I never forget that Larry Bird also had Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Dominique Wilkins, Isaiah Thomas & Patrick Ewing all playing in the NBA at the same time! My how spoiled we were back then lol
Y'all too focused on the past to see how much of a blessing your witnessing right now , theres so many great player to witness rn that we take for granted ,Kevin Durant ,7 Foot scoring assassin with Guard handles ,Giannis a Basketball Greak God ,and 1 of 1 physical specimen , Steph Curry will never be replicated ever !!! They'll never be a shooter that great ever in the history of Basketball ,LeBron James , A physical freak Literally Dominating the game for 15+ years ,that's longer than most players careers ,You have Russell Westbrook who's literally the definition of a walking Triple double ad so many more ,Irving ,Harden ,Luka , Jokic ,Anthony Davis, Embiid , Please Appreciate em before they get out the league cause trust me ,You will miss them when they retire ....
In 1974 Larry Bird was my P.E assistant when I was in the 8th grade and he was a senior at Springs Valley High School. At the beginning of each P.E. class we always ran 10 warmup laps around the gym. One day, a trampoline was set up on the basketball court and there was Larry Bird bouncing on it. As the whistle blew and we reluctantly lined up to run our laps, our teacher (who was also Larry's basketball coach) blew his whistle, and said "Larry is going to take 10 shots while jumping on the trampoline. If Larry makes any shots, each one made will delete a lap that you must run." Coach threw the ball to Larry and right there in front of me and the entire boys Jr. High P.E. class, Larry proceeded to hit 7 out of 10 shots while bouncing up and down on the trampoline, 35 feet away from the goal. Larry set an incredible example for me as a young boy in French Lick, Indiana that helped me through my entire adult career. If you are willing to work very hard and never give up, your dreams can and will come true. Thank you Larry.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 I love it! Back when men played the sport, and it was so exciting to watch pure talent and personality. No kneeling and bitching like a group of females.
@@kcmt01 The 3 point line was implimented the SAME SEASON Larry entered the league. It wasn't RESPECTED for some years though, as Louis Dampier had already retired.
Ohh indeed. People already say or said. Bird left enough DNA in the game. It needed a cigarette afterwards. Lol 😆. Couldn't imagine how much he'd leave in today's game.
Larry had a quick first step and release, but his ultimate understanding of the game was amazing. He also had incredible court vision and an attitude that didn't envision losing!
Think of the number of great players, Wilkins among them, who probably would, or might have, won championships, at that time, but for Bird. Some did, afterwards.
I think public image is that as a White guy, Bird probably grew up 'privileged'. A rich kid from the suburbs, etc. But Larry grew up dirt poor. Single parent household, his Mom worked two jobs to support her children, his Dad committed suicide when Bird was a teenager. Bird's childhood was tough, and I think as a result that made him tough, ..and determined.
@@sarahlisawall5666 just 1 thing to say to that larry bird invented the 50/40/90 club what has steph invented in basketball now while i admit steph was a marksmen like larry you really can't compare the open shots steph get vs the all up in ur face shots bird took and made
“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
@@ralphvelez8984 my other favorite quote about Michael Jordan and Larry Bird was from James Worthy in regards to playing defense against the two of them: "Michael Jordan would make you look slow; Larry Bird would make you look stupid."
On 2/14/1986, Bird told his teammates he was only going to shoot left-handed vs the Blazers since he “wanted to save his right hand for the Lakers”; he went out and scored 47 points with a triple-double line of 47/14/11. Then two night later they beat the Lakers 105-99 while Bird had 22 points and 19 rebounds
Actually, he said "for at least the first 3 quarters", not the entire game - had 28 (I think) in those 3 quarters, but the game stayed close. Went to normal play for the final quarter to make sure the Celtics won the game.
My favorite story of him is when Rodman was guarding him and he's like "hurry up at get be the ball before they realize nobody's guarding me" lol smh he was a savage
Larry Bird was so bad. I was literally scared watching from home when he had the ball in his hands. No word of a lie. Hands down one of the greatest. He's in my Top 5 of all time greatest. Few people had the IQ he had playing the game. The dude was a basketball genius.
I was a Freshman at Rose when Larry was a Junior at ISU. Got to see him once that year - LIVE. It was only a 3-4 mile walk from my dorm room after all!
When i was a teenager in the very late 90s i heard about Larry Bird practicing his shot in the dark and they said thats how he became a good shooter so i started training 3pt shooting very early and very late during the day where there was just enough light to see the basketball hoop. I became extremely good at shooting 3s, i barely missed and the fun part was i got kicked out of a lot of those basketball games at carnivals where the hoops were much higher and farther away, because id never miss and id clean them out i was giving stuffed animals to the crowd watching me. LOL I went to Circus Circus one time, in Las Vegas and i was banned from entering the amusement park because i won like 150 stuffed animals and spent only 10 bucks, i was 15 years old at that time. LOL Im 5'9" and injury prone so whatever small chance i had at pro or ncaa was shot down with knee injuries.
I was 13 when Larry came to my hometown Boston Celtics, how lucky was I? Got to watch 2-3 games per week on local TV all through high school. NEVER got old!
I will say this about Larry. 1 thing I noticed after learning the game.. is that I always liked this trait or legendary thing about Bird.. he might have been slow.. or looked unathletic ..but what made him a HOF. Is he played at his own pace & the players knew what he was going to do if he didnt already tell them.. and they COULDN'T stop it.
@@yourworstnightmareiscathoc7015 Before Bird had his back problems he made Jordan look like an elementary school player over and over again. Best player ever with and without the ball. Bird made his team and team mates all better players.
I remember watching that Jordan 63 point game against the Celtics in 1986 as a 5th grader, shocked at Jordan being able to find points seemingly every time, hoping the Bulls could somehow prevail, but knowing that the Bird/Celtics of that time were still going to win anyway. Somebody should maybe do a video on that game... :)
To Jordan it wasn't about the 63. It was about the win. Fierce mother f*cker. Bird was the only player in the same head space and talent as Jordan ...... Magic too
Larry Bird was so great he didn't have to be ball dominant to show how great he was. To put it into perspective: *Larry Bird has a stat-line of 24/10/6 while not even being top-50 in all-time usage rate.* His competition? Michael Jordan, 1st all-time LeBron James, 5th all-time Kevin Durant, 10th all-time To put it into perspective, one of the least ball-dominant players in recent memory is Tim Duncan, who has a 19/11/3 stat-line ... and even _he_ is 11 places above Larry Bird at 44th all-time in usage rate. Larry was just so _good_ he didn't need the ball all the time just to showcase how dominant he was. The per-36 stat is a little flawed to show-case player impact, but when you put up ball-dominant numbers _without_ being ball-dominant like Larry Legend? You deserve to make the advanced metrics go a little hay-wire at how crazy good you were.
He for sure was very great and underrated by many of these young people but Larry is a top 10 player all time easily and could also be top 5 depending on how you look at it
On a another note, can we take the time to put in that LeBron James is 5th all-time in usage rate (31.55 percent) while scoring 27 PPG (19.5 FGA/7.9 FTA) and 3.5 TOPG in 38.2 minutes, while Larry Bird sits at 55th (26.5) scoring 24.3 PPG (19.3 FGA/5 FTA) and 3.1 TOPG in 38.4 minutes. Does that make LeBron less efficient or does that just give Bird the benefit of the doubt in regards to having a better set of team-mates? I'll let you be the judge. Personally, I'd start a team with LeBron, but I'd have Bird heading my team in the fourth quarter.
@@chrishandsome4267 Wow! Why is everything about the color of a man's skin? Larry was just better than everyone else in his prime. Best Glutch Shooter in the History of the game. Please for the betterment of Mankind stop the race garbage.
I remember watching these games through my dad's old satellite dish. No direct TV. This giant dish in our backyard. You had to rotate it until you found a signal. My dad did this until we got a Celtics game. We didn't get them locally as we lived in Louisiana. We had to find them. But man, I loved watching those fuzzy Celtics games as a kid. Especially when they played the Lakers. Man oh man was that the times. RIP dad. Love you.
@@COMB0RICO Thanks. That's nice of you to say. We didn't invent the crawfish, we just learned how to eat in poverty way before my days and it became tradition. Anyway, we lost the Jazz and had no team until the Hornets then Pelicans came around. It was all about Bird vs. Magic. LSU basketball arena is named after Pete Maravich. He played for the New Orleans Jazz after LSU, then played for the Jazz. Maravich's last season was with the Celtics. Bird used his passing style to an advantage. I think that's why we liked Bird. He had a lot of Maravich's passing tricks.
Growing up in Boston and having patents who loved the Celtics since the 70s boy did i get the chance to see some great battles against the likes of Dr J. Magic Johnson and the great Michael Jordan but man his name will live on forever Larry Legendary Bird .
I was too young too remember bird in his prime, i started watching the nba with mom it was the last few years of his career shes a Knicks fan im for the Celtics
Reading between the lines of Jordan's statements at Bird's retirement; Thank God, no more getting swept out of divisional playoffs!!! Championship, here I come!!!
Bird was just NASTY. Seeing his old games the worst part about Larry Bird as a Lakers Fan was everytime he held the ball. Either a cool pass was gonna be thrown, or he was gonna shoot. When he shot the ball, the ball would stay in the air for so loong that you prayed he would miss. It was mostly a swish
The Bird-man was clutch and mentally tough in a way that LeFlop won't ever understand. And yeah, Jordan and the Bulls never made it past the Celtics in the playoffs while Bird was around.
@@beatbox_battle1253 LeBron is greatest SF of this era for sure but he's been pampered since high school...I can't handle the flopping, euro stepping or the carrying of the ball. :/
They thought they hated him. They retired and realised they respected him. He was a king who took the NBA up a notch and helped spawn an incredible next generation.
Larry Bird,one of the greatest nba players ever.Larry Bird/Michael Jordan my top nba players.I watched the nba back then,Larry used to embarrass tha brothers,made them look like FOOLS!!! LOL.He did whatever he wanted to do on tha court.A complete basketball player.Nba players feared Larry Bird!!! LOL.He was soooGREAT at the game,he was bored,so he had to do things to challenge himself-TALK TRASH,EMBARASS OPPONENTS,SET SCORING records.Even Kareem said Larry could do EVERYTHING and the Lakers couldn't stop him.I was a Laker's fan back then and I hated Larry Bird and the Celtics!! But Larry Bird was a BAD MAN!!! And this coming from a black man.
Yep. He was so bored he played left handed for most of a game once AND told the media the night before! Scored 27 puts in 3 quarters with his LEFT HAND. Badass af
With all due respect to Stockton and Duncan the GOAT conversation is limited to Wilt, Russell, Kareem, Bird, Magic, and MJ. There's no one else in the discussion.
@@zacharyradford5552 no his team had a better record against the sh!tyy Bulls that was on coke all of them but Mj put up the best number of both team and gave them great trouble even though Mj didnt have anybody Bid played with 4 hall of famers
Love Dominique. I'm sure it hurt that he never even got to play in an NBA final but he still has such an appreciation for getting to play against guys like Bird and Magic and Jordan. He's got the right attitude.
Most players depend on their physical advantages over other players. Bird out thought everyone and was fundamentally sound. Plus telling you the play would get in your head lol.
Can you imagine how quickly people would break down if every play he would tell you just prior what he's going to do and you still can't stop him. Not just once, but always at every game, while making new and silly ways to shoot the ball just because it keeps things interesting.
Bird was a much better athlete than he is given credit. Quicker and stronger than most guys his size. More importantly, no-one had better eye-hand coordination than Bird and yet people seem to forget this is a major component of how good an athlete is in most sports.
THE YOUNG NBA TALENT FOLLOWERS TODAY COULD NOT EVEN IMAGINE HOW GREAT OF AN ALL AROUND BASKETBALL PLAYER LARRY BIRD WAS. . HE WALKED THE Walk AND DID THE TALK BETTER THAN ANYBODY EVER DID. HE MADE SHOTS, FROM EVERYWHERE ON THE COURT, BEHIND THE BACK PASSES, THROUGH THE LEG PASSES, SHOT MORE CLUTCH GAME WINNING SHITS THAT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE. DEDICATED TO BE THE BEST THAT HE Could AND PROVED IT ON THE COURT. HE WON THE 3 POINT SHOOT OUT CONTEST 3 URS. IN A ROW 1986, 1987, AND 1988. HE WON THE MVP 3 URS. IN A ROW FROM 1984, 1985 AND 1986. I COULD GO ON AND I CAUSE HE WAS JUST THAT GREAT OF A BASKETBALL ALL AROUND PLAYER, BAR NONE THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LARRY BIRD. GOAT
The dude was straight smooth he should be talked about as a great not because of the skill so much but the respect he had floor th court he played on he knew it mattered on a Tuesday night on the road on the west coast against a below 500 team and showed up to win not sit back and expect to win but made the win that's respect and not just show up against the Lakers or the Sixers in prime time that's how I remember him his respect is something you need for those games it primes you for prime time and he knew it
That was the best era in NBA history. The number of players that were spread across the NBA during that time was the most entertaining basketball I've ever seen.
Larry was as fast and fluid as any man of his size when he was young and uninjured. The true measure of greatness is in the finding of new ways to execute and stay relevant when things change for you.
I have a lot of respect for Lebron James, he is an all time great. The biggest reason I put Larry Bird as the number 1 Small Forward is, he was a dominant rebounder, including offensive rebounds. He would get 20 rebounds in the biggest games. Add that to everything else he did makes him a top 5 player.
@@CallMeKmrnBird 24pts 10rb 6ast, Lebron 27pts 7rb 7ast per game. Very similar stats but Lebron game usage is 31.55% vs Bird 26.45%, Larry is more efficient. Larry is a better free throw shooter and is more clutch. I’d pick Larry all day over Lebron.
Oh my.... I am greatly happy the Legend is back on the BTM. Shame on you Sean David for letting it go this long. Just kidding; you have said the Larry's name many times, that makes my heart happy. Best wishes and health to you Friend.
I love your channel. I watched the NBA in high school '87-'90 with some guys I hung out with, at one guy's house. I didn't have cable TV, so... I couldn't watch it very easily after that.
Larry Bird finished top 2 in MVP votes every year from 1981 to 1988 He finished 2nd,2nd,2nd,1st,1st,1st,2nd,and 2nd. This streak began during only his second season in the league! Absolutely insane stretch from Larry Legend.
From Boston, An I grew up in the 80s an I'll tell you What made Bird even better to me was listening to Johnny Most jump out of his seat when Larry would make an incredible play which was about every night.
I remember going to a Clippers game back in the very early nineties when Bird was at the twilight of his career. With the game on the line, on the road, he was fouled. He stepped to the line and dribbled a couple times then stepped back and raised his hands up to tell the crowd to make some noise. He drained both free-throws. I will never forget that.
Although Bird didn't possess much athletic ability, he was probably the most technically sound player to ever pick up the rock. He had so many ways to beat you that it messed with your mind preparing to play him. His Rebounding, Passing, Basketball IQ and Shooting were all off the charts. Bird was a basketball genius. He took a group of nobody's from Indiana St and single-handedly dragged them to the NCAA title game. Larry Legend made up for any lack of athletic ability with his natural basketball instincts, anticipation, and ability to see the game 4 steps ahead of everyone else. (A Hoops God)
@@costumeninja1914 Ain't just me that said Bird was slow and un-athletic, Kobe and others have said it. It's not the world's biggest secret at this point. Bird couldn't sky walk like Jordan, Wilkins or Dr. J, but his technique was always clean and perfect.
@@infiniteuniverse9528 But note that most players that call Larry "unathletic" are comparing to OTHER NBA PLAYERS, by which standards he was pretty average in most physical ways. And no Pmoney, Jordan was NOT the most technically correct player in NBA history, that would be Larry and Tim can argue the point. Jordan was fair but tended to force shots too much at times, and was somewhat weak (not BAD, but not great) from long range.
Personally, I am not convinced Lebron is better than Larry Bird. Lebron is certainly a lot more athletic than Larry, but the quality of Larry's game, I believe, is a lot greater than Lebron's.
Lebron couldn't carry Larry's dirty sweat soaked jock. Who does lebron have to challenge him. Kurry. PLEASE, IF LEBRON EVER PLAYED LARRY HE D BE ON A CORNER CRYING LIKE A LITTLE BITCH BEFORE THE 1ST QUARTER ENDED.
Bird had a tougher mentality and was way more fundamentally sound than Lebron. He couldn’t rely on sheer physical strength, but he never needed to. He was just a better baller, speed and strength didn’t matter.
Heads above lebrons, Larry was a master of setting the pace and would shit down the best defense by simply burying 3 pointer after 3 pointer with their best TRYING to stop him.
I absolutely give the edge to Larry over Lebron. Period. Much better shooter. MUCH More clutch, in an era against COUNTLESS HoF’s. And if you drove into the paint in that area, you were gonna get body slammed. That era was TOUGH!
With a healthy Bird? They would have had a chance at #1 on the "biggest win margin" Olympics basketball team (they're #2, behind Russell's 1956 team). To be fair, the Dream Team DID have stronger competition - but they were experienced PROS, Russell's teams were real college amateurs.
Larry Bird always backed his trash talking up with his game… Just think If Larry could play against these crybabies In the NBA today… Bird would destroy all of them… LeChina James wouldn’t have a chance against Larry Bird…
I'm sorry, but those who never saw Bird play sure did miss something. I hated him because he was so arrogant and unstoppable. I feared Larry Bird when he came to town.
If Bird played in today's NBA, it would be like a tiger playing with his food before he eats it... He stats would be so much higher today. The NBA in the 80s was like watching hockey. Today's hard fouls are like just average fouls back then. Bird got beat up, fallen on, broke his face and still played.
@@jaylenflanagan6012 Are you like 12 or something? Bird is definitely a top 5 all time player. Luka is definitely an awesome player, but he’s never gonna see the top 20 list.
I was fortunate enough to see Larry Bird play. I saw him play versus the Denver Nuggets in Denver and the Nuggets won - and it was easily the loudest sporting event I’ve ever attended.
Love the clip of kobe saying is there something im missing because Bird looks slow as shit lmfao. R.i.p. kobe. Still can't believe he's gone. Also R.I.P his daughter and friend
I can't help but chime in. I get a kick out of hearing from anyone under 40 that Larry wouldn't dominate in today's game because he wasn't athletic, which I've always felt was a false narrative. Simply put, if the Bird from 84-86 (all MVP's) played today he would make at least two or three of today's wimps cry simply by trash talking them. He would average at least thirty points a game, utilizing the three that they didn't shoot much back in the day. He would get at least 10 boards, dish out 7/8 assist, play great team defense, work harder than anyone else on the floor and most of all, go ahead and name a more clutch player. He would make James cry like a little girl. Just the FACTS
Michael Jordan is considered the GOAT but one must remember he could never beat Larry Bird in the East. Everyone wants to say Jordan came to Bad Team. But Bird came to a 29 Win Celtics Team from the year before which was a very bad team. His 1st Season he turned those 29 wins into 61 wins. Pretty Impressive. Just too bad he had to go up against a Loaded Lakers Team throughout the 1980s or he would have won way more Championships. Bird is a Top 5 Player in NBA History. My Top 5 are Jordan, Chamberlain, Russell, Bird and Jabbar.
But the team quickly got Mchale and Parrish turning the team around the bulls did t get Jordan help until 1987 three years later with pippen and grant and once they developed the team won
@@bricefleckenstein9666 that is still WAY sooner than the bulls got Pippen and Grant two rookies that took a few years to develop. Parish wasnt a rookie
@@jewsco The team was ALREADY TURNED AROUND by the time Parrish joined them and they drafted McHale. But yes, Parrish being a vet with a core crew of several good vets besides Bird did help the rapid rise back to Dominating the East before Bird got hurt and the fall began.
Oh BTM! Dude, I subscribed but I wasn't getting your videos. I used to watch your stuff all the time. I'm glad it popped back in my feed. Glad to see you blow up a lot in a year! :DDD
Bird would destroy today’s players with his thrash talk alone. Larry legend. How many players can tell their opponents what he will do and still do it with ease. Also he mentioned he didn’t practice three points shooting. Imagine if he practiced. He would beat Steph curry too in shooting. Larry always backs up what he says.
Man, if Bird had utilized the weight training and the, eh hem, off season recovery regime that LeBron and modern superstars get, we'd probably have seen 4-5 more years of peak Bird, which could/would have greatly interfered with emerging peak Jordan.
@@Vaga-Bard those are stupid questions. You don't get it.....Bird was a regular guy. He drove a tractor. He did construction on his own house. Almost %100 of athletes pay to get everything done. My point is if Bird hired people to do his house he never would have hurt his back like that. Bird was just a humble regular guy and didn't flaunt his riches like most other athletes do...Do you actually think guys like LeBron and KD actually do any manual labor on their own house.
