NBA Greatest Duels: Larry Bird vs Andrew Toney (1982) 

Bird didn't call him the Boston Strangler for nothing!

Oh we know who he is. Any 80’s Celts fan knows.

"TWO MINUTES IN THIS BALLLGAAAMME

Zinkoff was awesome

Bird took like five steps, lol.

@@straycatttt no he didn't I thought to at first but he dribbled at the right time

Dunk agaisnt the Rockets was Better

@@fatalsniper3413 same here. But then I caught another camera angle & he dribbled in between double (2) step.

I'm a philly fan. I'm glad other fans appreciate him. People forget his career was tragically cut short. He sustained foot injuries around 84. Sixer management didn't believe he was really hurt and they ruined his career. His legacy should have been greater. He would have been a HOFer. A Toney, Barkely, Malone, Cheeks core could have challenged the Celtics and Pistons. Plus they had the #1 pick in 86 which was Brad Daugherty but traded it for garbage. Mismanagement ruined that team. The Sixers should have continued to challenge throughout the 80's.

@@gary6754 Great comment. All facts.

@@gary6754 A. Toney was a baller. I hated seeing him get the ball while watching these games back in the day. But as someone that appreciates excellence I wish he could have been injury free. The biggest rivalry for my C’s was not LA. It was Philly.

A lot of show, but in reality, a great finisher and not much more.

@@laudace1764 he was a great mid range shooter, he had a strong post game, a great all around defender, great shot blocker, a great rebounder for the forward position, he was a good passer, clutch. Etc etc. You obviously haven't watched enough footage of him.

@@Rvench I watched him play a great deal and remember him coming into the NBA after his stint in the ABA. From the advance pub, I thought he was going to be the Second Coming. I was amazed at how poor of a shooter he was when he came to the NBA, and although his mid-range jumper improved over the years, to say that he was a "great mid range" shooter is laughable. He was a great leaper, yes indeed, and a great player around the basket or on the open floor. He was never a great rebounder despite his jumping ability--Malone and others carried the rebounding load for Philly during those years. As for being clutch, I could think of numerous players during the years that he played that I would rather have the ball with the game on the line, largely because of his suspect shooting. If he got the ball late, teams could pack it in on defense and force him to shoot it. Sorry, but you are wrong on almost all counts. He was a great player, but only because of his ability to finish, and not much more.

@@Rvench Forget him. I've seen enough in just this one clip.

@@laudace1764I don’t like J after strangling Bird and sucker punching him while Barkley held Bird’s arms. But. The ref Earl Strom said he had never seen a better player in J.

Soap Box I can't agree more. Not sure Curry could withstand the punishment teams put on players back then.

+Soap Box I think the 80's and 90's are being mistaken for each other. The 80's was a much more wide open style of play, the 90's is when the Knicks started the trend of hand checking.

+vdogg43 Steph Curry is the best shooter in NBA history, with the quickest release in NBA history, and his range is virtually unlimited. He's also an amazing ball handler, great passer, and has the mindset of an assassin. There is no era in the NBA where he's not a superstar. It's silly to think otherwise.

+Johnny 34 The 80's era was the most physical in NBA history. Flagrant fouls were rarely called and I can't recall anyone every getting tossed for a hard foul. As great as Steph Curry is, you can't survive that era without some sort of edge. He is as talented as anyone but he would have to live on the outside because being bumped and pushed takes him out of his game. Delladova proved that if they allow someone to play him physical he is almost completely ineffective.

The 80's was the decade that had more 25 ppg scorers than any in NBA history. If defense was so tough, why did so many people in the 80's score with more ease? Delladova bothered Steph for like 2 games, he's nothing to Steph now.

You can’t beat the Bird vs Toney scoring extravaganza. I am blessed to have witnessed this as showdown & I hope the youth will give this example of greatness. Basketball virtuosity at its fines😢t. Bird or Toney could explode & single handedly beat anyone in history of NBA. Period . Therefore arguably the 2 best of all time. Eg. - Only two that ever embarrassed Showtime. I know what you’re thinking but MJ got the Geritol version that might should have rested on their laurels & retired with legendary status but props for trying to Magic & the dreaded ones

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And the 70s awesome times

Bird never said he feared anyone.

reaad his autobiography. he's reaaaal humble off court. you wouldn't know how many awesome games he had if you read it lol. but yeah he's a savage oncourt. i ain't lying

I read it when I was younger. While Larry has given many players props, I've never known him to use the word fear when describing another player.

well he just said it but whatever man

I doubt it.

Barkley mentioned to ESPN on friday may 6 2015 how Toney was the hardest athlete to play against and he endured feet injuries.... exactly what KD is now facing....

Andrew toney lives next door to me now. He knows my name and talks to me a lot.

+gary watkins he was called the boston strangler then

@@gsully124 No kidding. Tell him to let the Sixers retire his jersey. His name belongs up there.

I’m pretty sure Toney is an alien from beyond. Guy makes 3s look easier than earthlings sinking layups in pre game warmups

😂Love that and ya gotta finish that so the LeBron & Curry obsession can go away soon. I need Pepto Bismol to tolerate the youngster bandwagon

it did not work.... injuries stopped andrew toney.... no player could.

I’d like to see Curry drive straight to Kareem, Coop & Worthy. I still can’t see how Toney was almost never blocked. Dam ball wast totally obscured from view and then ya see it soaring off glass thru net. Did he every hit the rim??

I was a Dr J fan during that era. The lakers & celtics had better teams than the underachieving sixers teams. Bird & Magic were much better & fundamentally sound players than Dr J. Then, Jordan came in. I think those were the reasons why the majority of NBA fans forgot who Dr J was.

DR.J is appreciated more than you realize. People are not talking about the players from the 70's&80's on a regular basis. Kareem barely gets mentioned and he is the all time leader in career points.

ECWnWWF. That’s because most of Dr Jay’s best years were in the ABA.

He's underappreciated for sure but not as much as Moses Malone is. He gets no credit at all. At least you will hear the name Dr.J from time to time

Actually the perspective of time has him measured about right--he looked great with the ball, was a fabulous leaper, but as a basketball player, Bird was much, much better and McHale was also better than the Doctor if you measure them both at their peaks.

Dr J. King of the uncontested dunk.

They got swept, I don't think toney alone changed that. Worthy would've helped

SniffyPoo With Worthy or without Toney I think it would've been a toin coss.

+Uncle Tony no offense, Malone dominated Jabbar. That's why they were swept.

He did.

Right! Remember that all 4 games were close till the last couple minutes. Clint Richardson might have had his career night in game one, and maybe that’s why Toney wasn’t nailing everything. Similar to Bird & Magic AT could seemingly turn on his “Bionic Switch “ when clutch play was needed. Also helped that Worthy & McAdoo were hindered by injuries. I’m a Sixers fan but that Showtime carnival was a rare assembly of unbelievable talent. Their bench had 4-5 players that might kick in 30+ at any time, if a starter didn’t play up to par. The NBA Globetrotters 😅

George Ybarra No he wasn't. The Celtics had the best single season turnaround in league history Bird's rookie year. Good point about Doc though.

Not better than bird or havlicek

Really changed basketball for the better.

+newerafrican They have them to thank for a lot more than that. Heh.

Me

He played before Google lol

Bj Obeng that move by Larry bird @ 2:18 is so elegant

yup

There's a dribble in there almost obscured by his legs.

@@cindyknudson2715 I swear every time I look at that play it looks different. Lol

@@juanperez-ni2iw Bird is such a treat to watch play.

@@cindyknudson2715 Yes, I've seen it from a different angle.

Tough & agree. I would however say a team of 5 Toneys could beat or tie them. But you & know would not NBA would protest and say,” You cannot assemble a team without an earthling on the roster; completely unfair “😁🤣

Simple.....He didn't travel. Watch the play closely. Bird gets the outlet pass from Parish, one dribble, passes it to Henderson. Bird gets the ball back, takes one dribble, two steps and dunks it. Perfectly legal play!

Me lol

I think he means "take that, FROM larry bird" but the way in which he says it, it could easily be taken to mean "you take THAT, larry bird".

+Matches_Malone That was the Celtics announcing team of Gil Santos and Bob Cousy

It has no audio at that spot. My guess from seeing that play on other videos is that the announcer said "Take that! Larry Bird...." and the rest of that sentence was cut off by the next clip.

Doesn't matter if you're jumping from outside the 3 point line. Venture to say his degree of difficulty was higher having to release it like that than your standard set shot, or fadeaway.

Hey bounced it, its hard to see from the angle.

@@Dashooter911 yup, in front of himself so it is easy to miss unless you look for it. 🙂

Yeah, that's Larry. "Settle down, Kevin, I got this."

I don't think he did. Look at the replay, he dribbled the ball.

Good catch! I thought he was running to the locker room with the ball.

Definitely a dribble on the way to the basket. Almost obscured by his legs but it's there.

June Stevens Dr J is one of the most if not the most overrated player in the NBA’s 50 greatest players list. He had no left hand, couldn’t shoot outside 12’. And most of those numbers you are talking about were from his ABA days.

Kevin Walsh nice man! Intelligent comment, I hate when people muddy the waters with stats from other leagues! NBA or NO BA

Dr.J Is the Best to lace them up period.

@@kevinwalsh1178 more hating

Right. It’s about the same as using a coupon to lessen the burden 😂

NOOOO, he got a dribble in between a double (2) step. There's another camera angle out there somewhere. Believe me, I thought the same as you until I seen it from a different angle. Pfffft to think that Bird would travel is disrespectful to his game. haha. Has he ever been called for travel? I don't know. I've never seen it.