tough. Moncrief, Cummings, Pressey, Sikma. Tough team. Atlanta was tougher than any team LA ever had to face in the west with the possible exception of the ‘89 Blazers. Detroit from ‘87 - ‘89 is an all time great team who SWEPT LA in ‘89. Beat Boston in ’88. Whoever represented the East in the 80s ... - 76ers 3x - Celtics 5x - Pistons 2x Each of these East Conf dynasties had WARS to even GET TO the finals (with the one exception of the’83 Sixers) while LA was usually sitting around for a week resting up and healing up having swept through teams like Denver, Dallas, Sacramento year after year, series after series. Then waiting for the Eastern conf representative to show up after having gone through a couple of grueling 7 game series. The one time it didn’t go like that was in 1983 and LA got their asses straight up SWEPT in the finals by Philly. So ONE FN TIME that an Eastern team got to the finals easily like LA did 8/10 times and it resulted in LA getting SWEPT the one time that things were on even terms. Even with all of that good fortune of being the only big 🐟 in a small (weak) pond LA still lost to Houston in ‘81 & ‘86 in the West Conf finals. And of course they lost to Philly in ‘83 Boston in’84 and Detroit in ‘89. So THAT is my argument over Magics 5 rings to Birds 3. It’s like Boston had to climb Mount Everest every year while LA only had to climb a small hill. The West was extremely WEAK from 1980 - 1989
11:41 Sure... But he was also one of Magics closest friend... If he was bs-ing to avoid giving Jordan cred, why on earth would he give the cred to Larry instead of *_his BFF_* Magic? And as much as he hates Jordan, he wasnt very fond of Bird either.
Michael Jordan will make you look slow. Larry Bird will make you look stupid. ( I don't know exactly who said that) Pat Riley said he'll take Jordan for the final shot to save the game & he would take Bird for a final shot to save his life. Paraphrased.
Every one of you guys that watches Larry Bird. I always hear it. I didn't know he did that. I didn't know we could play like that. I didn't know he was such a great passer keep watching them
I would remove kd as being 1 of your 4 to take that shot and replace him with Reggie Miller. Kd choked away a 3-1 lead against the warriors and then joined them.. He doesn't have the heart
1988 was Jordan’s best year. Winning MVP honors, slam dunk contest and defensive player of the year. MJ and Pippin met Bird and the Celtics 4 times that year. MJ won 1 game out of 4.
You are correct about MJ dominating the 90s but before the 90s Bird dominated MJ. Bird swept MJ not once but twice in the playoffs. MJ never beat Bird in the playoffs.
Pat Riley the coach was once asked who would you pick to be your clutch win the game shooter, he said “ To win the game Michael Jordan, to save my life, Larry Bird”
I don't mind Love that much. A decent enough player. But I cannot stand Luka. I hate that he is constantly compared to Bird. And it's only because of skin color.
New sub here. When you react to my GOAT you have my attention! Thank you for showing the world my fave, the Hick From French Lick! Thank you!! Fun fact against Jordan Bird was 6&0 Bird cooked Jordan 6 times which is why Jordan said Larry was the only player he feared...last fun fact Bron puts Bird as his #1........
Magic didn't have to score with Kareem, Worthy and Scott being the scorers they were. Of course, when Kareem got hurt in the finals of Magic's rookie year, Magic needed to pick it up and did score 42 against Philly as a 20 year old. Not too shabby, eh?
@@Dusty999 yup. Truth. Magic did that when he HAD to. THAT is a champion. When he HAD to… and he asked his coach for permission to do it. Man had brass b@lls.
Nikola Jokic I think is averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for career. Unless I'm just drawing a massive blank almost no other player in history besides Bird had that as a career average.
19/10/6. If he starts scoring a bit and keeps up the rebounds, he'll be there. I was not aware that soneone was that close.... 24/10/6 is Larry's number and he is the only player to avg 20/10/5 for the career
He certainly not one of the best defenders ever, but he was good enough to make three NBA all defense teams. He was never close to defensive player of the year, but that award is a joke, obviously.. they gave it to Marcus Smart last year, and he was the second best defender on his team
I watched that game (as a Lakers fan) with Magic's baby sky hook. I was glad the shot went in. But, every time Bird had that ball with a few seconds left even when he wasn't shooting? It was a nail-biting experience. But, I actually started watching more Celtics games and Bird after I learned Bird was a great trash talker. I mean, we (most guys) trash-talked a lot back then and not just in sports. However, I admired players that followed through and Bird was something else.
There's a lot more on Larry you need to see. You're still not seeing the whole picture. He truly is the GOAT! Not even Michael Jordan could beat him in the playoffs and championship games. And believe me, I know that MJ was badass!
@13:47 you go into your reasons why you don’t like ”the help” argument talking about GOAT….but that’s exactly what all the Jordanairs say when you remind them that Larry SWEPT JORDAN TWICE. This is why I will NEVER EVER CALL MJ THE GOAT. Larry BESTED JORDAN 70% of the head to head games they played. Larry is the ONLY ONE to have this claim.
It took me a long time to warm up to Larry as I was a Magic fan but Bird in completely honesty was the superior player. And Bird should definitely be in the top 10 NBA players list for all If Jordan did not exist, I would say that Bird is the GOAT. Of course Jordan holds that spot.
Think about it this way The way the "less help" argument works isn't too diminish what magic accomplished, its simply putting into context the status of the players around magic and bird. On one side, Kareem would've made the HoF with it without magic. He would've won rings with or without magic. James worthy would've had a good career with it without magic On the other side, Kevin Mchale was a bench warmer for his rookie year, and a 2nd string player until his 4th year. Robert Parish was averaging 9pts, 5 rbd and 2.4 assists until he got traded to Boston and stayed playing with Larry Bird, and just one year later he was averaging 17, 8.5, 5, basically doubling his efficiency. I have no doubt that magic would have had the same leadership effect on the Celtics and vice versa for Bird and the Lakers, but it is an undeniable fact that one made average teammates into hall of famers while the other got to play with already HoF caliber players. And while i think that Larry Bird would've gotten 5 rings on the Lakers, because of a combination of their team environment and personal playstyles, Magic would only have gotten 2 rings with Boston. Magic wasnt able to shoot from 3 and mid range like Bird was, and the lack of a true scoring threat would make it harder for Magic to pull his passes off, especially before Mchale and Parish develop. I dont think "Celtics Magic" wins the 81 championship that Bird did win, but i do think he wins in 84 and 86. And don't take this as a slight on Magic, it isn't. Its simply a consideration that his playstyle would be less successful if he was the one who had to shoot as a deep range primary scoring option
Jordan, Bird and Magic in no particular order are the best three players I've ever seen on a court. Those three showed you something special every night. That's something LeBron, Duncan, etc never did.
not sure how you can put Magic over Larry when Magic wasn't even the best player on his team in the first half of the 80s! Larry carried his team once he entered the league. He brought a 20 something game winning team to a 60 something game winning team to the Eastern Conf championship with only him as being the difference. He got all but 1 vote for rookie of the year (the 1 vote was for Magic and it was an LA reporter). Then he got either first or 2nd place voting for MVP for the next 8 seasons! So please tell me again how Magic is better then Larry...
"Jordan would make you look slow, Bird would make you look stupid!" James Worthy. It took the Pistons 3 to 4 years to beat the Celtics in the playoffs... "If I needed a shot to win a game, Id pick Jordan.. If I needed a shot to save my life. Id take Larry Bird." Pat Riley
"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." - Pat Riley.
In my view the reason Jordan dominated the 90s is primarily because Bird and Magic had to retire at the beginning of the decade. Jordan simply couldn't dominate Bird and got swept twice in the post season by the Celtics and went 11-17 against them the regular season. Concerning triple doubles, Magic had 138. They were the top two winners in league history by percentage of wins to games played. For sure the 90s would look different if they played then.
First Bird was a complete team player..1980 Rookie of the Year…over MAGIC…3 consecutive MVP’s along with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain…the only 3 to ever do it..DISLOCATED HIS SHOOTING HAND FOREFINGER SO BAD IT WAS BENT AT A NINETY DEGREE ANGLE toward his thumb …they could never fix it…and that was before he had signed his rookie contract..after Red Auerbach had him suit up and do some shooting and passing drill…Red said the kid is good enough…Jordan is 0-6 against Bird in the playoffs…as a coach…he was voted NBA COACH OF THE YEAR…later…NBA EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR….
Career not cut short. Different mentality; for this era winning was the only stat. That's it rings was the point stats only mattered if you could use stats to get more rings
Some of the players in the course of NBA history held back on their own offensive numbers for the sake of team play, and a win, and some did not…… The other intangibles within the game, and within the attitude of the team itself are more important in any, and every team sport ever known or ever will be known.Period 🥴🤪😂🏀❤️
Just so you know. Bird beat every single great he played against in the playoffs. No other great can say they did that. Now you said it, winning is winning.
he {Jordan} dominated the mid and late 90's after Bird left.. Bird swept MJ twice..MJ never beat Bird...yet Bird beat everyone.. every single great player of that era... not only did he beat them.. but he was allways telling them exactly what he was going to do and they still couldnt stop him.. not to he always made sure his teamates were getting thier fill also. he motivated everyone around him..
That really isn't true. Isiah tells several stories about Bird with a lot of admiration. He has talked about Bird on Open Court several times. Look up Isiah's story about Bird and Kent Benson. Bird makes a shot in the last four seconds after telling Isiah Benson has no chance at stopping him. Isiah is laughing after Bird makes the shot and smacks Bird in the head as they walk off the court.
