I saw Larry play over 20 times at the old Boston Garden. He played every game like it was the playoffs. He had enough great plays in every game to make a highlight reel. Love your enthusiastic reaction to the most entertaining player ever.
When he was a student at Indiana State University, he went to be a PE teacher and did his student teaching and was the assistant baseball coach at West Vigo High School. I graduated from West Vigo in 1998!
Larry is still my favorite player ever. Basketball was so much fun to watch back then. Nearly every game was won at the buzzer and often at buzzer after buzzer in double overtime games where the best of the best players nailed it over and over again.
Magic & Bird saved the NBA. If you watch todays games compared to the 80’s & 90’s you can almost fall asleep. No defense-you can’t even touch the guy! It’s like ten guys running up & down the court shooting unimpeded! Those Celtics games were hand sweaters. It was basketball with a little football added! You can show highlights and tell stories about Bird unlike any other player other than The Pistol! Almost 30 years later the Great black players are opening up about how good Bird really was! uTubers are making a living showing Bird stories and clips now. Every week there’s a new Bird story or an old one shown again!
I was a huge Larry Bird fan. I live in Ohio but I subscribed to the Boston Globe so I could read about them. I was just happy to be alive and watching when they played. No way did Pistol Pete retire because of that statement. He was an amazing player in his own right and would never leave because of some trash talk. Larry will always be my number 1 choice for Goat. Followed by Magic, Michael, Russell and Marovich.
Bird's passing of the basketball is why I fell in love with the game. Magic was a great passer but Bird was seen as a great scorer and shooter and some of the passes Bird made just took your breath away. I once heard a description of Bird as a "swiss army knife because Bird has every tool and every trick your team needs and knows when and how to use them to make his team better and win" . Bird in his first 9 years in games played = Boston won 534 games and lost 177 of the 711 games for a win % of 75.1% and this was in the stronger Eastern conference. The best story?? Maybe the one before the 3 point shoot out at the all star game where Bird walks in amongst the best shooters in the world and asks them who is coming in 2nd because he was going to win = and then does it 3 years in a row!!!
Pistol Pete retired because of his knees and friction with the coach. Bird and Pete had great respect for each other. And continued to. Maravich joined the Celtics halfway through Bird's rookie season.
Larry & Magic came in together in ‘79. They were co-captains on the 1992 Dream Team. 11 future Hall of Famers. Everyone was glued to their TVs whenever they played. Beautiful basketball like you’ve never seen. I watch the documentary often and it takes me back to how I felt then. Pls check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Last time both Larry and Magic played. What no one realized at the time, was how basketball would affect the planet. Larry and Magic saved the NBA!
Pistol Pete's knees were shot in 1980, he was a shadow of the player he'd been -- but even as a shadow he shot .667 from 3 point range that year. I wish he'd managed to hang on for one more season. He never won an NBA championship, and if he'd held on (even as a bench player) for the next season he'd have gotten a ring to cap off his career.
Great story, but there is no “best” Larry Bird story because there are just so many. I’m a lifelong Celtics fan for over 60 years and I was fortunate to have seen most of his games and I can’t pick one favorite story, again because there are so darn many. One of my favorites though, and you didn’t know it while he was playing because you couldn’t hear what he was saying when you saw him yapping during the game, was that he would get legitimately irritated when the opposing coach would assign a white guy to guard him. He viewed this as “disrespecting his game” because he felt that no white player possessed the necessary speed, quickness, jumping ability or athleticism to effectively guard him. So when you saw him what looked to be yapping at the opposing bench as he ran by was actually him giving the coach hell for putting a white guy on him. There are also many, many stories of him telling the guy guarding him as they came out of a timeout exactly what they were going to do, where on the floor he was going to get the ball, how many dribbles he was going to take, then point out the spot on the floor where he was going to shoot from and tell the guy he was going to bury the shot in his face. Then they would run the play just like he described and he would bury the shot in his face. One of a kind.
I would recommend reacting to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals documentary. It’s all about their similarities and differences-one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s an hour and a half so most reactors break it down to 3 or 4 parts. I enjoyed the reaction and your commentary.
at that time, the Celtics were just a few years past epic greatness and had hit an epic low, but the name still meant something and Red Auerbach was still in charge.
When Bird retired, I watched the NBA for a few years until MJ retired, haven't watched it since the the level of play isn't as good and it's to political. Long live the 80's NBA it was the best!!
@@deihorus7927 It was so fun to watch in the 80's. I guess the NBA in the 70's was on hard times, at least that's what I heard. Celtics/Lakers rivalry was amazing in the 80's.
Most Bird stories are amazing. Luka is piling up some good stories too now. Has anyone asked about that large jar of mayo on the back of the couch? Maybe I have OCD. Good Bird vid.
During the NCAA championships this year, I noticed that both Magic and Larry are trying to get their generation fans and players to support the young people coming in. Larry asked straight out to stop throwing shade on the young NBA and Magic said basically the same thing during the NCAA championships.
@@brasco96wired67 Yeah and that surprised me because players have put Larry Bird down this year but he didn't verbally retaliate. He continues to put the young people up even when they put him down. And Magic is Magic. Both of them are still trying to save the NCAA and NBA.
@@wishingb5859 I don't think Bird cares what ppl say about him. He didn't care what people said when he was a player. He let his game speak for itself. Bird knows that if he played in todays NBA that he would dominate.
I’m sorry but I have to correct you. When Bird joined the Boston Celtics they were not a top team. They had finished dead last year before. In fact Larry’s rookie year they won as many games as they had the past two years combined
To be fair about it, when Larry Bird joined the Boston Celtics, they had only won 29 games the previous season. They were in no way one of the top teams at that time. ...and in Larry Bird's first season with them, he took them from winning 29 games the previous season to winning 61. That's right, he more than doubled their number of wins.
I think the voting went like that because a lot of people felt that Kareem was the 1 that was carrying the Lakers! Magic was good but still learning.... It wasn't until.....i think it was the 6th game in the playoffs that Magic showed how great he could be! But any performances in the playoffs are not considered when they vote.
The Celtics weren’t one of the top teams when Bird joined them. They were one of the worst teams in the previous season. His first season they won 61 games.
No. the Celtics were a losing team before him and after he left and the season he couldn't play because of injuries. Before Larry arrived Celtics 29 wins 53 losses 1st year with Larry being the only difference 61 wins 21 losses made it into the Eastern Conference finals Next year, won the finals 62 wins 20 losses. The year he sat out 42 wins 40 losses The year after he retired 32 wins 50 losses and that type of losing record continued for the next 8 years.
I saw Larry play over 20 times at the old Boston Garden. He played every game like it was the playoffs. He had enough great plays in every game to make a highlight reel. Love your enthusiastic reaction to the most entertaining player ever.
He was always the best guy on the team even as a rookie
He was the best
Enjoyed watching him while I was growing up
I can only imagine must’ve been great!!
When he was a student at Indiana State University, he went to be a PE teacher and did his student teaching and was the assistant baseball coach at West Vigo High School. I graduated from West Vigo in 1998!
I love Larry Legend!!
Bird is now and has always been my number one guy.
Every player since should thank Bird and Magic for making their career possible
Larry is still my favorite player ever. Basketball was so much fun to watch back then. Nearly every game was won at the buzzer and often at buzzer after buzzer in double overtime games where the best of the best players nailed it over and over again.
Magic & Bird saved the NBA. If you watch todays games compared to the 80’s & 90’s you can almost fall asleep. No defense-you can’t even touch the guy! It’s like ten guys running up & down the court shooting unimpeded! Those Celtics games were hand sweaters. It was basketball with a little football added! You can show highlights and tell stories about Bird unlike any other player other than The Pistol! Almost 30 years later the Great black players are opening up about how good Bird really was! uTubers are making a living showing Bird stories and clips now. Every week there’s a new Bird story or an old one shown again!
I was a huge Larry Bird fan. I live in Ohio but I subscribed to the Boston Globe so I could read about them. I was just happy to be alive and watching when they played. No way did Pistol Pete retire because of that statement. He was an amazing player in his own right and would never leave because of some trash talk. Larry will always be my number 1 choice for Goat. Followed by Magic, Michael, Russell and Marovich.
Bird's passing of the basketball is why I fell in love with the game. Magic was a great passer but Bird was seen as a great scorer and shooter and some of the passes Bird made just took your breath away. I once heard a description of Bird as a "swiss army knife because Bird has every tool and every trick your team needs and knows when and how to use them to make his team better and win" . Bird in his first 9 years in games played = Boston won 534 games and lost 177 of the 711 games for a win % of 75.1% and this was in the stronger Eastern conference. The best story?? Maybe the one before the 3 point shoot out at the all star game where Bird walks in amongst the best shooters in the world and asks them who is coming in 2nd because he was going to win = and then does it 3 years in a row!!!
I love that! Bird & a Swiss army knife.....that describes Bird perfectly!
Larry is the man 4 sure
I'm not a big basketball fan but I got into this video and Mr Duffy's commentary.
Thanks so much!!
Pistol Pete retired because of his knees and friction with the coach.
Bird and Pete had great respect for each other. And continued to.
Maravich joined the Celtics halfway through Bird's rookie season.
Larry & Magic came in together in ‘79. They were co-captains on the 1992 Dream Team. 11 future Hall of Famers. Everyone was glued to their TVs whenever they played. Beautiful basketball like you’ve never seen. I watch the documentary often and it takes me back to how I felt then. Pls check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Last time both Larry and Magic played. What no one realized at the time, was how basketball would affect the planet. Larry and Magic saved the NBA!
Larry would be best player today in this soft ass era
Easily!
Dončić is lke a VERY watered down version of Bird and he dominates. Bird would destroy these soft whiny generation!
Bird is my favorite.
Very very fun video.
Those Magic/Bird ads on tv were hilarious to me.
"Who is Jack Givens "? Exactly
Larry. Hoosier born. Simple as this. GOAT
Pistol Pete's knees were shot in 1980, he was a shadow of the player he'd been -- but even as a shadow he shot .667 from 3 point range that year. I wish he'd managed to hang on for one more season. He never won an NBA championship, and if he'd held on (even as a bench player) for the next season he'd have gotten a ring to cap off his career.
Great story, but there is no “best” Larry Bird story because there are just so many. I’m a lifelong Celtics fan for over 60 years and I was fortunate to have seen most of his games and I can’t pick one favorite story, again because there are so darn many. One of my favorites though, and you didn’t know it while he was playing because you couldn’t hear what he was saying when you saw him yapping during the game, was that he would get legitimately irritated when the opposing coach would assign a white guy to guard him. He viewed this as “disrespecting his game” because he felt that no white player possessed the necessary speed, quickness, jumping ability or athleticism to effectively guard him. So when you saw him what looked to be yapping at the opposing bench as he ran by was actually him giving the coach hell for putting a white guy on him. There are also many, many stories of him telling the guy guarding him as they came out of a timeout exactly what they were going to do, where on the floor he was going to get the ball, how many dribbles he was going to take, then point out the spot on the floor where he was going to shoot from and tell the guy he was going to bury the shot in his face. Then they would run the play just like he described and he would bury the shot in his face. One of a kind.
Ahahaha that is so awesome 😂😂😂 they don’t make Em like they used to thats for sure!
Not done before or since.....to have the confidence and skills to back it up
Magic was so pissed off that Larry won rookie of the year that he went out and had his most dominant game ever in the NBA finals. Great competitor.
Always leave my Hellman’s Mayo laying around on the couch 🛋️
The commercial brought them together
Larry Bird was/is the goat!
I would recommend reacting to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals documentary. It’s all about their similarities and differences-one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s an hour and a half so most reactors break it down to 3 or 4 parts. I enjoyed the reaction and your commentary.
That’s a great idea thanks Lisa !! 😃
I 2nd that
14:25 That's the difference between then and now.
at that time, the Celtics were just a few years past epic greatness and had hit an epic low, but the name still meant something and Red Auerbach was still in charge.
FYI my friend Bird came in after the Celtics worst season-last place! Michele did come in with him.
That was fun! 😊
When Bird retired, I watched the NBA for a few years until MJ retired, haven't watched it since the the level of play isn't as good and it's to political. Long live the 80's NBA it was the best!!
Loved the 90's, but the 80's was definitely the Golden Era of the NBA. The amount of HOF's from that era is incredible.
@@deihorus7927 It was so fun to watch in the 80's. I guess the NBA in the 70's was on hard times, at least that's what I heard. Celtics/Lakers rivalry was amazing in the 80's.
Most Bird stories are amazing. Luka is piling up some good stories too now. Has anyone asked about that large jar of mayo on the back of the couch? Maybe I have OCD. Good Bird vid.
Magic is always so gracious. He never tried to throw shade on Bird's greatness.
During the NCAA championships this year, I noticed that both Magic and Larry are trying to get their generation fans and players to support the young people coming in. Larry asked straight out to stop throwing shade on the young NBA and Magic said basically the same thing during the NCAA championships.
@@wishingb5859 I think they both want the league that they helped build to be strong for future generations.
@@brasco96wired67 Yeah and that surprised me because players have put Larry Bird down this year but he didn't verbally retaliate. He continues to put the young people up even when they put him down. And Magic is Magic. Both of them are still trying to save the NCAA and NBA.
@@wishingb5859 I don't think Bird cares what ppl say about him. He didn't care what people said when he was a player. He let his game speak for itself. Bird knows that if he played in todays NBA that he would dominate.
I’m sorry but I have to correct you. When Bird joined the Boston Celtics they were not a top team. They had finished dead last year before. In fact Larry’s rookie year they won as many games as they had the past two years combined
Subscribed for the mayonnaise 😃
To be fair about it, when Larry Bird joined the Boston Celtics, they had only won 29 games the previous season. They were in no way one of the top teams at that time.
...and in Larry Bird's first season with them, he took them from winning 29 games the previous season to winning 61. That's right, he more than doubled their number of wins.
Great video as all Bid videos are. But I have a question: what's up with the jar of Mayo on the couch? It's been there for a while.
I happen to like mayo w avocado & serrano peppers 😉😉😉
@@alnavarijo2100 LOL...watch the fat though!
Celtics were not good the year before Larry came in, he was good enough to show his worth as a rookie and the legend began.
Can you imagine if they were on the same team for their careers?
I think the voting went like that because a lot of people felt that Kareem was the 1 that was carrying the Lakers! Magic was good but still learning.... It wasn't until.....i think it was the 6th game in the playoffs that Magic showed how great he could be! But any performances in the playoffs are not considered when they vote.
Kareem was league MVP in Magic's rookie year.
Bird made a bigger difference.
Larry, please talk to Caitlan Clark.
That's a weird way to advertise mayonnaise, lol
It's only arrogance if you can't back it up.
Why do u have mayo in background come on man damn
Isn't that better than having blow stuck in your nose hairs?
The Celtics weren’t one of the top teams when Bird joined them. They were one of the worst teams in the previous season. His first season they won 61 games.
Mayonnaise? Why?
😂😂😂😂
That was amazing basketball! Today? unwatchable!
Bat in the cave.
No. the Celtics were a losing team before him and after he left and the season he couldn't play because of injuries.
Before Larry arrived Celtics 29 wins 53 losses
1st year with Larry being the only difference 61 wins 21 losses made it into the Eastern Conference finals
Next year, won the finals 62 wins 20 losses.
The year he sat out 42 wins 40 losses
The year after he retired 32 wins 50 losses and that type of losing record continued for the next 8 years.
They were in last place the year before(in the division). They were not the top team.
When Bird joined the Celtics they were one of the worse teams in the league !! Bird turned them around immediately.