I am not a sports fan but after watching some Larry Bird videos, Kevin McHale's name kept coming up and I realized I remembered that name. Johnny Most the announcer with the voice, Bird to McHale and he score! Coming out of my Grandfather's.
When Bird was drafted he was the only addition to a team that went 29 - 53. The Rookie season he took them to a 61 - 21 season. Jordan didn't do that, LeBron didn't do that, simply put Bird is the G.O.A.T.
@@playoffl36ron8 he’s not, he’s just stating facts. No other player in the NBA has turned their team around like that in the first year. And while you (and the other social media hoop pundits) love to bring up accolades, but Bird also had a winning record against Jordan in both Regular & Postseason. Yeah Jordan went to the playoffs but let’s not act like we all didn’t know he had no motion until 91
@@jeffelkins1905 Have another one, you deserve it. 👍 People today won't normally listen to anything about or watch anything about Bird. They KNOW he's no good. They've been told over and over that he can't be. It's well known that he was a great shooter but that's all most people know. They believe the lies about him. He's white and unathletic. He couldn't do what he did if he was a bad athlete. When they finally watch him put the best to shame, it blows their minds. Larry was a badass.
The last year Larry Bird played, his back hurt so bad, he couldn't sit on a chair during games. He had to lay on his stomach when he was taken out of games. It got so bad that network announcers frequently wondered, on air, how Larry could play on such a bad back...
There is a quote from Pat Riley that I love. "If I needed to pick someone to make a shot to win a game, I would pick MJ. If I needed to pick someone to make a shot to save my life, I would pick Larry."
@@davemartino5997 the internet killed originality. Click on a Jordan video, and see if you can make it 5 comments down before you see "Poetry in motion." I'm like half of you wouldn't know what poetry was if Shakespeare himself was writing it for you.
Meaning he would pick Jordan to win something important, he would pick Bird to win something even more important, something where a miss can't even be contemplated
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.
This is by far one of the greatest sport's stories I've ever heard! Here he is just a high schooler who is doing these unimaginable fetes with a basketball. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I love hearing guys speak about Bird. When a man like Kareem says Larry played the game in his head as a superior basketball intelligence you can't top it. Kareem is one of the great intellectuals to ever play the game so coming from him that may be the greatest compliment I've heard.
Kareem wasn't the leader, Magic was, And the #1 LAKER was Kobe most say...but actually it's Magic...the guy that owned BIRD two out of three FINALS and in College at Michigan St., JORDAN defeated BIRD, Magic and ISAIAH as a amateur in 1984, was froze outta the all-star game cause he was already on their level like LUKA with LeBron
@@etxsports5836 Jordan is not in the conversation with the other greats because he's on a level of his own. You can't say Magic owned Bird but that his team won. They were both great and did more for basketball than any players other than Jordan.
@@etxsports5836 how many times did a Jordan led Bulls team beat a Bird led Celtics team in the playoffs? Magic never owned Bird and vice versa. But they lived rent free inside each other's heads for a while.
Larry Bird is the one guy in history that makes you appreciate stuff like defending a 1 vs 3 fastbreak, pretending to leave one wing open, then suddenly reaching for the steal, just tipping it to the teammate and start rushing downcourt for the counter fastbreak. Amazing stuff, basketball mind at its absolute, bar-none ultimate finest.
Its true. Its good he wasn't focused on 1v1 defense and wasn't sticking to guys like a winter coat since their teammates wouldn't pass to them if they were guarded. He could lure them into passing to his man so he could pick it off cause he had great reflexes and anticipation. He usually guarded the ball, not the the opponent
@@CoolCoyote COYOTE IF US OLDER GUYS (I'M RETIRED) DON'T LET YOU YOUNGER FANS KNOW ABOUT THE GREATS OF YESTERDAY YOU MIGHT NEVER KNOW! I'M NOT AGAINST THE GREAT PLAYERS NOW! I JUST WANT THOSE THAT MISSED OUT ON THE GREATS BEFORE YOU WERE OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE APPRECIATED THEM LIKE I DO! BASKETBALL IS A GREAT SPORT & SHOULD BE LOVED & APPRECIATED FOR THE GAME FIRST BECAUSE IF YOU DO IT THAT WAY YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHO THE ALL-TIME GREATS REALLY ARE!
@@CoolCoyote COOL THE RULES WERE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME! IT WAS THE ENFORCEMENT THAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE ESPECIALLY THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SAID RULES! IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN UP TO THE OFFICIALS TO MAKE THE CALL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER! THAT BEING SAID AFTER MAGIC & BIRD MJ WAS REALLY THE ONLY NBA SUPER SUPERSTAR (ALL OF THE PREVIOUS SUPERSTARS WERE RETIRED). SO THEY REALLY HAD TO PROTECT HIM! I CONTEND THAT IS WHEN THE OFFICIALS WERE INSTRUCTED TO ADMINISTER THE RULES MORE STRINGENTLY THAN BEFORE. A LEAGUE WITHOUT MJ WAS NOT MUCH LEAGUE AT ALL! THE NBA HAS NEVER REALLY RECOVERED. AND I BELIEVE NEVER WILL! WITHOUT TRUE DEFENSE THEN WE DON'T HAVE REAL BASKETBALL! ALL I KNOW IS THAT I"M REALLY JONESING FOR THE BASKETBALL FROM THE 60'S 70'S 80'S & 90'S. A HONEST TO GOODNESS BASSETBALL JONES! LMAORHROF! MULTIPLE TIMES FOR SURE!
@@CoolCoyote I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. I DEFINITELY QUIT WATCHIING THE REGULAR SEASON GAMES & REALLY DIDN'T GO OUT OF MY WAY TO WATCH THE PLAYOFFS EITHER! I HAVE CAUGHT ENOUGH GAMES & HIGHLIGHTS TO KEEP ME FROM WATCHING MORE! WHAT I MISS MOST IS THE POST PLAY BY KAREEM BILL RUSSELL TIM DUNCAN HAKEEM BILL WALTON SHAQ DAVE COWENS PARISH WILLIS REED ETC. AS FOR GOLF I WAS AN EARLY MEMBER OF ARNIE'S ARMY SO I HATED JACK FOR A WHILE UNTIL HE WAS OLDER & ME TOO! LOVED LEE TREVINO & CHI CHI NOT TO MENTION FREDDIE COUPLES. JUST BEFORE TIGER ARRIVED I HITCHED MY WAGON TO PHIL MICKELSON & LOVE THE DUDE TILL THIS DAY! LOVING ARNOLD LIKE I DO JACK & TIGER ARE THE GREATEST GOLFERS IN MY LIFETIME! BUT MY FAVORITE WILL ALWAYS BE ARNOLD PALMER! PHIL MICKELSON IS SECOND FOR ME. DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FOOTBALL WE MIGHT BE HERE FOR A WEEK OR THREE!
He is right there, for sure. But ..... regrettably, his back wore down (and achilles) and it curtailed his career and prime. Same for Elgin Baylor a generation before (knees).
You are a fucking idiot. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the greatest in the history of basketball. Bird isn't even the greatest Bostic Cetlic, Bill Russell is the greatest Bostic Celtic.
Just watched Larry pass to a man under the basket to take a shot, when he could have done it, the man missed Larry was there to tip it back to the player for a second shot.
LeBron constantly gripes for not getting enough credits for the first 3 quarters. I wonder why? Oh Bird said it best. The 4th Quarter separates the grown men from the boys. Noone cares about 7-10 assists or 28 points if you can't do it the ENTIRE 4th Quarter!
Let's not talk about the fact that Bird played against Jordan, Magic, Malone, Barkley, Dominique, Isaiah, etc. And who is LeBron playing against? And it was much more rough back then...
Jeremiah Henley Also Bird Avg 7 Assist a Game,10.5 Rebounds ,24.6 Points a Game ,Around 1.7 Steals a Game ,A Block a Game ,Shot over 50 Percent From The Field ,Around 40 Percent From The 3pt Line ,And Almost 90 Percent From FT Line ,Also Bird Would have Avg 27 or 28 Game For His Career He Got Hurt and His Last 2 or 3 Seasons Were Good But Like Kobe It Brought There Career Avg Down Kobes went Down To 25 Points a Game From 28 or 27.8 For His Career same With Bird His Was Brought Down To 24.6 Points a Game From 27 .Larry Bird is Top 5 All Day Long or U could argue a Goat if U wanted Better than Lebron James ,I would want At PG Magic ,G Jordan,C Kareem ,PF Tim Duncan ,F Larry Bird .
Bro, you are on it! Larry Brid was the truth. Three-time league MVP and three-time NBA Champion. They don't give you trophies because you are white, you have to earn it! Boston wanted to make him the "Great White Hope" and he wasn't even down with that at all and I have a lot of respect for that! He was not down with playing that race card, he hated it. He actually learned to play with black players and he always gave them credit for letting him play the game with them. I'm black but it's not about race it's about Bird's ability to ball out! Larry Bird was legit and one of the best of all time. Even Michael Jordan has Larry Bird in his top five all time. Reggie Miller would take Bird over LeBron James to start a team. Some people just don't understand how insane Bird was back then! All you have to do is spend a few hours watching videos on Larry Bird and the case is closed! Larry Bird was for real!
Bill Russell was the reason for me, but When Larry joined the team, WOW. Bird was the best basketball show in the history of the N B A. Nobody ever will match Larry Joe’s abilities on the court especially in the clutch
Remember the fonze in the water boy? Lolol. That hermaphrodite crap is prince hall sell out bathtub crap. Few of u know what I'm sayin. Welcome to baphomet 101. I've watched this video tons. Bird was the best. Skill. Any dumb arse 6ft 8 can dunk. When your shooting down at the hoop it's allot easier and bigger. Give me the guy who can break your heart with world class defense on him while he calls exactly what he's gonna do to you verbatim. I was a good point guard. But a wild spaz. Bird was the best to ever lace up. Ppl forget how MJ was seen as a ball hog in the 80s. He learned how to be a team player. But ppl like kurr and paxson hit clutch shots. I'll not forget the shot over ehlo. Then fist pumps. But bird hit more clutch shots in 1 game vs L.A. or the ATL hawks then MJ hit his entire career. 0-6 vs bird. 2 sweeps. Don't wanna hear about teams bird took indiana st to the game by himself. 33-0
@RED VOODOO good point. But when u can jump 51" what skills do u need? Jordan was 0-6 against bird in the playoffs. 2 sweeps. Bird was young won it all 2 yrs n. Conference finals as a rookie. Jordan was a ball hog and bully. The gambling is n/a really. Jordan hit about 5 memorable clutch shots. Bird hit 50 like it. Reggie miller hit more clutch shots than mj. So has curr. You can argue mj had no one till pippen. But jordan didn't win a single ring against the 80s best teams of all time. Didn't even make the finals. U used iverson. That's perfect. Another ball hog. U can't win it all w/o a team. But that includes being a team player. Knowing how. It was paxon and ker who hit the other game winners. For boston it was always bird. If you'd said greatest athlete we would have no debate. That brings wilt into it. Agree? Jordan could have been the greatest ever. But he wasn't. Magic beat bird twice with a better team. Yet even then that shot looked good. Jordon beat magic though. Bird is the only one to have beaten all those 80s teams. No other can say that. Jordan is top 5 either way. Bird magic kareem jordan and 5 is a long argument. Kareem also has 6 rings. Magic 5 and 9 appearances. 6 and 0 is overrated. Lebron has 9. Is he better than anyone else i mentioned? No. Jordan took 3 yrs to even beat the bad boys.
There were jordan rules. Take everyone else out. Force him to shoot jumpers don't allow him to the rim mug him. 0-6 vs boston for that. Iverson same thing. Ppl forget how good the 76ers were. Bird beat down irving 42-6 in points one game. Called his shots. The bucks were awesome also. U know the rest. From 84-91 jordan was an ofor. In his prime magic 1on1 would've beaten jordan. Bird? No. But that's not in the game plans. He did shoot in his face during both series though.
@Robin Scheines:Larry only loses to Jordan in JUMPING ability!! Thats IT!! Nobody revised ONE rule to help Bird win a title!! Jordan needed this done to beat Detroit.
@P0lkoli; thats because Jordan was a shameless showboat who attempted 30 shots each game,so he was BOUND to score 40% of them like he did!! Bird was on the other and in this for the TEAM so he didn't NEED to try and score SEVENTY points in a contest,though he did score SIXTY once!!!! Like I SAID:Bird SHOT better,not MORE!! I've seen footage of Bird hitting all NETS shooting from BEHIND the backboard!! But Jordan would've never defeated Detroit if Stern had not REVISED the RULES for him,when he eliminated hand-checking,zone defenses and invented a blocking foul to assist Jordan,and prevent him from retiring and costing the League TENS of millions,as he insinuated after the 1990 Conference Finals!! A man with class like George Gervin didn't just RUN-up his stats every game,like for example,in a game against Dallas,he had scored 35 points by the start of the 2nd quarter and quietly finished-out the game with 45 points!! When you KNOW you've got it,you don't HAVE to boast-------------ON it!! Jordan was just TACKY!!
@@SuperDetroit9 Making 40% of 30 shots is great in my opinion. Jordan made 50%. And they didn't change the handchecking rule until 1998. Jordan also won Detroit and 3 titles before any alleged rule changes. Don't you think that if a player makes 50% of his shots, he can take as many shots as he wants?
Loved it. Took an hour out of my hectic week to watch this on a Saturday morning and I'm glad I did. Helped me relive some great memories, remember how much of an influence Bird was for me in how I practiced and modeled my game growing up, how much of that I have passed on to players I've coached over the years. I guess what I love best about Bird was how he played the game. It was a beautiful thing and I'm glad I'm old enough to have seen it as it happened. Bird and Magic. They made the game of basketball beautiful. And Magic at the end of that retirement night clip- that's the hope for what sports can bring into the world: respect for a worthy opponent. Bird and Magic couldn't have been more different in a lot of ways but they saw the beauty in each other. I don''t know about the whole GOAT conversation, it's kind of silly really, but I can say this: Jordan may have been the most spectacular individual athlete in the history of the game (Wilt is on a different planet). The stars who have modeled their game after his do remarkable things but the game is not more beautiful because of his influence. I hope before I die I see more stars emerge who love the pass as much as the bucket, who excel in all facets of the game so they can win in multiple ways and who teach a new generation how beautiful the GAME can be. There have been a few- Rondo gave me some hope- and I've seen a few clips of Josh Giddy that make me, well giddy. I don't know if anyone reads this but thanks for the post.
To all those people who think that Bird would make those plays without great athleticism, understand that it takes great athleticism to make those plays.
Athleticism and awareness and confidence to take chances. Jordan had it too, esp in the Utah series where he stripped Malone and killed Utah's last chance in that game.
Thank you for posting this - it has a lot of clips that I have not seen before! Bird had quite an arsenal of weapons and was truly gifted with court vision and ambidexterity. His desire to win and make big plays seemed to be in his DNA. He was the first player to ever post a 50/40/90 season ( shooting percentages ) and really did make his teammates better. He didn't care about stats - just wanted to win. Seems like everybody that played on Larry's teams loved him as a teammate and that says a lot about the man and the player!
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
He's #1 in my heart and books. He didn't have the athleticism but he had a genius basketball mind, was an incredible leader and had a killer instinct to finish. In the mid 80's, no player was better!
Why do people say he wasn't athletic? To steal an inbound pass with 1 second to go, and make a perfect pass before falling out of bounds, takes amazing athleticism. Jumping high doesn't score you points. It doesn't even get you rebounds, positioning does.
I don’t get the “not athletic” thing! I mean, the guy was 6’9” and could dribble behind his back, pass in any direction, had soft but strong hands, could use either hand to shoot, pass and dribble, could shoot a 3 or rough it up inside, layup right or left hand fro either side of the basket... Not athletic??? Just cause he’s white, he got that tag. Racist comments - Cedrick Maxwell said so.
@@alowl he will tell you himself he wasn't athletic. He didn't have ups often he could get up but not something he did alot. He also didnt have alot of agility or ran very fast , didn't really have handles and never really took guys off the dribble. So it's not like he no athletisms but overall he was not athletic
Has anyone ever complied who won the most games in the final minutes of a game? Larry Bird did it so many times it's ridiculous. I don't know if there is such a stat and how long it's been tracked, but from what I've seen he seems to be the leader by a wide margin.
I will always say Bird is the greatest all around Basketball player ever, and it really isn't close. When you think about the things he was able to do with zero athletic ability lol, it's truly astonishing. I'm a Laker fan and Magic and Kobe are my guys, but Bird was flat out scary. He had no flaws in his game. He was LeBron before LeBron. That three year span from 84 to 86 was just out of this world. Also one of the toughest guys to ever play. Given the chance, I'd take Bird over anyone to start a team.
I think the only player who was even close was Arvydas Sabonis, mJ was the most fun to watch but like LeBron his fame is fake because it is far to assisted by the referees to be considered real. Even magic joked once when him Bird and MJ were shooting promo photos for the Dream Team, saying to Bird, some thing to the effect of, "now, don't get to close to em cause they'll call a foul on ya" and magic made real shameless use of 666 when there's no reason to say AOK
To say he had zero athletic ability is just plain silly, can you dunk the ball, and in the 4th when athletic stamina comes out he was the undisputed leader because he put the work in. In all other aspects of your comment I agree with you.
Bird before the back injury was ridiculous. He was the smartest player ever, Basketball's Bobby Fisher. He killed my Lakers and broke my heart many a nights. I love him anyway.
No doubt. I put this man above MJ. Can score from anywhere, more offensive weapons, better outside shot, free throw master, grab boards, superior passer, playmaker, higher career defensive rating, this dude did it all. If he weren't playing hurt in 82, 83, 85, and 87 who knows how many more titles he would have led Boston to.
+Strong Trillon Magic couldnt play defense nearly as well as Bird or MJ could...MJ was the best defender in the game from 87-93...Bird when healthy was one of the most underrated defensive players in history and averaged slightly more steals and more blocks than James averages despite playing almost a 3rd of his career in agonizing pain which limited his effectiveness/mobility, and if hed had James athleticism he probably would have been the best def player this side of Bill Russell.....
jaranarm actually the real fact Michael Jordan never beat Larry Bird On a playoff games 6times Larry Bird score 61 points against Michael Jordan on Playoffs game's that's why Larry Is the Real Deal...
dp233332 Magic Johnson is the best PG to ever play. Jordan is the best SG to ever play and Larry Bird is easily the best white guy to ever play. I put them all on the same level because they were winners. Period.
What made Larry so great, and what made so many other players so great, wasn't being all around, being such a lethal shooter, no, not even being one of the best passing and rebounding forwards in NBA history. It was the fact that Bird had the basketball IQ, the competitive drive, and just sheer will, that made MJ so great, made Magic so great, what allowed Russel to win 11 rings.
Jordan didn't have the basketball IQ of Bird or Magic. Superior physical skills, couldn't win in the 80's because he was unable to elevate average teams. Improved the same Bulls of the year b4 he arrived by 2 games. Bird improved Celts 21 games rookie year, same team b4 he arrived, n Magic won a championship as a rookie. Jordan won nothing till the 90's, NBA weakened by 6 expansion teams, and the addition of Pippen, Horace Grant, then Rodman. MJ was a Spectacular player, yes, but no way is he "The GOAT." Scored 63 and lost. That has to be a record.
Nobody wins alone. It's a five man game, and without the right other 4 players on the floor, you don't win. Larry was great. But he didn't do it alone.
@@TheFDrScAnLoN you suck and have no idea bird and magic dominated the 80s and Jordan did in the 90s two different eras and to say Jordan isn't won of the Goat (s)in NBA history your stupid and don't need to make anymore comments
@@TheFDrScAnLoN watch that game closely watch how many failures Jordan’s gets away with he the ones he gets in his favor. Take that away he would’ve scored maybe low 50s
Bird inside, outside, post up, run the floor, right handed, left handed, pass off to a teammate and game-winnng shot. Whatever it took to win. Too bad his body broke down.
Agreed!!! If Bird played in this soft and weak NBA today he would be off the chain as well as he would probably be able to play 18 to 20 plus seasons... People fail to realize how physical the game was during Bird's years of play as well as every team had a shot blocker and ge still proved exceptional...
Yeah. But birds hustle also did it too him. He always mopped the floor with his body jumping for a loose ball and that's something that would not change.
As a boy growing up in French Lick, it was always awe inspiring hearing about Larry Bird. In the basketball gymnasium they have there, hanging in the rafters is his jerseys, all of them signed. His boyhood home was right next to mine, and all the neighbors had stories about watching him driving his dad's old car to school everyday, and when it was broken down, he'd be walking downhill dribbling two basketballs
Totally believable. Love hearing stuff like this about sports legends. So glad I got to witness Bird's entire career too. One special dude. Thanks for sharing this.
@Kevbot What's cool about Larry is despite all his fame, he never lost his blue-collar ways. Unfortunately, it was his blue-collar pride that did irreparable damage to his back, when one summer/off-season he decided to lay down black top for his mother's driveway BY HIMSELF vs. hiring a crew to do it (which he could have easily afforded). But, that was just Larry. True to his roots.
LARRY BIRD IS THE GOAT!! SMOOTHEST SHOT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL PLAYING AT A TIME WHERE THIS GAME WAS TOUGH AND BRUTAL UNLIKE TODAY'S GAME! !!!
LARRY BIRD THE ALL TIME GOD OF BASKETBALL. God level at EVERY aspect of the game. Owned it like noone else ever has or will. This is the greatest, most comprehensive, best video on LB that I have ever seen . Congrats on this masterpiece. One of the best I've seen out of hundreds of docs on YT. Thank you for this! I hope everyone shares this....especially with younger people. They need to know the truth. Corporate America is always trying to push hype on the public over substance and facts. LB is such an inspiration to watch and study. Not just about basketball and sports , but about life and being all you can be as an individual ( and a team player too).
Actually, they lost Len bias *and* Reggie Lewis prematurely. If Boston could have developed that talent along side their HoF front court, they would have made much better use of the second half of Bird’s career. I don’t know if they would have beat MJ’s bulls, but would have been in the mix.
@@muhdewd9727 this is all theorycraft now but imho Bird AND Bias would have terrorized the east for more years. The first victim would have been the pistons, but with Bias, Bird could have avoided his leg-foot injuries and extended his prime 3 more years. That first Bulls title might have never been a reality.
Great video. Thank you for helping me with memories. Both MJs were better athletes, but The Legend was a better basketball player. Thanks for the video - well done.
Thanks for showing these youngins that bird is the best small forward. Ever to play sorry LeBron but Larry was the man he would get in LeBron head Jordan and bird the two tuffest mentally players ever
My observation of Bird having watched his career in its entirety is this.. For the first 45 minutes of the game he was really good, for the last 3 minutes he was simply the best... There is no player ever, past or present, who I would rather give the ball to with the game on the line than Larry Joe Bird. His whole purpose for playing the game was for those moments... And boy did he deliver...time after time!!!!!
No doubt Larry Legend is the best SF ever but he was anything but small. Bird was listed at 6’9” and that height was measured with his shoes off. Nowadays they measure players with their shoes on which would put Larry over 6’10”. Plus Larry had some beef on those bones as a pro.
Remember watching Bird play the passing the shooting the defense the way he played the ultimate closer and my favorite player all time. My opinion this guy was the goat 13 seasons of joy and I even rooted for the pacers when he coached them. Amazing basketball mind!!! Larry Legend my choice as the GOAT!
I think about it, Magic said Larry was a friend for life, I haven't heard 1 Celtic say they hated Bird on or off the court, that's amazing because I heard it about a lot of ' GOATs '. Players, coaches, fans hated that Bird was going to beat their team if Bird has a chance or the Celtics would run you out the building, but they all respect Bird, I'd say that's a living legend, I wonder what team would have tried to trade for Bird if he was in this ERA and in his prime, I bet every team would
Best compilation and story telling I've seen yet on Larry Bird. Great job man. I had never seen so much footage of his college years. That was a real bonus. With the ending you really caught the heart of a great man.
And remember everyone, there is NO 3-point line/shot in college basketball when Bird and Magic played. I shudder to think what his stats would've been had there been. The 1980's was the greatest time to be alive if you liked BB.
Steve Mccart Pete also shot a terrible 44% on 40 shots a game! Larry shot 55% on 24 attempts and averaged on 13 points less a game. I’m sure if Larry shot 16 more shots a game he could have mustered up 13 more points. Pistol was very very inefficient in college
@@djLagwayEnjoyerUmm.. that's not how it works. Do you think Mitchell Robinson would lead the NBA in scoring if he just took more shots? Also, was there any difference in competition between Missouri Valley Conference and the SEC? Dale Brown allegedly counted 13 three point makes per game for Maravich. That would have pushed him to 57 points per game. th-cam.com/video/zk-JJX2SRHc/w-d-xo.htmlm56s Bird would have had to almost double his average to reach that. Maravich only played one season with an NBA 3 point line. He shot 66%. Bird was a rookie the same year, he shot 40%, then didn't crack 30% for the next four years. He shot 37.6% for his career. Curry is at 43.5%
Pete m. 15948 pts 24.2 ppg 5.4 asst. 4.2 rebound per game. Larry bird 21791 pts. 24.3 ppg. 6.2 asst per game. 10 rebounds per game. Both great but the nod goes to bird.
How I loved to watch this man when he played! Partly because I love the Celtics, but more because of the way he played at such an unbelievable high level all the time. He made shots, passes, and rebounds that left you saying, “How did he do that?”
❤ the music selection with your video. My favorite player of all time. Larry played like he had fire in his veins. No one compares to him. Thank you for your video, so good to revisit the good old days!
I was lucky enough to see Bird and Magic in their prime. Both Incredible.... yet, Bird Hit Everything. Magic had a better supporting cast. Had it been even, supporting cast, Magic wouldn't have any head to head rings. What also gets lost is the genuine Love/Friendship he and Magic gained.
Come on! That's BS. Magic won at every level: high school, college, NBA, Olympics. Bird cannot say that! Magic was every bit Larry's equal when it came to making his teams winners. You Bird worshippers have to belittle his competition to make your boy look better. Magic owned Bird head to head--in college and NBA.
I try to believe that one of my top bucket list if I could ever be granted such, would be a day with Larry Bird on his home court just shooting buckets. Larry Bird is in my opinion the greatest basketball player that ever lived.
My nigga is My nigga yep playing softball diving for a fuckin ball, sounds about like bird, we kno his hustle and effort was far more superior than any player that’s ever played
As I recall, Bird broke his finger right before the national championship game with Michigan State. I wanna say that was in 1979, but not sure. Anyway, Magic and the other Spartans never got to see Larry Joe at full strength.... I was living in Indiana at the time and so, naturally, rooting for Indiana State. But they never really had a chance in that game.
Bird shattered the knuckle of his index finger on his shooting hand the summer prior to joining the Celtics, after he was done at ISU. He agreed to play in a softball game and who shows up for the other team but one of his own Brothers. Bird went all out trying to rob his own Brother of a hit and mangled his hand in the glove diving for the ball. He went to a local hospital and they wrapped it up. The next day they had to hunt Bird down after an actual Doctor looked at the X-Ray and get him to surgery immediately. Bird never reported the injury to the Celtics until he showed up his rookie year and he feared the Celtics were going to dump him over the injury and how it played out. Red gave him a ball and watched him sink a few jumpers consecutively and told Bird his finger was fine. The rest is History
Well done man. Really gives those that never saw him play and maybe wonder whether Larry really was that good a better idea that, hell yes, he was that good - and better. I’ve never seen and will likely never see anyone play better basketball than Bird in his prime. Larry Legend!
For me is truly the Best as he did more with less Physical Attributes and Yes, you nailed it with Jordan being 0-6 against Bird in the Playoffs..."not even one Jordan, not even one...." lol Beautiful. I'm surprised people don't realize this and the absolute great point you brought in as beating every single Best Black Player on his time (From Julius, Malone, Magic, Worthy, Cooper, Jordan, Pippen, Wilkins, Karl Malone, Olajuwon, you name it. INCREDIBLE STUFF from the Player I admire the most. Check the Video Bird Schools Jordan. That sums it up for me. Thanks Man. Respect as you don't see Colors just true talent
Thanks a lot...Bird was a hardwood assassin he just happens to be white and that's a hard pill to swallow for some...that's what makes Bird extra special the Basketball equivalent of Eminem or Big Pun people scratch they're heads and say wtf...he's not suppose to be that good at that!
"Jordan was 0-6 against Bird in the playoffs", Yeah AiR G.O. A. T. , was schooled by Larry Legend. Highest BB IQ, most clutch, and greatest team player ever. If you want your team to get a guaranteed Championship Ring out the gate. Bird would be your first pick, THEN Jordan. Look it up, fools.
0-6 in games. Two series both lost 3-0. Anyhow it was in the 2nd and 3rd of Jordan's seasons. Bird at his peak. Jordan learning and somewhat waiting for potential tea mates. Both are legends. Comparisons are futile. Just enjoy 2 of the best ever.
+Waughn reed Jr MJ won twice as much as Bird because he competed for rings during a far less competitive decade and had perfect health as well as perfectly healthy teammates...Until LA repeated in 88 no one had been able to do so since 1969...from 1988 on everyone who won the championship repeated as champs until the spurs failed to repeat in 2000...Meanwhile, what injuries did the Bulls have to overcome during MJs career?the 87 celtics lost their reigning 6th man of the yr to a broken foot for the entire season, had Kevin McHale playing on a broken foot throughout the postseason, and their entire starting lineup was playing thru pain...Larry Bird had 7 healthy seasons at best as a player in the NBA, and during that time he reached 5NBA finals, won 3 league MVPs in a row, and won 3 NBA titles...MJ needed 7seasons in order to win his 1st championship, and unlike Birds Celtics in 1984 who beat a Lakers team which featured 1 more HOFer than Boston featured, MJs championship winning Bulls consistently featured more HOFers/allstars/good-great players/solid role players with well defined roles than their playoff opponents. all the talk about how many great teammates Bird had is misleading because 1 it was a revolving door which constantly exchanged 1 good player for another, 2many were past their prime, not yet in it, or unable to remain in it due to injury/aging while teamed up with him, and 3 expansion hadnt yet diluted the talent pool, so when he found himself in the ECF or finals he often found himself against a deeper, healthier team...Its MJ who consistently had the advantages of better health, teammates, and coaches than his opponents...From 96-98 they were a team with 3 HOfers and a litany of outstanding roleplayers competing against playoffs/finals opponents who only had 2 HOFers and fewer/less outstanding role players.
The Celtics in 85 and 86 had wayyyyy better teams than the bulls had, that was before pippen and Jordan had almost no one on that team Celtics had a whole great starting 5, so that matchup really wasn't equal at all
Lebron has shot 5-47 in clutch situations, under 24 seconds left, 3 point spread. He freaks in the clutch while LB is the best clutch player to ever play.
Bird took a last place team to first in one year, and to a Championship in the second year. Jordan took 4 years just get to a winning season, and he came into a Bulls team with more talent than what was at Boston when Bird arrived. Bird makes his team better. If he isn't on the all-time team, then I'll take the second team with Bird, and beat the 1st team 60% of the time.
The fouls, falls, and slams Bird went through is sometimes hard to watch.. The pain he endured in the latter part of his career is awe inspiring..Bird was and is one bad dude
@@touristinfo6947 Honestly if Larry Bird had any athleticism at all it almost wouldnt be fair. He had to use his brain to outsmart every one because he had little to no athletic ability. Jordan was a smart player but no where near Bird smart...Jordan was prolly the most athletic basketball player ever...definitely the quickest his early years.
@@jdigitalseven7 ummm no.For passing to other players yes. Larry was smarter on that. But when double teamed Jordan would outsmart opponents with shooting skill manuevers.It was not just jumping ability.You still have to score and fake out .Not just pure athleticism but shooting skills with outsmarting maneuvers. Your argument claim is invalid...Thanks for playing.Try again. Larry even mentioned that Mike was the closest thing to God he saw.Words coming from Larry.Let that sink in a min.Mike was deceptive and intelligent in using his strength.Are you telling me it was pure athletic for him to turn around and shoot a ball blindly with ones view facing opposite of the court and swoosh is what you heard or shooting foul shots with his eyes closed.Try and explain that as athletic.You can't can you.Sit down....
Bird had a ton of pressure on him when he joined the Celtics and many of his teammates admitted that they doubted him. His talent and unquenchable desire took care of that.
And another fact no other player in the history of basketball played an entire game with the opposite hand! Larry is a natural right hander but played numerous times with his left hand just to prove he is the goat scoring at least 30. Tell me one other player ever that has done that!
He plays basketball right-handed, but he is actually left-handed in his personal life. He signs autographs with his left, for instance. Same with LeBron and numerous other athletes... Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks is left-handed but plays Hockey as a righty...
@@schizowallflower TRUE BUT HAVE YOU ACTUALLY WITNESSED ANY OTHER NBA PLAYER BE ABLE TO DO THAT NEARLY AS WELL AS THE BIRDMAN! IF YOU CAN'T ADMIT THAT THE VIDEOS THAT YOU & I ARE WATCHING (OR AT THE LEAST WHAT I WITNESSED EITHER IN PERSON OR LIVE ON TV). ARE TOTALLY AMAZING YOU ARE EXTREMELY CLOSE MINDED AND CAN'T ADMIT THAT SUPERSTARS OF THE PAST ARE BETTER THAN YOUR HEROES OF TODAY! OR AT LEAST AS GOOD! HEAVEN FORBID EVOLUTION MAY BE DEBUNKED! GO FIGURE.
@Mike Beasley true..was a helluva game..it was 3 quarters but he could did it for 4 quarters if he wanted to....Bird is my favorite player of all time but Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT. People dont realize how great Wilt was. He did things that were never done before or after him. You should go watch some videos on him. I would Take Wilt n Bird over Jordan anyday.
GREAT Video!! I had to honor or going to high school in French Lick, Indiana where Larry taught me more about the game of basketball and life than he will ever know. Thank you Larry.
Jordan was a pup then; brand new to the league. Bird was in his prime. The Bulls wouldn't have made it to the playoffs to face the Celtics those years if it wasn't for Jordan's singular efforts. Just like I don't dock Jordan for losing early in his career to the Celtics, I don't dock LeBron for his Cavs getting swept by the Spurs in 2007. Cavs wouldn't have had that opportunity if it weren't for the then 22 year old's ECF performance against the Pistons. But regardless: LeBron is not in my top 5 (not in my top 10 either; breaking a bunch of regular season records will likely get him in there). TOP 5 (not ranked)----Bill Russell....Kareem Abdul Jabbar....Larry Bird....Michael Jordan....Kobe Bryant
@@MrTurbo87lx Same can be said about MJ's 6 finals wins. He was in his prime and he had 2 hof's and possibly one of the greatest 3 pt shooters of all time and other decent players.
The Griffenn Look at the roster of the 86 Bulls. Not good. Granted, the 87 Bulls should have done better, but that's when the Celtics big 3 were in their prime. I do think Bird is the second greatest player of all time, but MJ has 6 titles, 5 MVPs, 6 Finals MVPs, 9 Defensive 1st team (probably the biggest difference), and 10 scoring titles (Bird had zero). MJ was a much better athlete and his shooting percentage was almost identical to Bird's. Love Bird, but MJ was better.
Can't use that as an argument for who's better. Bird clearly had the better teams during those series. That being said the 86 Celtics would beat Jordan's 72 win Bulls team 7 outta 10 times IMO.
I was fortunately able to see Bird played many times. Larry Bird was a cross between PISTOL Pete Maravich and John "HONDO" Havlicek. (i have seen these guys play as well) Funny thing is all of these players played for the Celtics either their entire career or a portion of their careers.
The real Celtics all time MVP? Red Auerbach. He knew which players to choose. Len Bias death just took the wind out of his sails, or the Celtics dominance would have continued. +Edward Pete Maravich was dying. We didn't know it at the time. I wish I could go back and watch all his games again, to see if his heart failure caused him to lose his explosive playing.
Not sure if he is the GOAT but... my god I love him and miss him soo much.... Im from Argentina and grown up watching Celtics and Lakers games in the 80`s the best of his era and my favorite player for sure... he made me a Celtics for life (sorry if my english its not good) Great work!!
Great English last time I saw Larry play was Nov 7th 1990, opening night. Boston Garden. He was slower and older then, but still a great player. 18 points 15 assist 9 rebound. Boa noite from Boston :D
They played so well together...most guys wouldn't expect the very strange shots Larry shot at them. They were an amazing team. He assisted, stole and passed amazingly. Such an amazing TEAM player.
As an aside, Jordan was incredible even though I refused to watch him out of respect for Larry retiring due to his back. Jordan won more - this is indisputable. Magic was incredible as well - you can get that information right from Larry's lips who said he was the best to ever play. I think Magic could have played defense if it ever was necessary. The west was so weak when Magic played. East Coast basketball was so much more physical than west coast basketball in the 1980's.
Nobody was better in the last half of the 4th quarter, bird was everywhere, shooting 3's , rebounding, steals, assists, layups, dunks . Rarely missing.
Dude these videos are EASILY the best on TH-cam I love how you edit these and put these together I'm showing these to my son to teach him about the legend thank you!!
When I think of Larry Joe Bird, I think of "Simple Man" by Lynryd Skynyrd. What I admire about Bird, besides his transcendent Basketball skills, is that he always speaks the unvarnished truth. He is such an admirable man!
For someone who ISN'T athletically gifted the least and is a typical country hick makes Larry Bird the most remarkable subject as GOAT. For me, he definitely is.
I grew up watching the Lakers. My family moved to L.A. from Milwaukee about a month after the Bucks traded Kareem to the Lakers. I was just starting to watch basketball at the time & was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to watch Kareem, but when my Dad was hired by ABC TV & told us we were moving to Los Angeles I was thrilled!! Milwaukee was the opposite of L.A.!! Milwaukee was impossibly cold (I'm talking about 10-20°f BELOW ZERO, on a regular basis) & snowy for about 5 months each year, L.A. was sorta cold for a few days each winter & every now & then it rained a little, but I soon discovered that in L.A. you never hafta shovel sunshine!! Plus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played there, so, I started watching the Lakers. By the time Magic came to the Lakers I was 13 & was a loyal Laker fan... when Bird went to the Celtic & they continued their rivalry, I didn't know that I was about to watch the greatest era the NBA will ever have, & the most intense rivalry in any sport anywhere, at any time. It was GLORIOUS!!
@fugerep:That play almost put me in a catatonic state! I was on the phone with my 1st girl Kim just talking about how the Pistons were going to FINALLY beat Boston,when suddenly:Isaiah inbounds to Laimbeer;Bird STEALS the ball!! BIRD steals the BALL!! Bird steals the ball and passes to D.J for the score!! Boston WINS,because Bird stole the ball!! I didn't speak again for 8 minutes,when my girl asked me if I was aright!! After receiving no response,she finally said:Cheer-up,Its not the end of the WORLD;its only a game;don't worry we will get them NEXT year!! I will NEVER forget how numb I felt when it actually happened!! That damn Larry Bird!!
I can see a sensible argument in Bird being #2 to #5 in the greatest ever, but not #1. Bird peaked in 1986 or so, Jordan peaked in 1991-93ish. Comparing their records against each other is not even reasonable. Looking at what they accomplished in their careers, it's not even close. Bird himself called jordan "god disguised as Michael Jordan". Magic proclaimed jordan the best player ever in 1993 and has stated it at least 20 times in different interviews. I'm gonna chalk your comment up to JuddTroll and leave it at that.
@@jonathonheyward6533 Your comment is accurate, but your final sentence was uncalled for. I'm gonna chalk your comment up to having a poor self image, so you put others down to make yourself feel better.
I never considered Bird to be the GOAT. But after thinking things over he could very well be just that. It's actually tough argue against that. He covered all bases at the highest level.
Kevin McHale (The Greatest Post Player in NBA History) th-cam.com/video/n4y6kJpXn38/w-d-xo.html
Fucking eh right!
I am not a sports fan but after watching some Larry Bird videos, Kevin McHale's name kept coming up and I realized I remembered that name. Johnny Most the announcer with the voice, Bird to McHale and he score! Coming out of my Grandfather's.
Thank you!!!
When Bird was drafted he was the only addition to a team that went 29 - 53. The Rookie season he took them to a 61 - 21 season. Jordan didn't do that, LeBron didn't do that, simply put Bird is the G.O.A.T.
Went to eastern conference finals rookie season. And win a championship in his first in his second year
you acting like jordan didn't lead his team to the playoffs and get selected all nba as a rookie, and ended up with the overall better career
@@playoffl36ron8 he’s not, he’s just stating facts. No other player in the NBA has turned their team around like that in the first year. And while you (and the other social media hoop pundits) love to bring up accolades, but Bird also had a winning record against Jordan in both Regular & Postseason. Yeah Jordan went to the playoffs but let’s not act like we all didn’t know he had no motion until 91
Dont ever put lebron in the same sentence has Bird and MJ . Cause lebron is not in the conversation of the goat.
@@jeffelkins1905 Have another one, you deserve it. 👍 People today won't normally listen to anything about or watch anything about Bird. They KNOW he's no good. They've been told over and over that he can't be. It's well known that he was a great shooter but that's all most people know. They believe the lies about him. He's white and unathletic. He couldn't do what he did if he was a bad athlete. When they finally watch him put the best to shame, it blows their minds. Larry was a badass.
People forget about Bird's toughness, he played every game like it was his last. Diving all over the place for loose balls sacrificing his body.
The last year Larry Bird played, his back hurt so bad, he couldn't sit on a chair during games. He had to lay on his stomach when he was taken out of games. It got so bad that network announcers frequently wondered, on air, how Larry could play on such a bad back...
We Celtics fans never forgot, and never will!
Bird one of the greatest
He literally broke his face one game and came back in to lead the team to victory
Go Celtics!!! I miss Bird playing! That's when basketball was exciting!
There is a quote from Pat Riley that I love. "If I needed to pick someone to make a shot to win a game, I would pick MJ. If I needed to pick someone to make a shot to save my life, I would pick Larry."
Oh you mean the quote thats on every Jordan and Bird video 10 times?
@@charlesdjones1 like the one quote that bird supposedly called Jordan God a million times ? Lmao
@@davemartino5997 the internet killed originality. Click on a Jordan video, and see if you can make it 5 comments down before you see "Poetry in motion." I'm like half of you wouldn't know what poetry was if Shakespeare himself was writing it for you.
@@davemartino5997 or the one when bird retired and MJ said good now maybe I can win a championship LMAO.
Meaning he would pick Jordan to win something important, he would pick Bird to win something even more important, something where a miss can't even be contemplated
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.
This is by far one of the greatest sport's stories I've ever heard! Here he is just a high schooler who is doing these unimaginable fetes with a basketball. Thank you for sharing this with us.
MAGIC IS SO GENEROUS & CLASSY... "He's the only guy I fear...the only guy who could beat me." WONDERFUL COMMENT!!
I was just going to say that, what a class-act. Both guys are something special.
Bird was the first one to reach out to Magic when he announced his illness.
Magic got moves from Pistol Pete Maravich... You're Welcome
Honest answer, should not be classified as generous & classy...?
Magic has way more class than MJ. Ain't even close.
To hear his peers almost unanimously recognize his contribution to the game, and his greatness, says everything you need to know about Larry Bird.
I love hearing guys speak about Bird. When a man like Kareem says Larry played the game in his head as a superior basketball intelligence you can't top it. Kareem is one of the great intellectuals to ever play the game so coming from him that may be the greatest compliment I've heard.
Kareem wasn't the leader, Magic was, And the #1 LAKER was Kobe most say...but actually it's Magic...the guy that owned BIRD two out of three FINALS and in College at Michigan St., JORDAN defeated BIRD, Magic and ISAIAH as a amateur in 1984, was froze outta the all-star game cause he was already on their level like LUKA with LeBron
@@etxsports5836 Jordan is not in the conversation with the other greats because he's on a level of his own. You can't say Magic owned Bird but that his team won. They were both great and did more for basketball than any players other than Jordan.
@@Andrew-the-Writer you forgot...he could shoot from anywhere and make it
@@etxsports5836 how many times did a Jordan led Bulls team beat a Bird led Celtics team in the playoffs? Magic never owned Bird and vice versa. But they lived rent free inside each other's heads for a while.
Bird was the WHOLE Package. Period. Goat
Larry Bird is the one guy in history that makes you appreciate stuff like defending a 1 vs 3 fastbreak, pretending to leave one wing open, then suddenly reaching for the steal, just tipping it to the teammate and start rushing downcourt for the counter fastbreak.
Amazing stuff, basketball mind at its absolute, bar-none ultimate finest.
Its true. Its good he wasn't focused on 1v1 defense and wasn't sticking to guys like a winter coat since their teammates wouldn't pass to them if they were guarded. He could lure them into passing to his man so he could pick it off cause he had great reflexes and anticipation. He usually guarded the ball, not the the opponent
@@riffsthatkill2180 Absolutely.
Pat Riley: I would pick jordan to shoot the game winning shot, But if my life is on the line I would pick bird to shoot it. Nuff said
Case closed!!!
@@CoolCoyote OF COURSE BIRD CAME FIRST SO FOR US OLD TIMERS MJ REMINDS US OF LARRY "LEGEND"!
@@CoolCoyote COYOTE IF US OLDER GUYS (I'M RETIRED) DON'T LET YOU YOUNGER FANS KNOW ABOUT THE GREATS OF YESTERDAY YOU MIGHT NEVER KNOW! I'M NOT AGAINST THE GREAT PLAYERS NOW! I JUST WANT THOSE THAT MISSED OUT ON THE GREATS BEFORE YOU WERE OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE APPRECIATED THEM LIKE I DO! BASKETBALL IS A GREAT SPORT & SHOULD BE LOVED & APPRECIATED FOR THE GAME FIRST BECAUSE IF YOU DO IT THAT WAY YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHO THE ALL-TIME GREATS REALLY ARE!
@@CoolCoyote COOL THE RULES WERE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME! IT WAS THE ENFORCEMENT THAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE ESPECIALLY THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SAID RULES! IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN UP TO THE OFFICIALS TO MAKE THE CALL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER! THAT BEING SAID AFTER MAGIC & BIRD MJ WAS REALLY THE ONLY NBA SUPER SUPERSTAR (ALL OF THE PREVIOUS SUPERSTARS WERE RETIRED). SO THEY REALLY HAD TO PROTECT HIM! I CONTEND THAT IS WHEN THE OFFICIALS WERE INSTRUCTED TO ADMINISTER THE RULES MORE STRINGENTLY THAN BEFORE. A LEAGUE WITHOUT MJ WAS NOT MUCH LEAGUE AT ALL! THE NBA HAS NEVER REALLY RECOVERED. AND I BELIEVE NEVER WILL! WITHOUT TRUE DEFENSE THEN WE DON'T HAVE REAL BASKETBALL! ALL I KNOW IS THAT I"M REALLY JONESING FOR THE BASKETBALL FROM THE 60'S 70'S 80'S & 90'S. A HONEST TO GOODNESS BASSETBALL JONES! LMAORHROF! MULTIPLE TIMES FOR SURE!
@@CoolCoyote I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. I DEFINITELY QUIT WATCHIING THE REGULAR SEASON GAMES & REALLY DIDN'T GO OUT OF MY WAY TO WATCH THE PLAYOFFS EITHER! I HAVE CAUGHT ENOUGH GAMES & HIGHLIGHTS TO KEEP ME FROM WATCHING MORE! WHAT I MISS MOST IS THE POST PLAY BY KAREEM BILL RUSSELL TIM DUNCAN HAKEEM BILL WALTON SHAQ DAVE COWENS PARISH WILLIS REED ETC. AS FOR GOLF I WAS AN EARLY MEMBER OF ARNIE'S ARMY SO I HATED JACK FOR A WHILE UNTIL HE WAS OLDER & ME TOO! LOVED LEE TREVINO & CHI CHI NOT TO MENTION FREDDIE COUPLES. JUST BEFORE TIGER ARRIVED I HITCHED MY WAGON TO PHIL MICKELSON & LOVE THE DUDE TILL THIS DAY! LOVING ARNOLD LIKE I DO JACK & TIGER ARE THE GREATEST GOLFERS IN MY LIFETIME! BUT MY FAVORITE WILL ALWAYS BE ARNOLD PALMER! PHIL MICKELSON IS SECOND FOR ME. DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FOOTBALL WE MIGHT BE HERE FOR A WEEK OR THREE!
I'm black and I have bird as the greatest ever. This man was great at everything , nobody wants to admit a white man is the best... And he is. Oh well
He is right there, for sure. But ..... regrettably, his back wore down (and achilles) and it curtailed his career and prime. Same for Elgin Baylor a generation before (knees).
Thank you for remembering Elgin Baylor, the superstar who seems to be all but forgotten. Elgin was a complete player and did it with flair.
You are a fucking idiot. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the greatest in the history of basketball. Bird isn't even the greatest Bostic Cetlic, Bill Russell is the greatest Bostic Celtic.
A european american was the most talented, Pete Maravich.
Just watched Larry pass to a man under the basket to take a shot, when he could have done it, the man missed Larry was there to tip it back to the player for a second shot.
LeBron constantly gripes for not getting enough credits for the first 3 quarters. I wonder why? Oh Bird said it best. The 4th Quarter separates the grown men from the boys. Noone cares about 7-10 assists or 28 points if you can't do it the ENTIRE 4th Quarter!
That's a fact that LeBron fans don't wanna except but have too
Face PC Gaming accept* you illiterate fuckin immigrant
johnny Whiting every white americans are immigrants... so much ignorance...
Let's not talk about the fact that Bird played against Jordan, Magic, Malone, Barkley, Dominique, Isaiah, etc. And who is LeBron playing against? And it was much more rough back then...
Jeremiah Henley Also Bird Avg 7 Assist a Game,10.5 Rebounds ,24.6 Points a Game ,Around 1.7 Steals a Game ,A Block a Game ,Shot over 50 Percent From The Field ,Around 40 Percent From The 3pt Line ,And Almost 90 Percent From FT Line ,Also Bird Would have Avg 27 or 28 Game For His Career He Got Hurt and His Last 2 or 3 Seasons Were Good But Like Kobe It Brought There Career Avg Down Kobes went Down To 25 Points a Game From 28 or 27.8 For His Career same With Bird His Was Brought Down To 24.6 Points a Game From 27 .Larry Bird is Top 5 All Day Long or U could argue a Goat if U wanted Better than Lebron James ,I would want At PG Magic ,G Jordan,C Kareem ,PF Tim Duncan ,F Larry Bird .
I could watch Larry Joe Bird videos all day. What an amazing Legend.
Bro, you are on it! Larry Brid was the truth. Three-time league MVP and three-time NBA Champion. They don't give you trophies because you are white, you have to earn it! Boston wanted to make him the "Great White Hope" and he wasn't even down with that at all and I have a lot of respect for that! He was not down with playing that race card, he hated it. He actually learned to play with black players and he always gave them credit for letting him play the game with them. I'm black but it's not about race it's about Bird's ability to ball out! Larry Bird was legit and one of the best of all time. Even Michael Jordan has Larry Bird in his top five all time. Reggie Miller would take Bird over LeBron James to start a team. Some people just don't understand how insane Bird was back then! All you have to do is spend a few hours watching videos on Larry Bird and the case is closed! Larry Bird was for real!
One of the best Bird compilations I've seen. Very nice work...
My dude i appreciate that💯%👍👍👍
Larry is the reason i'm a Boston Celtics fan..for life.
Thanks for the video..
Thanks : )
Havlicek is the reason I am. But Larry kept it going.
That 86 team is the greatest ever HANDS DOWN. And i'm a Bulls / Jordan fan.
Me too. Fan for life because of Bird. He's the greatest of all time along with Jordan.
Bill Russell was the reason for me, but When Larry joined the team, WOW. Bird was the best basketball show in the history of the N B A. Nobody ever will match Larry Joe’s abilities on the court especially in the clutch
Bird hurt Rodman so bad, he started wearing makeup and wedding dresses
Remember the fonze in the water boy? Lolol. That hermaphrodite crap is prince hall sell out bathtub crap. Few of u know what I'm sayin. Welcome to baphomet 101. I've watched this video tons. Bird was the best. Skill. Any dumb arse 6ft 8 can dunk. When your shooting down at the hoop it's allot easier and bigger. Give me the guy who can break your heart with world class defense on him while he calls exactly what he's gonna do to you verbatim. I was a good point guard. But a wild spaz. Bird was the best to ever lace up. Ppl forget how MJ was seen as a ball hog in the 80s. He learned how to be a team player. But ppl like kurr and paxson hit clutch shots. I'll not forget the shot over ehlo. Then fist pumps. But bird hit more clutch shots in 1 game vs L.A. or the ATL hawks then MJ hit his entire career. 0-6 vs bird. 2 sweeps. Don't wanna hear about teams bird took indiana st to the game by himself. 33-0
@RED VOODOO good point. But when u can jump 51" what skills do u need? Jordan was 0-6 against bird in the playoffs. 2 sweeps. Bird was young won it all 2 yrs n. Conference finals as a rookie. Jordan was a ball hog and bully. The gambling is n/a really. Jordan hit about 5 memorable clutch shots. Bird hit 50 like it. Reggie miller hit more clutch shots than mj. So has curr. You can argue mj had no one till pippen. But jordan didn't win a single ring against the 80s best teams of all time. Didn't even make the finals. U used iverson. That's perfect. Another ball hog. U can't win it all w/o a team. But that includes being a team player. Knowing how. It was paxon and ker who hit the other game winners. For boston it was always bird. If you'd said greatest athlete we would have no debate. That brings wilt into it. Agree? Jordan could have been the greatest ever. But he wasn't. Magic beat bird twice with a better team. Yet even then that shot looked good. Jordon beat magic though. Bird is the only one to have beaten all those 80s teams. No other can say that. Jordan is top 5 either way. Bird magic kareem jordan and 5 is a long argument. Kareem also has 6 rings. Magic 5 and 9 appearances. 6 and 0 is overrated. Lebron has 9. Is he better than anyone else i mentioned? No. Jordan took 3 yrs to even beat the bad boys.
There were jordan rules. Take everyone else out. Force him to shoot jumpers don't allow him to the rim mug him. 0-6 vs boston for that. Iverson same thing. Ppl forget how good the 76ers were. Bird beat down irving 42-6 in points one game. Called his shots. The bucks were awesome also. U know the rest. From 84-91 jordan was an ofor. In his prime magic 1on1 would've beaten jordan. Bird? No. But that's not in the game plans. He did shoot in his face during both series though.
Classic!
@Point Dexter bird was the best player on earth until he got hurt and Jordan was in the league a few years by then.
Yes it is debatable, but there is no denying it, Larry was a bad bad man.
Robin Scheines A bad bad man!
@Robin Scheines:Larry only loses to Jordan in JUMPING ability!! Thats IT!! Nobody revised ONE rule to help Bird win a title!! Jordan needed this done to beat Detroit.
@@SuperDetroit9 Also point production but who cares about that
@P0lkoli; thats because Jordan was a shameless showboat who attempted 30 shots each game,so he was BOUND to score 40% of them like he did!! Bird was on the other and in this for the TEAM so he didn't NEED to try and score SEVENTY points in a contest,though he did score SIXTY once!!!! Like I SAID:Bird SHOT better,not MORE!! I've seen footage of Bird hitting all NETS shooting from BEHIND the backboard!! But Jordan would've never defeated Detroit if Stern had not REVISED the RULES for him,when he eliminated hand-checking,zone defenses and invented a blocking foul to assist Jordan,and prevent him from retiring and costing the League TENS of millions,as he insinuated after the 1990 Conference Finals!! A man with class like George Gervin didn't just RUN-up his stats every game,like for example,in a game against Dallas,he had scored 35 points by the start of the 2nd quarter and quietly finished-out the game with 45 points!! When you KNOW you've got it,you don't HAVE to boast-------------ON it!! Jordan was just TACKY!!
@@SuperDetroit9 Making 40% of 30 shots is great in my opinion. Jordan made 50%. And they didn't change the handchecking rule until 1998. Jordan also won Detroit and 3 titles before any alleged rule changes. Don't you think that if a player makes 50% of his shots, he can take as many shots as he wants?
Loved it. Took an hour out of my hectic week to watch this on a Saturday morning and I'm glad I did. Helped me relive some great memories, remember how much of an influence Bird was for me in how I practiced and modeled my game growing up, how much of that I have passed on to players I've coached over the years. I guess what I love best about Bird was how he played the game. It was a beautiful thing and I'm glad I'm old enough to have seen it as it happened. Bird and Magic. They made the game of basketball beautiful. And Magic at the end of that retirement night clip- that's the hope for what sports can bring into the world: respect for a worthy opponent. Bird and Magic couldn't have been more different in a lot of ways but they saw the beauty in each other. I don''t know about the whole GOAT conversation, it's kind of silly really, but I can say this: Jordan may have been the most spectacular individual athlete in the history of the game (Wilt is on a different planet). The stars who have modeled their game after his do remarkable things but the game is not more beautiful because of his influence. I hope before I die I see more stars emerge who love the pass as much as the bucket, who excel in all facets of the game so they can win in multiple ways and who teach a new generation how beautiful the GAME can be. There have been a few- Rondo gave me some hope- and I've seen a few clips of Josh Giddy that make me, well giddy. I don't know if anyone reads this but thanks for the post.
2014 Spurs vs Heat championship series
Yes I'm a.spurs fan, yes Larry Bird is rhe GOAT
To all those people who think that Bird would make those plays without great athleticism, understand that it takes great athleticism to make those plays.
Athleticism and awareness and confidence to take chances. Jordan had it too, esp in the Utah series where he stripped Malone and killed Utah's last chance in that game.
@@Amick44 Not to take anything away from the great Michael Jordan, but I think Jordan smacked Malone across the wrist to steal that ball.
@@alowl Could have.
He's making a lot of those plays against "athletic" Black players. If that's the case, he has to be athletic.
I think they remember how his game changed after he started accumulating injuries or associate athleticism only with dunking.
Thank you for posting this - it has a lot of clips that I have not seen before! Bird had quite an arsenal of weapons and was truly gifted with court vision and ambidexterity. His desire to win and make big plays seemed to be in his DNA. He was the first player to ever post a 50/40/90 season ( shooting percentages ) and really did make his teammates better. He didn't care about stats - just wanted to win. Seems like everybody that played on Larry's teams loved him as a teammate and that says a lot about the man and the player!
I appreciate that I...love Bird my childhood hero
I'm from Terre Haute, huge Larry bird fan. I was there for the statue unveiling. He lowkey is the goat. Great video
Wow your in Bird country for real lol and thanks
yeah im a bird fan but my goat is pistol pete maravich
big duke weird
Can't argue with that, Pistol Pete needed a good team like Larry's to get rings.
Let me get this straight...Bird is privileged a racist?
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
That's one of the best quotes ive ever heard
No doubt The Best qoute period
If I had to choose a player to win rings: Magic Johnson
Three is a sacred number! Larry had two of em!!
🏀
He's #1 in my heart and books. He didn't have the athleticism but he had a genius basketball mind, was an incredible leader and had a killer instinct to finish. In the mid 80's, no player was better!
Why do people say he wasn't athletic? To steal an inbound pass with 1 second to go, and make a perfect pass before falling out of bounds, takes amazing athleticism. Jumping high doesn't score you points. It doesn't even get you rebounds, positioning does.
I don’t get the “not athletic” thing! I mean, the guy was 6’9” and could dribble behind his back, pass in any direction, had soft but strong hands, could use either hand to shoot, pass and dribble, could shoot a 3 or rough it up inside, layup right or left hand fro either side of the basket... Not athletic??? Just cause he’s white, he got that tag. Racist comments - Cedrick Maxwell said so.
@@alowl he will tell you himself he wasn't athletic. He didn't have ups often he could get up but not something he did alot. He also didnt have alot of agility or ran very fast , didn't really have handles and never really took guys off the dribble. So it's not like he no athletisms but overall he was not athletic
Gary Bird didn't have the athleticism man people who say that are NUTS.
@@AMurr45 Your another nut case.
Has anyone ever complied who won the most games in the final minutes of a game? Larry Bird did it so many times it's ridiculous. I don't know if there is such a stat and how long it's been tracked, but from what I've seen he seems to be the leader by a wide margin.
That would be a great stat to bring into the game 👍
I will always say Bird is the greatest all around Basketball player ever, and it really isn't close. When you think about the things he was able to do with zero athletic ability lol, it's truly astonishing. I'm a Laker fan and Magic and Kobe are my guys, but Bird was flat out scary. He had no flaws in his game. He was LeBron before LeBron. That three year span from 84 to 86 was just out of this world. Also one of the toughest guys to ever play. Given the chance, I'd take Bird over anyone to start a team.
I think the only player who was even close was Arvydas Sabonis, mJ was the most fun to watch but like LeBron his fame is fake because it is far to assisted by the referees to be considered real. Even magic joked once when him Bird and MJ were shooting promo photos for the Dream Team, saying to Bird, some thing to the effect of, "now, don't get to close to em cause they'll call a foul on ya" and magic made real shameless use of 666 when there's no reason to say AOK
To say he had zero athletic ability is just plain silly, can you dunk the ball, and in the 4th when athletic stamina comes out he was the undisputed leader because he put the work in. In all other aspects of your comment I agree with you.
Bird before the back injury was ridiculous. He was the smartest player ever, Basketball's Bobby Fisher. He killed my Lakers and broke my heart many a nights. I love him anyway.
2nd smartest, Bill Russell was a genius
Amen!!
Larry Bird's passes were not always fundamental, but they were always fun!
His passes were tipped alot too, barely touched his hands before it was in someone else's.
They were unorthodox, but fundamentally sound, always looking for the open man who had a better show.
shot
Larry Bird was the definition of a Baaaad Man. Clutch, played injured, and could make it look like he was a grown man playing with boys.
No doubt. I put this man above MJ. Can score from anywhere, more offensive weapons, better outside shot, free throw master, grab boards, superior passer, playmaker, higher career defensive rating, this dude did it all. If he weren't playing hurt in 82, 83, 85, and 87 who knows how many more titles he would have led Boston to.
jaranarm that's a big Ricochet partner Larry Legend has better Court awareness mental toughness than any other player ever .This man was Fearless .
I put Magic , Bird and Jordan on the same level.
+Strong Trillon Magic couldnt play defense nearly as well as Bird or MJ could...MJ was the best defender in the game from 87-93...Bird when healthy was one of the most underrated defensive players in history and averaged slightly more steals and more blocks than James averages despite playing almost a 3rd of his career in agonizing pain which limited his effectiveness/mobility, and if hed had James athleticism he probably would have been the best def player this side of Bill Russell.....
jaranarm actually the real fact Michael Jordan never beat Larry Bird On a playoff games 6times Larry Bird score 61 points against Michael Jordan on Playoffs game's that's why Larry Is the Real Deal...
dp233332 Magic Johnson is the best PG to ever play. Jordan is the best SG to ever play and Larry Bird is easily the best white guy to ever play. I put them all on the same level because they were winners. Period.
What made Larry so great, and what made so many other players so great, wasn't being all around, being such a lethal shooter, no, not even being one of the best passing and rebounding forwards in NBA history. It was the fact that Bird had the basketball IQ, the competitive drive, and just sheer will, that made MJ so great, made Magic so great, what allowed Russel to win 11 rings.
Jordan didn't have the basketball IQ of Bird or Magic. Superior physical skills, couldn't win in the 80's because he was unable to elevate average teams. Improved the same Bulls of the year b4 he arrived by 2 games. Bird improved Celts 21 games rookie year, same team b4 he arrived, n Magic won a championship as a rookie. Jordan won nothing till the 90's, NBA weakened by 6 expansion teams, and the addition of Pippen, Horace Grant, then Rodman. MJ was a Spectacular player, yes, but no way is he "The GOAT." Scored 63 and lost. That has to be a record.
Nobody wins alone. It's a five man game, and without the right other 4 players on the floor, you don't win. Larry was great. But he didn't do it alone.
Bird elevated everyone on his team with his passing skill and his passion to win.
@@TheFDrScAnLoN you suck and have no idea bird and magic dominated the 80s and Jordan did in the 90s two different eras and to say Jordan isn't won of the Goat (s)in NBA history your stupid and don't need to make anymore comments
@@TheFDrScAnLoN watch that game closely watch how many failures Jordan’s gets away with he the ones he gets in his favor. Take that away he would’ve scored maybe low 50s
Bird inside, outside, post up, run the floor, right handed, left handed, pass off to a teammate and game-winnng shot. Whatever it took to win. Too bad his body broke down.
Agreed!!! If Bird played in this soft and weak NBA today he would be off the chain as well as he would probably be able to play 18 to 20 plus seasons... People fail to realize how physical the game was during Bird's years of play as well as every team had a shot blocker and ge still proved exceptional...
Yeah. But birds hustle also did it too him. He always mopped the floor with his body jumping for a loose ball and that's something that would not change.
Too bad he aged, he should have ate better bird food
Rod Elliott, Sr today's game is Taylor made for a prime Bird
Same for Baylor & Pistol Pete too.
As a boy growing up in French Lick, it was always awe inspiring hearing about Larry Bird. In the basketball gymnasium they have there, hanging in the rafters is his jerseys, all of them signed. His boyhood home was right next to mine, and all the neighbors had stories about watching him driving his dad's old car to school everyday, and when it was broken down, he'd be walking downhill dribbling two basketballs
Wow that's crazy : )
Kevbot nice! Great story!
Totally believable. Love hearing stuff like this about sports legends. So glad I got to witness Bird's entire career too. One special dude. Thanks for sharing this.
@Kevbot What's cool about Larry is despite all his fame, he never lost his blue-collar ways. Unfortunately, it was his blue-collar pride that did irreparable damage to his back, when one summer/off-season he decided to lay down black top for his mother's driveway BY HIMSELF vs. hiring a crew to do it (which he could have easily afforded). But, that was just Larry. True to his roots.
Larry Bird made that brother write a poem just to keep himself grounded
Larry Bird is the GOAT
Gary Thompson what
🙄🙄🙄
He's the bird
MJ, please! Larry is top five but not the GOAT. Not once in his life did Bird ever claim he was better than MJ!
@@kenthomas4668 ...didn't have to.
LARRY BIRD IS THE GOAT!! SMOOTHEST SHOT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL PLAYING AT A TIME WHERE THIS GAME WAS TOUGH AND BRUTAL UNLIKE TODAY'S GAME! !!!
23:58 passing away a wide open dunk. That is something you’ll never see in today’s nba. Larry Legend
I'd forgotten how important Scott Wedman was to that team...arguably the best season ever by an NBA franchise.
@@davidberry777 oh yeah that 86 Boston team was stacked. The bench was insane
Red Auerbach was always ahead of everyone else. Drafting Bird as a Junior.
And that was FAR from red's only coup. He had several more.
@@Amick44 His biggest was the deal he swung to get Bill Russell.
@@colinfulton9988 drafting Bird as a junior was huge too. Both all time gems.
Getting Len Bias was a coup as well, especially after the Celtics dominating the league in 1986.
Unfortunately Len dropped the ball.
This is one of the very best sports documentaries ever made! A great mix of comments, highlights and from all stages of his career
LARRY BIRD THE ALL TIME GOD OF BASKETBALL.
God level at EVERY aspect of the game.
Owned it like noone else ever has or will.
This is the greatest, most comprehensive, best video on LB that I have ever seen . Congrats on this masterpiece. One of the best I've seen out of hundreds of docs on YT.
Thank you for this!
I hope everyone shares this....especially with younger people. They need to know the truth. Corporate America is always trying to push hype on the public over substance and facts. LB is such an inspiration to watch and study. Not just about basketball and sports , but about life and being all you can be as an individual ( and a team player too).
Bird was a real serious player. He should of won more championships
And they would have if Len Bias doesn't pass away.
Actually, they lost Len bias *and* Reggie Lewis prematurely. If Boston could have developed that talent along side their HoF front court, they would have made much better use of the second half of Bird’s career. I don’t know if they would have beat MJ’s bulls, but would have been in the mix.
@@muhdewd9727 this is all theorycraft now but imho Bird AND Bias would have terrorized the east for more years. The first victim would have been the pistons, but with Bias, Bird could have avoided his leg-foot injuries and extended his prime 3 more years. That first Bulls title might have never been a reality.
@@muhdewd9727 they win 2-3 more titles with Bias and a healthy back. Another in '85 if Bird doesn't hurt his finger
Great video. Thank you for helping me with memories. Both MJs were better athletes, but The Legend was a better basketball player. Thanks for the video - well done.
Thanks for showing these youngins that bird is the best small forward. Ever to play sorry LeBron but Larry was the man he would get in LeBron head Jordan and bird the two tuffest mentally players ever
It's basically my duty lol
Litty 3 Titty get outta here, we all know BY FAR birds better
My observation of Bird having watched his career in its entirety is this.. For the first 45 minutes of the game he was really good, for the last 3 minutes he was simply the best... There is no player ever, past or present, who I would rather give the ball to with the game on the line than Larry Joe Bird. His whole purpose for playing the game was for those moments... And boy did he deliver...time after time!!!!!
Great video w some clips I've not seen before. LB was simply the smartest, most gifted small forward to ever play. Enuf said!
Thanks and well put best sf ever it's not even debatable
No doubt Larry Legend is the best SF ever but he was anything but small. Bird was listed at 6’9” and that height was measured with his shoes off. Nowadays they measure players with their shoes on which would put Larry over 6’10”. Plus Larry had some beef on those bones as a pro.
Bird is so competitive even while Magic is complimenting him, he isnt having it.
Unreal competitor.
Who else can get the opposition to slap your hand after a three point shot lollll
Facts 🤣😭
😂😂😂😂 I just literally see that bit a minute ago. The geezer had the biggest balls in the world. Lol.
Remember watching Bird play the passing the shooting the defense the way he played the ultimate closer and my favorite player all time. My opinion this guy was the goat 13 seasons of joy and I even rooted for the pacers when he coached them. Amazing basketball mind!!! Larry Legend my choice as the GOAT!
Ive seen alot of Bird collection videos. This is by far my favorite.
I think about it, Magic said Larry was a friend for life, I haven't heard 1 Celtic say they hated Bird on or off the court, that's amazing because I heard it about a lot of ' GOATs '. Players, coaches, fans hated that Bird was going to beat their team if Bird has a chance or the Celtics would run you out the building, but they all respect Bird, I'd say that's a living legend, I wonder what team would have tried to trade for Bird if he was in this ERA and in his prime, I bet every team would
Best compilation and story telling I've seen yet on Larry Bird. Great job man. I had never seen so much footage of his college years. That was a real bonus. With the ending you really caught the heart of a great man.
And remember everyone, there is NO 3-point line/shot in college basketball when Bird and Magic played. I shudder to think what his stats would've been had there been. The 1980's was the greatest time to be alive if you liked BB.
he still wouldn't come close to pistol Pete who also didn't have one
Steve Mccart Pete also shot a terrible 44% on 40 shots a game! Larry shot 55% on 24 attempts and averaged on 13 points less a game. I’m sure if Larry shot 16 more shots a game he could have mustered up 13 more points. Pistol was very very inefficient in college
@@djLagwayEnjoyerUmm.. that's not how it works. Do you think
Mitchell Robinson would lead the NBA in scoring if he just took more shots?
Also, was there any difference in competition between Missouri Valley Conference and the SEC?
Dale Brown allegedly counted 13 three point makes per game for Maravich. That would have pushed him to 57 points per game. th-cam.com/video/zk-JJX2SRHc/w-d-xo.htmlm56s
Bird would have had to almost double his average to reach that.
Maravich only played one season with an NBA 3 point line. He shot 66%. Bird was a rookie the same year, he shot 40%, then didn't crack 30% for the next four years. He shot 37.6% for his career. Curry is at 43.5%
Agreed.
Pete m. 15948 pts 24.2 ppg 5.4 asst. 4.2 rebound per game. Larry bird 21791 pts. 24.3 ppg. 6.2 asst per game. 10 rebounds per game. Both great but the nod goes to bird.
How I loved to watch this man when he played! Partly because I love the Celtics, but more because of the way he played at such an unbelievable high level all the time. He made shots, passes, and rebounds that left you saying, “How did he do that?”
What a great tribute to a tremendous player.
❤ the music selection with your video.
My favorite player of all time. Larry played like he had fire in his veins. No one compares to him. Thank you for your video, so good to revisit the good old days!
I was lucky enough to see Bird and Magic in their prime. Both Incredible.... yet, Bird Hit Everything. Magic had a better supporting cast. Had it been even, supporting cast, Magic wouldn't have any head to head rings.
What also gets lost is the genuine Love/Friendship he and Magic gained.
Come on! That's BS. Magic won at every level: high school, college, NBA, Olympics. Bird cannot say that! Magic was every bit Larry's equal when it came to making his teams winners. You Bird worshippers have to belittle his competition to make your boy look better. Magic owned Bird head to head--in college and NBA.
I’m sure magic had better teammates at MSU
TI84SATACT if course a lakers fan having to be stupid
I try to believe that one of my top bucket list if I could ever be granted such, would be a day with Larry Bird on his home court just shooting buckets. Larry Bird is in my opinion the greatest basketball player that ever lived.
Bird is better and greater than them all!
No he's not!!!
Yes he is Dummy. Only dorks like you that never played against him say that shit.
@@toscodav Larry isn't the greatest player. He even not the greatest Boston celtic.
@@ericpledge1 lol
@@toscodav You're a fucktard!
#33 Larry Legend Best Ever Period
Thanks for the trip to my memory lane. Never missed watching Celtics when Larry Bird was playing.
My pleasure
He broke his finger in college so he would have been an even better shooter
My nigga is My nigga yep playing softball diving for a fuckin ball, sounds about like bird, we kno his hustle and effort was far more superior than any player that’s ever played
He broke his back before he swept Jordan.
As I recall, Bird broke his finger right before the national championship game with Michigan State. I wanna say that was in 1979, but not sure. Anyway, Magic and the other Spartans never got to see Larry Joe at full strength.... I was living in Indiana at the time and so, naturally, rooting for Indiana State. But they never really had a chance in that game.
I shoot better after a finger gets jammed.
Bird shattered the knuckle of his index finger on his shooting hand the summer prior to joining the Celtics, after he was done at ISU. He agreed to play in a softball game and who shows up for the other team but one of his own Brothers. Bird went all out trying to rob his own Brother of a hit and mangled his hand in the glove diving for the ball. He went to a local hospital and they wrapped it up. The next day they had to hunt Bird down after an actual Doctor looked at the X-Ray and get him to surgery immediately. Bird never reported the injury to the Celtics until he showed up his rookie year and he feared the Celtics were going to dump him over the injury and how it played out. Red gave him a ball and watched him sink a few jumpers consecutively and told Bird his finger was fine. The rest is History
Well done man. Really gives those that never saw him play and maybe wonder whether Larry really was that good a better idea that, hell yes, he was that good - and better. I’ve never seen and will likely never see anyone play better basketball than Bird in his prime. Larry Legend!
Thanks a lot...Larry was a once in a life time player
2:25 "Not just the ability to pile up numbers, but the ability to come through in the clutch, and under pressure". You heard that, Harden?
So many left-handed shots. OMG, I feel so lucky to have seen him play.
Wow....awesome video and compilation. One of, if not the best, on youtube. Thanks for the upload! Glad this ended up as a rec!
Larry Bird was legit! Even Michael Jordan called him the best small forward ever. That's right MJ!
I'm 100% with you. Great Stuff!!!
Thanks alot
For me is truly the Best as he did more with less Physical Attributes and Yes, you nailed it with Jordan being 0-6 against Bird in the Playoffs..."not even one Jordan, not even one...." lol Beautiful. I'm surprised people don't realize this and the absolute great point you brought in as beating every single Best Black Player on his time (From Julius, Malone, Magic, Worthy, Cooper, Jordan, Pippen, Wilkins, Karl Malone, Olajuwon, you name it. INCREDIBLE STUFF from the Player I admire the most. Check the Video Bird Schools Jordan. That sums it up for me. Thanks Man. Respect as you don't see Colors just true talent
Thanks a lot...Bird was a hardwood assassin he just happens to be white and that's a hard pill to swallow for some...that's what makes Bird extra special the Basketball equivalent of Eminem or Big Pun people scratch they're heads and say wtf...he's not suppose to be that good at that!
"Jordan was 0-6 against Bird in the playoffs", Yeah AiR G.O. A. T. , was schooled by Larry Legend.
Highest BB IQ, most clutch, and greatest team player ever. If you want your team to get a guaranteed Championship Ring out the gate. Bird would be your first pick, THEN Jordan. Look it up, fools.
Eros Adonis bird is the reason mchale and parish and others on his team are legends, and Jordan is also 11-23 against bird in their careers
Jordan didn't go 0-6 against bird in the playoffs. He lost to bird only twice in the playoffs 1985-86 and 1986-87
0-6 in games. Two series both lost 3-0. Anyhow it was in the 2nd and 3rd of Jordan's seasons. Bird at his peak. Jordan learning and somewhat waiting for potential tea mates. Both are legends. Comparisons are futile. Just enjoy 2 of the best ever.
+Waughn reed Jr MJ won twice as much as Bird because he competed for rings during a far less competitive decade and had perfect health as well as perfectly healthy teammates...Until LA repeated in 88 no one had been able to do so since 1969...from 1988 on everyone who won the championship repeated as champs until the spurs failed to repeat in 2000...Meanwhile, what injuries did the Bulls have to overcome during MJs career?the 87 celtics lost their reigning 6th man of the yr to a broken foot for the entire season, had Kevin McHale playing on a broken foot throughout the postseason, and their entire starting lineup was playing thru pain...Larry Bird had 7 healthy seasons at best as a player in the NBA, and during that time he reached 5NBA finals, won 3 league MVPs in a row, and won 3 NBA titles...MJ needed 7seasons in order to win his 1st championship, and unlike Birds Celtics in 1984 who beat a Lakers team which featured 1 more HOFer than Boston featured, MJs championship winning Bulls consistently featured more HOFers/allstars/good-great players/solid role players with well defined roles than their playoff opponents. all the talk about how many great teammates Bird had is misleading because 1 it was a revolving door which constantly exchanged 1 good player for another, 2many were past their prime, not yet in it, or unable to remain in it due to injury/aging while teamed up with him, and 3 expansion hadnt yet diluted the talent pool, so when he found himself in the ECF or finals he often found himself against a deeper, healthier team...Its MJ who consistently had the advantages of better health, teammates, and coaches than his opponents...From 96-98 they were a team with 3 HOfers and a litany of outstanding roleplayers competing against playoffs/finals opponents who only had 2 HOFers and fewer/less outstanding role players.
The Celtics in 85 and 86 had wayyyyy better teams than the bulls had, that was before pippen and Jordan had almost no one on that team Celtics had a whole great starting 5, so that matchup really wasn't equal at all
Definitely Larry Bird is the G.O.A.T.
Any fan of basketball should be impressed with this compilation you have put together. BIG UPS!
I really appreciate that!
Never heard larry bird brag on his self
True greatness when ur peer do it on their own
Larry Bird is better then Leflop.
His no doubt he's a top 5
Charlie Macbasketballs better than Jordan too mj never beat him
Bird isn't better than LeBron James.
Lebron has shot 5-47 in clutch situations, under 24 seconds left, 3 point spread. He freaks in the clutch while LB is the best clutch player to ever play.
Bird is easily better than Lebron.
probably a top 1
Bird took a last place team to first in one year, and to a Championship in the second year. Jordan took 4 years just get to a winning season, and he came into a Bulls team with more talent than what was at Boston when Bird arrived. Bird makes his team better. If he isn't on the all-time team, then I'll take the second team with Bird, and beat the 1st team 60% of the time.
The fouls, falls, and slams Bird went through is sometimes hard to watch.. The pain he endured in the latter part of his career is awe inspiring..Bird was and is one bad dude
Love that story by Sichting about the fans "accidentally" strolling into Celts locker room. A classic.
Bird was playing chess, while everyone else was playing checkers.
No, that's Michael Jordan.
The question is who would win in a one on one.Larry or Mj? Mj. Too fast for Larry and a great defender.
Chris Warrick Dr J said it first
@@touristinfo6947 Honestly if Larry Bird had any athleticism at all it almost wouldnt be fair. He had to use his brain to outsmart every one because he had little to no athletic ability. Jordan was a smart player but no where near Bird smart...Jordan was prolly the most athletic basketball player ever...definitely the quickest his early years.
@@jdigitalseven7 ummm no.For passing to other players yes. Larry was smarter on that. But when double teamed Jordan would outsmart opponents with shooting skill manuevers.It was not just jumping ability.You still have to score and fake out .Not just pure athleticism but shooting skills with outsmarting maneuvers. Your argument claim is invalid...Thanks for playing.Try again.
Larry even mentioned that Mike was the closest thing to God he saw.Words coming from Larry.Let that sink in a min.Mike was deceptive and intelligent in using his strength.Are you telling me it was pure athletic for him to turn around and shoot a ball blindly with ones view facing opposite of the court and swoosh is what you heard or shooting foul shots with his eyes closed.Try and explain that as athletic.You can't can you.Sit down....
Bird had a ton of pressure on him when he joined the Celtics and many of his teammates admitted that they doubted him. His talent and unquenchable desire took care of that.
Hit more clutch shots than anyone ever will. #Larry Legend🏀🏆
And another fact no other player in the history of basketball played an entire game with the opposite hand! Larry is a natural right hander but played numerous times with his left hand just to prove he is the goat scoring at least 30. Tell me one other player ever that has done that!
He plays basketball right-handed, but he is actually left-handed in his personal life. He signs autographs with his left, for instance. Same with LeBron and numerous other athletes... Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks is left-handed but plays Hockey as a righty...
@@schizowallflower TRUE BUT HAVE YOU ACTUALLY WITNESSED ANY OTHER NBA PLAYER BE ABLE TO DO THAT NEARLY AS WELL AS THE BIRDMAN! IF YOU CAN'T ADMIT THAT THE VIDEOS THAT YOU & I ARE WATCHING (OR AT THE LEAST WHAT I WITNESSED EITHER IN PERSON OR LIVE ON TV). ARE TOTALLY AMAZING YOU ARE EXTREMELY CLOSE MINDED AND CAN'T ADMIT THAT SUPERSTARS OF THE PAST ARE BETTER THAN YOUR HEROES OF TODAY! OR AT LEAST AS GOOD! HEAVEN FORBID EVOLUTION MAY BE DEBUNKED! GO FIGURE.
No player has..Bird never played a full game left handed..js
@@solo7253 27 POINTS THROUGH 3 QUARTERS PLAYED LEFT HANDED 20 POINTS IN THE FOURTH FOR A 47 POINT GAME! NOT TOO BAD!
@Mike Beasley true..was a helluva game..it was 3 quarters but he could did it for 4 quarters if he wanted to....Bird is my favorite player of all time but Wilt Chamberlain is the GOAT. People dont realize how great Wilt was. He did things that were never done before or after him. You should go watch some videos on him. I would Take Wilt n Bird over Jordan anyday.
GREAT Video!! I had to honor or going to high school in French Lick, Indiana where Larry taught me more about the game of basketball and life than he will ever know. Thank you Larry.
brilliant, cheers for sharing.What a class act, his dignity and humility a thing of the past sadly.
Jordan the best?
Post Season Jordan vs. Bird
Bird 6 Jordan 0
Case closed
Jordan was a pup then; brand new to the league. Bird was in his prime. The Bulls wouldn't have made it to the playoffs to face the Celtics those years if it wasn't for Jordan's singular efforts. Just like I don't dock Jordan for losing early in his career to the Celtics, I don't dock LeBron for his Cavs getting swept by the Spurs in 2007. Cavs wouldn't have had that opportunity if it weren't for the then 22 year old's ECF performance against the Pistons. But regardless: LeBron is not in my top 5 (not in my top 10 either; breaking a bunch of regular season records will likely get him in there).
TOP 5 (not ranked)----Bill Russell....Kareem Abdul Jabbar....Larry Bird....Michael Jordan....Kobe Bryant
@@MrTurbo87lx Same can be said about MJ's 6 finals wins. He was in his prime and he had 2 hof's and possibly one of the greatest 3 pt shooters of all time and other decent players.
The Griffenn
Look at the roster of the 86 Bulls. Not good. Granted, the 87 Bulls should have done better, but that's when the Celtics big 3 were in their prime. I do think Bird is the second greatest player of all time, but MJ has 6 titles, 5 MVPs, 6 Finals MVPs, 9 Defensive 1st team (probably the biggest difference), and 10 scoring titles (Bird had zero). MJ was a much better athlete and his shooting percentage was almost identical to Bird's. Love Bird, but MJ was better.
@@MrTurbo87lx seriously
Can't use that as an argument for who's better. Bird clearly had the better teams during those series. That being said the 86 Celtics would beat Jordan's 72 win Bulls team 7 outta 10 times IMO.
I was fortunately able to see Bird played many times. Larry Bird was a cross between PISTOL Pete Maravich and John "HONDO" Havlicek. (i have seen these guys play as well) Funny thing is all of these players played for the Celtics either their entire career or a portion of their careers.
mark schnabel Maravich only played in 26 games for the Celtics during Birds rookie season....Pete's last year.
True, but I get the comparisons. Mix of Pete's creativity and John's grittiness and determination.
The real Celtics all time MVP? Red Auerbach. He knew which players to choose. Len Bias death just took the wind out of his sails, or the Celtics dominance would have continued.
+Edward Pete Maravich was dying. We didn't know it at the time. I wish I could go back and watch all his games again, to see if his heart failure caused him to lose his explosive playing.
Not sure if he is the GOAT but... my god I love him and miss him soo much.... Im from Argentina and grown up watching Celtics and Lakers games in the 80`s the best of his era and my favorite player for sure... he made me a Celtics for life (sorry if my english its not good) Great work!!
Thanks alot...if he's not the goat then there's only two other players i could think of
Bill Russell for me..... he is the Nº1... he changed the game for ever
I get the 11 rings and everything but the competition level was not like it was in the 80's or even 90's but it's always gonna be up for debate
my goat of all time pistol pete maravich
Great English
last time I saw Larry play was Nov 7th 1990, opening night. Boston Garden. He was slower and older then, but still a great player. 18 points 15 assist 9 rebound. Boa noite from Boston :D
They played so well together...most guys wouldn't expect the very strange shots Larry shot at them. They were an amazing team. He assisted, stole and passed amazingly. Such an amazing TEAM player.
Great program. I can't believe I never saw a lot of these clips and interviews before. Thanks!
No problem and thanks
As an aside, Jordan was incredible even though I refused to watch him out of respect for Larry retiring due to his back. Jordan won more - this is indisputable. Magic was incredible as well - you can get that information right from Larry's lips who said he was the best to ever play. I think Magic could have played defense if it ever was necessary. The west was so weak when Magic played. East Coast basketball was so much more physical than west coast basketball in the 1980's.
Best Forward to ever play the game of basketball 🏀
Clutch player on offense and defense
Lebron is. Get ur facts right
Nobody was better in the last half of the 4th quarter, bird was everywhere, shooting 3's , rebounding, steals, assists, layups, dunks . Rarely missing.
You did a great job on this video
I really appreciate that Martin 👍
Thanks for putting this video together. It was like Christmas. Totally great! Enjoyed every minute.
lol your welcome
Dude these videos are EASILY the best on TH-cam I love how you edit these and put these together I'm showing these to my son to teach him about the legend thank you!!
When I think of Larry Joe Bird, I think of "Simple Man" by Lynryd Skynyrd. What I admire about Bird, besides his transcendent Basketball skills, is that he always speaks the unvarnished truth. He is such an admirable man!
Perfect! Spot on!
After almost 30 years...I really appreciate witness Bird's play...nobody came close like him...I think Center Jokic from Denver had Larry high IQ...
For someone who ISN'T athletically gifted the least and is a typical country hick makes Larry Bird the most remarkable subject as GOAT. For me, he definitely is.
I was at Indiana St. when Larry Legend was there. He was in the gym till 10:30 most nights working on his game. Best clutch player ever in the NBA.
I grew up watching the Lakers. My family moved to L.A. from Milwaukee about a month after the Bucks traded Kareem to the Lakers. I was just starting to watch basketball at the time & was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to watch Kareem, but when my Dad was hired by ABC TV & told us we were moving to Los Angeles I was thrilled!! Milwaukee was the opposite of L.A.!!
Milwaukee was impossibly cold (I'm talking about 10-20°f BELOW ZERO, on a regular basis) & snowy for about 5 months each year, L.A. was sorta cold for a few days each winter & every now & then it rained a little, but I soon discovered that in L.A. you never hafta shovel sunshine!! Plus, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played there, so, I started watching the Lakers. By the time Magic came to the Lakers I was 13 & was a loyal Laker fan... when Bird went to the Celtic & they continued their rivalry, I didn't know that I was about to watch the greatest era the NBA will ever have, & the most intense rivalry in any sport anywhere, at any time. It was GLORIOUS!!
Probably the best steal ever.
Bird feet was on the line. The Celtics stoled that game.
Show me a better steal and I'll show u the top 25 that haven't done anything closer for a decisive win.
@fugerep:That play almost put me in a catatonic state! I was on the phone with my 1st girl Kim just talking about how the Pistons were going to FINALLY beat Boston,when suddenly:Isaiah inbounds to Laimbeer;Bird STEALS the ball!! BIRD steals the BALL!! Bird steals the ball and passes to D.J for the score!! Boston WINS,because Bird stole the ball!! I didn't speak again for 8 minutes,when my girl asked me if I was aright!! After receiving no response,she finally said:Cheer-up,Its not the end of the WORLD;its only a game;don't worry we will get them NEXT year!! I will NEVER forget how numb I felt when it actually happened!! That damn Larry Bird!!
Bird always stealing. Like a seagull taking my hot chips.
@@ericpledge1 somebody stoled your education
2:18
He was motivated by pride
Red Auerbach
Bird is 23-11 against Jordan head-to-head and 6-0 in playoff games. Nuff said. Winners win. Losers make excuses.
I can see a sensible argument in Bird being #2 to #5 in the greatest ever, but not #1. Bird peaked in 1986 or so, Jordan peaked in 1991-93ish. Comparing their records against each other is not even reasonable. Looking at what they accomplished in their careers, it's not even close. Bird himself called jordan "god disguised as Michael Jordan". Magic proclaimed jordan the best player ever in 1993 and has stated it at least 20 times in different interviews. I'm gonna chalk your comment up to JuddTroll and leave it at that.
@@jonathonheyward6533 Nah, Magic said Jordon was the best in the air and Bird was the best on the court.
@@sweetswing1 Magic beat him 6 to 3 titles if you count the NCAA's.
@@jonathonheyward6533 Your comment is accurate, but your final sentence was uncalled for. I'm gonna chalk your comment up to having a poor self image, so you put others down to make yourself feel better.
@@jonathonheyward6533 Larry Bird already broke his back in 1985 when he helped pave his mom's driveway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I never considered Bird to be the GOAT. But after thinking things over he could very well be just that. It's actually tough argue against that. He covered all bases at the highest level.