What NBA Legends And Players Think Of Larry Bird 

No one has done all the things Larry Joe Bird did ....he is the GOAT.

Savant is the correct term. 😉 And yah, at that point Boston was struggling. 77-78 they were 32-50. 78-79 they went 29-53. 79-80, Bird's rookie year: 61-21.

That wasn't the house Larry grew up in. It was really small. The brick house is the one he built for his mother.

Lots of goats, only one legend!

It was dark times in the NBA. Larry and Magic changed the game. Forever

Larry bird is my #1 Goat of all time I watched him all through his career. Seen him live playing. The game it's awesome

Larry is the Goat from down under

Larry Bird is my Goat since the day he entered the NBA and took a 29 win team to 61 wins(no other changes in the Celtics roster) and won Rookie of the Year over Magic (63pts - 3pts) despite Magic winning his first ring. I stand with Rick Barry who recently said: “You take the athlete. Give me the guy who knows how to play.”

I love watching your reactions. You made me laugh so hard when you laughed about white mans disease. Larry Bird is my personal goat. After Bird stopped playing MJ was my favorite to watch although I loved watching Dominique Wilkins . Great reaction

Larry Bird was and is the greatest ever

Totally agree with you brother! If Larry could have kept it going.... there would not even be a discussion about who the GOAT of NBA was/is, ever!

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

You said the word right. Savant. And he was.

If things in life really went Larry's way: - Not mangling his finger on his shooting hand before getting into the nba. - Being robbed of finals MVP in 1982 - Not busting his hand (knuckles) due to a bar-fight before the finals against the Lakers in 1985. - Hitting that potential game-winner (with said busted hand) in game 5 against said Lakers in 1985. - Not Breaking his back in the 1985 off-season which crippled the 2nd half of his career. - Not have their Draft Pick Len Bias die right after the 1986 draft. - Not having to lead a tired (2 x 7-game series against Milwaukee & Detroit before facing the Lakers.) and injury riddled team in the 1987 finals. (McHale's broken foot, Perish's Twisted ankle, Ainge's sprained ankle; Walton's injured foot sidelining him) -> This was also the 4th year in a row they reached the finals. Fatigue adds up and any injuries don't get any time to really heal. Which is also port of why I believe those 2 years Jordan retired actually helped him in his legacy and allowed him to win those 2 3-peats. - Not having to deal with bone-spurs to both achillis heels against Detroit in 1988 who went on to become the Champions. - Not having to miss almost the complete 1988-1989 Season due to surgery. (They had to detatch both his achillis to get the bone spurs out) Who knows what could have been? At bare minimum he's have 5 Championships and 5 finals MVP's (1982 , 1984, *1985*, 1986 & perhaps *1987*.) Potentially a 6th one in 1988 if Len Bias had lived, giving Larry more resting time. I'm not going to speculate on 1989 and onwards. But The Celtics would have most definitely been the first back to back champions since the Bill Russle Era and very likely the 1st to 3-peat as well. There would have been no doubt about who was the best Player in the 80's. They are what if's, but I still find it interesting.

1. Wilt 2. MJ 3. Bird 4. Kareem 5. Magic I don't have Stef in my top ten because he has contributed to the demise of the NBA. Also, players today have no IQ and no fundamentals. Zion is 100X the athlete Bird was, but Bird would completely destroy him on the court. And all these other one-and-done college guys. Good vid and commentary as always bro.

I love your Larry Legend reactions.😂

The crazy thing is besides the 3 straight MVPs is was runner up 4 other years in 88 back problems and all he averaged 30 points a game and was runner up to MJ.

Great vid. I grew up jordan, but as I get older..... Bird is THA MAN!!!! WISH I seen him live. He's a beast top 3 all time. Jordan magic bird. Saved the league

Ok, but James has the numbers because he's been playing for about 40 years...lol

another good one Solid Reacts, yeah Bird and the C's had some very bad luck- Bird's back and other injuries, the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis as well...if all that didnt happen, yes indeed- 3 more titles..

It's interesting that in a recent interview Bird said he'd love to play against Jokic. It's interesting because he thought other white guys were beneath him, were no challenge. But he seems to think Jokic would be a challenge.

Kobe and Bird played a lot alike in some ways. They both were obsessive about understanding the game and their competition. They both had such heart and hustle in the game. Bird did it first though! He layers the path for others.

Larry is the complete basketball player, the best all round player ever! Is he the GOAT? To me yes as it's about all the intangibles and not just the stats...Otherwise it would be MJ, hands down!

Larry Bird is my GOAT. I can understand the argument for several others. I think if Bird had a longer career, there would be no argument that Bird was the best.

I agree with you, kid.

Larry Bird all day.

I just watching videos of Larry Bird about 2 weeks ago..Always heard his name growing up but my Dad liked the Sixers.. so when I was a little girl it was all Dr. J.. Yes, I'm much older now but I'm loving watching these videos of Larry.. Truly had no clue how amazing he was until now.

Bird is my all-time favorite player to watch play the game. As far as the greatest of all time, it is difficult to overlook one single player with; 40 plus points per game, 20 plus rebounds per game, around 4 assists per game, above 50% field goals made, and probably, 12 plus blocked shots per game, for 6 years running. His career ppg is 30.5, if memory serves, and 22.9 rebounds per game. Wilt Chamberlain is my choice for the GOAT.

Bird's dad suffered from PTSD from the Korean war. That led to his suicide.

Larry legend

Larry Joe Bird is my GOAT!!!!!!!!!! Tell me one player that would turn down getting a quadruple double. Larry Bird did that. During a game he was one steal away from a quadruple double.

I grew up on Larry. He was the GOAT.

Love this reaction !

Michael 1a, Larry 1b followed by Magic, Kareem, and Timmy for a full first team.

GOAT = Bird

Larry Bird is the Goat!

Larry BIRD

I remember my Dad talking about basketball , he said he hated when put baseball on the TV , my dad being a Jets fan would rather see football than basketball ,then he saw Larry Bird and his opinion changed , then he saw Larry and Magic and he became a fan , his favorite player was always Larry Bird and although he liked Magic to him there was only one player that mattered to him and it was Larry Bird , and when Larry could no longer play , my dad never watched baseball again

I love your reactions and honestly! Your enthusiasm is infectious! Keep it up and thank you for keeping Larry Legend alive!

Larry bird was born on the Anniversary when pearl harbor got bomb December 7th 1941

Larry Legend!! I'll take Larry every time not because I've lived here my entire 60 years but because I saw what he could do to the best players on the court. I believe he was the best all-around player to ever play the game!

W.M.C.J. disease 😂 but he still averages 10 Rebounds a game. Larry Bird G.O.A.T.

Larry went 6th in the draft because the five teams who picked first could not afford to wait a year. Boston had two first round picks. The 1978-79 Celtics struggled 29-53. When te goat joined the team the next year, they went 61-21. Larry joined the Celtics at age 22. Michael was 26 in 1989 (hit his stride). Larry didn’t need age as an excuse.

Every sport can deny targeting, but it happens. Little jabs, inside pitches, gut punch in a scrub, ect. Hell it happens in HS sports. There was some really dangerous shit in the 80's in all sports.

MJ was young and didn’t know what he was doing ? He was a pro basketball player being paid millions . How come nobody said that about Larry Bird when he came his first year and turned the Celtics around from 21 to 61 wins.

Bird!

Much respect. Great intellect, great post bro.

@5:15 YES the Celtics were struggling. The team consisted of aging out former stars like Cowans & Maravich & untested newbie Cedric Maxwell…they were at the bottom of the standings for 2 years prior to Larry’s arrival at 29 wins…Larry would turn this around to 61 wins as a rookie & without Parish McHale Ainge or DJ.

Good summary top 5!

I like the more recent story about Larry as a coach. His team is sitting around the court, Larry walks in wearing a suit and street shoes, shoots 11 3's in a row then just goes to the sideline and sits down, no big deal, normal for him. Those young men thought they better pay attention to their coach.

6:09 btw, he did this without the 5 hall of famers people tend to bring up.

Larry averaged 24/10/6 on 50/38/89 % shooting for his career then upped it to 25/9/7 on 49/39/92 % shooting after he injured his back. Those are GOAT worthy conversation numbers even in today's stat focused world.

That double OT win over the Bulls was in 1991 - the year MJ won his first title

I always suggest 2 things... 1- a courtship of rivals 2- the 92 dream team If you haven't checked them out already

Remember too, he averaged 31 points per game in high school, that was before the 3-point rule was enacted... same Sutherland college, the 3-point rule wasn't enacted until 1979, his first year with the Celtics !!!!

Ever wonder why MJ’s dominance coincided with Bird’s retirement?

Am a Larry legend fan boy(that's why am here) ... But MJ is my GOAT 🥲🙏

Savant - SPOT ON (I had to go look it up 😂)

Bird is best all-around & Jordan is best 2-way player . End of discussion.

Good react, Solid!

In order to be the greatest of all time you can’t have any weaknesses shaq and wilt couldn’t hit free throws Jordan wasn’t a consistent 3 point shooter and shot 17 percent in a 3 point contest which is the worst to this day bird had no weaknesses could shoot from anywhere pass from anywhere rebound with the best of them and he was a very good defender but more importantly he made everyone better and he is clutch . And at the end of it all it’s about winning and he has the 2nd highest win percentage of all time

I love that top 5 , ty Solid❤

I pick Larry bird over any player because of his basketball intellect

Wilt greatest all around player of all time. Goat. 50 pts 25 reb a game and led league in assists twice. Enough said. Also competed in high hurdles and high jump in big 12

The game was MUCH more physical back in Larry's day.. They'd let them play

Based on stats alone, I think Bird is at least in the GOAT conversation, but when you factor in all the intangibles, (IMO) he's top 3. He wasn't hands-down #1 of all time in any given category, but he was one of the best in almost all of them. I can't remember who it was but in one of these videos it was said that when Jordan didn't have the ball you didn't have to worry about him too much, but Bird was just as dangerous without the ball.

I watched Birds entire career in my teens and early 20s. MJ and Bird are my 1 A 1 B. Bron does not have that killer instinct and needs to much help.

I want to remind people of the tragedy that occurred when Len Bias died right after being drafted before the 86-87 season. Michael Cooper has even said if Bias had lived, La was not going to beat Boston in the 87 Finals. Bias with a full season of experience and playing time could very well had helped McHale and Parish and Walton ( maybe) from being injured for the Finals. Also Boston lost Reggie Lewis!! With that being said , I still have Jordan as my #1 player and Kareem as my #2 ( Kareem has 6 MVP awards) because these 2 can be such dominant scorers and scoring kind of trumps other aspects of the game ( respect to Wilt here). My favorite starting 5 would have to be Jordan, Kareem, Bird, Lebron and Magic. Each of these players at their prime have size and speed and tremendous versatility and IQ. I want to also mention that Bird as a passer vs all other Forwards ( PF and SF) during his era finished #1 in assists per game for 8 seasons. Bird was #2 in assists per game for 3 seasons and was once 4th. Bird only played 12 seasons! Bird dominated in assists per game vs other forwards more than Magic dominated vs other PG's in assists! Magic led the league in assists per game 4 times and was 2nd 6 times and was also 4th and 7th. I give the edge in passing to Magic but look how dominant Bird was as a passer - and both Bird and Magic played when if the player receiving the pass took 1 dribble = there was no assist. Now compare that to players taking 1 or 2 dribbles and the passer gets an assist?? Thanks for another great video and to be honest = when you look at overall skills, shooting and rebounding and passing and hustle and clutch play = Bird may be the best all around player we have seen.

Jordan is the goat … no doubt. Bird however is the best all around player in history.

I can only wonder what an older Larry Bird would have been if Len Bias and Reggie Lewis didn’t pass away unexpectedly.

💯

MJ, Bird, Magic, Shaq, Kareem. Just because you play 20 plus years and rack up stats DOESN'T make the goat (Lebron).

MJ all day!

I'll take Larry Bird over Jordan , Kobe , James or Johnson , Larry Bird was the best

Best of all 1. MJ, 2, Larry Bird.

😄👍🔥🏀

Just got to the end, it may sound funny, but I actually feel like Steph is a "mini-Bird" that had health on his side as well as skills, so it's not wrong to at least have him in the mix at the top range. IMO of course.

I still think mj is the goat, but bird is right up there with him. Then there's kareem and wilt, a gap, then the rest of the top 10, whoever you have, there are a lot of good answers. I have kobe, magic, dr j, bill russell, shaq, hakeem I dont rank players until theyre retired, but if jokic, lebron and steph's careers stay as they are rn, i think they crack top 10

I've made an actual count, and there are 4.3 gazillion people who are putting Magic over Bird...and that's just RU-vid reactors! Too frustrating...especially when, from what I've heard Magic say, he doesn't even put himself over Bird! One of the things I believe I've heard Magic say is that Bird could do everything Magic himself could do...and more, including his outside shot. You asked us to comment on who our GOAT is, but I am not a fan of choosing just one, but if I had to, I'd choose Bird, for all the reasons mentioned by you, and given by the narrator and the players in this video, in talking about the great aspects of his game. I would choose him because he has it all-- shooting, defense, hustle, grit and gutsiness, creativity, clutchness, mind-boggling IQ, amazing passing, nerves of steel, competitiveness off the charts, trashtalk/mind games, plus a game that is witty, smart, generous and uplifting to his taemmates...as well as humorous and entertaining. I also see him as very athletic-- not in being the fastest runner or the highest jumper (though he did outjump Ojajawon on a tip, and has dunked over the likes of Dominique, among others, and grabbed rebounds over players known for the altitude). He's athletic in his ball handling and general hand-eye coordination, his arm (remember those full-court passes?), his lightning fast release (again shown in his full-court passes, among other moves), his body control and ability to make shots and passes in situations and body postures others could never manage, his smoothness, precision, timing...and a host of other attributes having to do with how he uses his body to master his sport, dominate other players, and win games. And that's just off the top of my head, lol! Bottom line, when a guy can lay out his play in advance to opponents who include many of the greatest players ever to run the court, and these players cannot stop him even having been put on notice of what he's going to do and how he's going to do it, he isn't doing it with just mind control or luck; he's got to be doing it with the way he moves and otherwise uses his body and physical skills as well as his smarts; it's got to involve amazing physical, i.e., athletic/bodily skills.

I can't read all the comments, but his back injury was only half of his problems, the other being operated on to relieve bone spurs, pointy bone growths on the heel that get to be intensely painful. What's nor commonly know is that the procedure requires literally slicing off the heel bone to get at them without damaging the tendon. But if you lose a millimeter of foot length, how much can you ever recover from, as an adult? It wasn't just his back, he got the double medical whammy. You strike me as a young dude wanting to learn, and I'm a history buff about just about anything, so this is offered in that spirit. Carry on, my wayward son.

It also would if effected L.A.’s and Detroits number of championships….and would of solidified Bird and the Celtics as the greatest

Larry Bird is the G. O. A. T.

Larry's the best small forward ever.. no need to compare him to a guard.. he could pull 18 or 20 boards along with his 40 pts. He was one steal away from a quadruple double.

Larry, MJ and Kareem are my top 3, then Magic and Kobe. Larry gets more praise from his all time great peers and rivals than anyone else. Also, watching old 80s games they were calling Larry the best all around player in the game by his second season and they were calling him the probable goat on the regular by the mid '80s. Also, MJ's Bulls never beat Larry's Celtics in a playoff game. These are the three reasons that back up my long time opinion that Larry is the GOAT.

Bird is the GOAT!

Magic and bird saved the NBA

Imagine if magic and bird could have had full careers!

I believe that Birds🏀 legacy is very similar to that of Hendrix🎸 Bird a white superstar in a predominantly black mans world and Hendrix a black man in a white mans world. Many consider Jimi the GOAT on the electric guitar. A career cut short by the often unfortunate lifestyle of the “Rock Star”. Jimi was sometimes a bit sloppy onstage, just like Bird didn’t always put up the most amazing stats. But when it comes down to it both guys were absolute geniuses who forever changed the world. Both guys so unique that there will never be another. Both guys left behind a legacy so powerful (in a relatively short time) that to this day people are still watching and listening to the greatness.

Larry was second in MVP voting three consecutive years before he won three consecutive years.

Larry Bird

Steph is probably a top ten player. I like his leadership.

wilt said to jordan that they changed the rules so he couldnt dominat. they changed the rules so jordan could jordan played after they changed the hand check rule. no comparison

Don't forget the Achilles injuries. Those alone would end most careers.

Goat talk is mainly individual players. Like the greatest individual player is MJ. BUUUUT basketball is a team sport. And that's where Larry Bird to my knowledge. Is the best overall team player. The game has ever saw. Go ahead pick any player from ANY era you want. And take their first 8 seasons in the league. And prepare to be shocked. That player will need God like numbers. To even have a chance. Conclusion. Larry Bird IS basketball. And for the record. I couldn't stand him. 😂 but the dude could just ball. And after saying "he just lucky" 30Xs in like 2 months. I had to just stop the hate. Lol😂

michael jordan was extremely strong agile and i would say the greatest individual player. and like it said he had to have the ball. never played without it. ever. he was not next level iq and awareness and all around individual and team player like bird. fact. it can be seen watching his play it can be heard from nba greats. larry. legend.

Larry also had surgery on both feet.

The only stats that matter to the greats is wins/season.

LARY BIRD

Larry was drafted 6th his junior year ,thats first off and yes the Celtics had been in the toilet a full minute,that 81 ring they came back from 3 to 1 in the playoffs,no McHale,no Chief, no Ainge,no dj ,:: Larry but the NBA on notice (nobody played like him ,he was so good he was three moves ahead, him and Magic made us all wanna watch baseball,and then go try to play like them (girls n boys ) i miss this good street ball 🏀,its boring and soft today ,and thats sad with so much talent out here today 😢 #LB33💚🏀🐦

Bill Russell is the goat. You can't argue with 11 NBA rings, 2 NCAA rings, a gold Olympic medal, 5 regular season MVPs....the only constant on any of those teams, even the 1957 Celtics and the 1969 Celtics was Bill Russell. He changed the game more than anyone. A 6-9 center jumping against seven footers, and he could handled the ball and run like a guard. A Russell block sent the ball into a teammates hands. Any other block was a disappointment to Bill. He could accept it going downcourt to a streaking member of his backcourt like Cooz or KC or Hondo or Sam Jones. He ruined careers of players who shot line drives to the hoop. He made guy triple and quadruple pump. Bill Russell.