LeBron isn't in a lot of fans top five because he isn't seen as having that killer competitive gene. Larry came back in the game after that fall but he had spent the night before in traction for his back. His back was very bad by then.
Leflop is all athlete and no heart. That's why people,especially older ones that have seen the greatest players ever, will never put him near the top. He's definitely not in my top 10 in any hypothetical all time draft.
There's a quote from one saying "MJ will make you look slow, Larry will make you look stupid.". It may have been Worthy or Barkley, maybe even Isaiah Thomas, I can't recall just who said it but certain it was a HOFer.
They fell because Bird was a dangerous all around player. He could shoot and pass at a high elite level and had an extremely high basketball IQ. The sudden "jabs" got them because Bird had them unbalanced on their feet not knowing what he was going to do next.
Larry Bird is the greatest small forward ever. Lebron can only dream of being as great as Bird. Two Pat Riley quotes about Bird: 1) "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." 2) "He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!"
How many players would fracture their face in a game and still come back and finish the game…Bird was incredible and still is my all time favorite player
Broken cheekbone, concussion and seeing double, yet he sneaks away from the trainer and wins the game. LeBron gets carried off the court due to a CRAMP? Seriously?
Today? Not many. In the 70’s I started thing my last name was Walkitoff…… baseball, volleyball, basketball…. I’d get hurt and hear Jeanine, walk it off, walk it off. Actually, Walkitoff could be a cool name, I shoulda changed it years ago.
story I heard once was Bird was being treated watching the game on TV. he saw Chuck Pearson for the Pacers celebrating. Bird said F that and caught the trainer not looking grabbed a warm up jacket and went back into the game. said he shot at the basket on the left.@@randyfergus8781
The reason they fall on that jab step is because no one knew what Bird was going to do so they had to anticipate what Bird was going to do and where him and the ball was going. If they anticipated wrong they would lose there balance and down they would go. It was just beautiful!
add to those skills the rare ability to make his defender look stupid. When facing against bird when he has the ball, sometimes the defender is just a little too worried about looking stupid - and the fear becomes reality. No one else has ever been quite that scary to defend.
Haha, I came to the comments to say this. Good job. I'd also add that he also had a decent first step in the early 80s, so defenders were worried about that too.
That was Dominique who fell the third time. People were falling over Bird because they had no idea what he was going to do, and they were just reacting as quickly as they could. Defense was man-to-man in those days--zone was illegal--and was far tougher than it is now. Bird had his defenders just grasping at straws.
Yea... in a vacuum... Nique doesn't look good crumpling from that jab step. But people forget that Bird could score from anywhere within 15 ft with either hand.. back to the basket, faced up, didn't matter. These guys aren't guarding some player that you simply need to force to their offhand. Bird didn't have an offhand.
And Larry had suffered a fractured cheek bone during the game he came back. Larry broke his orbital….and played….broke his back….played 7 more seasons….played with a concussion and double vision twice…the list of injuries, some that should of been career ending….that he played through is unmatched….with no pain meds ever…Lebron got carted off the court crying with leg cramps….just saying
Not to mention in college he'd injured the index finger on his right hand and it never straightened again. You can see how it's bent in the 3-pt contest.
Pat Riley said "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." You should react to Making the Case. th-cam.com/video/Pxf4RzocHN8/w-d-xo.html The guy has a whole series, 8 videos, about Making the Case for who is the greatest of all time.
LoL Young Buck I was interested till you said LeFlop is Top 2... I would take a broke back Larry Legend all day everyday and twice on Sunday over LeFlop James ...
Great reaction!! If you’re wondering why so many players broke their ankles trying to defend Larry Bird when all Larry Bird did was a “simple” step back, it’s because, to put it frankly, Larry Bird was the literal INVENTOR of the step back None of them had ever seen that move before, so it left even all-time great defenders bamboozled on how to deal with it. It was as dynamic and revolutionary in the 80s as AI’s crossover and Harden’s double step back in the 2000s and 2010s. I mean, how do you defend a move you’ve literally never seen before?
I've been an NBA fan since the mid 1970's and coached youth basketball for years. 2 of my 3 sons played basketball through high school here in North Carolina. My personal top 3 are: 1. Michael Jordan, 2. Larry Bird, 3. Magic Johnson. After the top 3, it’s more debatable to me. I’ve seen everyone over the last 45+ years. IMO, these players had the best BALANCE of FG%, FT%, clutch play, great offense, great defense, makes teammates better, great team play, shares the ball, passing ability, finishing, coachable, high basketball IQ, finds a way to win, has all areas of the basic fundamentals down pat, seeks high % shots first, knows where teammates are on the court at all times, able to score while being fouled, played against tougher competition, played against great defenses. No one today has ALL of these attributes. Not even Lebron. He flops and has choked in too many key games, which brings down his value. To me, only Michael Jordan and Larry Bird have ALL of these attributes and are (by far) the most clutch players of all time. Consistently winning the close games is what separates icon players from everyone else. No players after my top 3 come close to doing it at the level they did. Though today's players have a lot of talent, most players lack most of these attributes and no one has all of them. Defense and team play aren’t nearly as good today as in the 80’s/90’s. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson (by far) are the most clutch players of all time and did it against the best defenses of all time. Great video. You did a good job.
I like your line of thinking. Those 3 are also the best to ever play their individual positions IMO. I have all 3 in my Top 5 as well, and can see arguments for all of them in the 1 spot of the GOAT conversation. However, it’s worth mentioning that Bird is the only 1 of the 3 to beat the other 2 when it counted. Jordan beat Magic, but never beat Bird. Magic Beat Bird, but never beat Jordan. Bird beat them both (and had a perfect record agains Jordan in the Playoffs). 😉
I guess Bird was my favorite player to watch because he did things that he wasn't supposed to be able to do. He always came out full steam, win or lose. Thing is, you always expected him to win. In my book, no one can touch Larry Bird. There may be players with more accomplishments, but there are none as much fun just to watch
If one is attempting to select a GOAT in the NBA - remember that it is a team sport. A GOAT must enable his teammates to be their best as well. Bird was truly transformational as a team player. The Celtics had their worst team performance in their history the year prior to Larry's arrival to Boston - only 29 wins. With Bird as their only significant addition to their line-up, they won 61 games his first year (+32), and the following year with McHale & Parrish won the NBA Championship. Despite his "superlative" individual stats, MJ was not transformational, but only added to his team's performance by his singular action - and in fact his play often reduced the potential of his team mates. MJ arrived to a weak Bulls team to be sure, but it would be 4 yrs before the Bulls got to .500, and only after Pippen and Grant arrived did the Bulls make their move upward. Further proof comes later when MJ "retired" to play baseball, and the Bulls did not suffer a major downturn (55 wins to the previous year's 57), with Pippen having a better year than ever now without MJ. Larry B gets my nod for all he could do in all situations, plus his unbelievable positive impact on the team as a whole.
True. Bird also took a team of nobodies in College to a perfect regular season record and the NCAA championship where he lost to Magic Johnson’s more talented Michigan State team. Like Russell before him and Magic, Bird seemed to intrinsically understand that Basketball is a team sport and so always looked to get his teammates involved and knew how to make them better. Jordan on the other hand was more like Wilt or Lebron in that he had incredible physical gifts which allowed him to rack up amazing numbers individually, but it took one of the greatest coaches in league history in Jackson to get him to buy into a team first concept and to start trusting his teammates and it wasn’t until a combination of that and Bird retiring till he finally made it to and won a championship. It’s really Jordan’s 6-0 Finals record (even though, IMO his level of competition wasn’t as high as Magic’s or Bird’s) combined with his individual accomplishments that gives him the GOAT claim. But, if I had to pick a player to build a team around I’d pick Bird over Jordan.
@@lcpgrowers4658 I disagree with you on 1 thing Jordan was nothing like Wilt not even close cause Wilt got every stat in doubles Jordan did not and coaches didn't know how to use Wilt in the team so they just had him do it all
@@JET1970 yes, I agree, Wilt is the greatest individual player of all time. Jordan has more scoring titles, but that’s only because Wilt decided to stop scoring to try to be more of a team player and focused on Assists and Defense, not because Wilt wasn’t capable of continuing to win them had he wanted to. This however is why I think it’s a fair comparison. Both men were head and shoulders over their competition in terms of raw talent and both started out trying to carry their teams on their backs and single-handedly win games. Eventually both realized that Basketball was a team game though and decided to put getting their teammates into the action and put the individual stats in second place. The difference was that Jordan had an All Time great coach for his entire career (well, in Chicago anyhow) who knew how to put his talents to best use, and he had the privilege of having some great teammates in their primes in Pippen, Grant, and Rodman, and a pretty strong supporting cast in Kukoc and Kerr. Had Wilt had Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, or some other great coach that knew how to use his talent and the same caliber of teammates as Jordan had, I have no doubt he’d have way more rings and would be at least Top 5 on everyone’s list.
@@lcpgrowers4658 besides me I've seen a lot of people on you tube have Wilt either in their top 5 or as the best ever for me I have Wilt and Bird 1 and 2 them Kareem at 3
Thank you for the reaction. I enjoyed watching it and listening to you. Problem is MJ is way above Lebron. MJ never beat Bird in the playoffs, i.e Larry beat MJ each time in the playoffs. Just to beat your guys I would take Lambier (sp) lol. Really though I would start with Bird then there are so many that could make up the rest to include the Celtis 86 team. Learn more about Bird and many of the 80s players before you start picking your five. Thanks again.
Magic & Larry, resurrected the game of basketball......My dad loved basketball, but stopped watching, until the competition between Johnson & Bird was highlighted......What my Dad used to say, about Larry's game, is that it reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, hockey, baseball, football, soccer, & strategic chess, all at the same time, and was what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
I’ve seen quite a few reactors change their minds about Larry. After a handful of videos, they were hooked. I hope you’re next 👍 The ankle breaking is bcuz from what I’ve heard, nobody was doing the step back in Larry’s day. Plus Larry was so unpredictable he caught everyone off guard. Regarding that “travel” I’ve rewound that & saw a dribble…. 🤷♀️ What you should be seeing is that LARRY IS AHEAD OF HIS TIME. Larry Magic Wilt (NO JORDAN. NO BRON. NOT SORRY.)
Watched lots of Larry reaction videos, you're one of the few that recognizes Bird's left hand finish off his own shot. One of the greatest plays ever, good for you for recognizing it.
Stats are stats and you can argue about them all day, but if you are judging by who had the biggest impact on the game, it's hard to find anything with a bigger impact than the Bird\Magic rivalry. It literally saved the game from a slow painful death in the 80's.
What shortened his career significantly was wanting to make a driveway for his mom's house himself, instead of hiring a crew :P Shit completely messed up his back. But that's who Bird was, one of the spectacles in Boston was a crowd watching Larry mow his lawn XD
1a. Larry Bird 1b. Magic Johnson 3. Michael Jordan 4. Wilt Chamberlain 5. Bill Russell 6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7. Oscar Robertson 8. Lebron James 9. Jerry West 10. Pete Maravich 11. Elgin Baylor 12. Hakeem Olajuwon
Young man, probably one of the the greatest Coach of all time Pat Reilly said” lf I needed someone to make a shot to win a game, I would pick Jordan, if I needed someone to make a shot to save my life, I would pick Bird.”
2:55 He didn't travel at that one point you're were talking about. It looks like he took four steps but if you slow it down and look more closely you'll see he bounced it once on his way to the hoop. My top 5 are Wilt, Magic, Jordan, Bird, and maybe Kobe or Bill Russel or Pistol Pete or Kareem. Sorry Lebron's not there in the top 5. I respect his accomplishments and stats but he's just not quite there with those other guys. They're cut from a different cloth. Maybe top 10, or top 20 for sure, but again, he's just not quite at their level overall. It's a big picture thing at this point when trying to rank top players all time. No one will likely ever match Wilt for scoring per game and rebounds. Kareem is the all time scoring champ. Bill Russel is the only one close in rebounds, and Bill has 11 rings and went toe to toe with Wilt and Kareem. Jordan was a nearly unstoppable scoring monster and all around player and has 6 rings? Who has 7, I forget. No one else close to 11, though. Kobe was a killer and a scoring monster, too. And Magic's accomplishments overall may be unmatched, looking at everything, except by Larry Bird, but even his overall accolades and accomplishments aren't QUITE the same, just close. Though Larry might be the better all around individual player. And Larry might be the smartest and best all around skilled player of all them (not the fastest, but skilled). For context, Larry faced all the greats except the ones before he was in the NBA or after '93, and he was the only one to ever be undefeated against Jordan in the post season, 6-0, even when Jordan drops 63 points on him. Larry's record against Jordan regular seasons is 18-11.
Was gonna make the same point he dribbled once to keep it from being a travel. And yea Larry beat all the greats of his day. If you gave him an inch of daylight you got punished. He's my GOAT and I've been watching since the early 70s. Just me.
Jordan, kareem, magic, Russell and bird. Bron can't be top five. He's underperformed with having the most help in history. Also that 2011 finals is crushing.
Bird got elbowed in the side of his face which left him with a hole in his cheek.. but he still played. Bird had a toe infection for which he ignored. After a week, he had to have a 2 1/2 inch cut in between his toes. He had a game later that night… and he still played. He got another elbow to his head that left him with double vision… but Bird still. It is said, that despite having injuries, Bird never took any pain medication.
My top 5 of all time are Jordan, Chamberlain, Russell, Bird, and Kareem. You could keep going because there are another 15 players who could all be considered top 5! And both Bird and Kareem do not get enough respect! I would say Magic is the best assist man of all time! Magic could also be considered a top 5 player! Its simply hard because there are to many good players. Best to play and not win a ring I would say Karl Malone. Barkley was amazing but just lacking a little!
Everybody, especially the young players today, say they wouldn't "fall" for Larry's back step. They talking like they're better than the pros. Do you know know many players back then said they wouldn't fall for Larry's "tricks", but then fell for them anyway? If you let him shoot, he made it. If you guarded him too close, he went around you, and, at 6'9", most of them couldn't stop him. It's funny to me how many young players say they wouldn't get taken by Larry, but they most certainly would! Mot players brag, or talk trash, but very few can back it up. Larry certainly could and did!
Larry had so many tools in his arsenal of weapons on the court that defenders were nervous that’s why jab steps dropped him. He got them twisted and falling over their own feet because they didn’t know what he was going to do next. If you noticed one of those guys was Dominique Wilkins not exactly an easy guy to drop. On a sidenote Larry hurt his back trying to fix his mothers driveway which was the beginnings of his back problems.
Larry Legend was the most complete player to ever play in the NBA. Bird was the smartest most clutch, best shooter to ever play. Top three- Bird, Jordan, Olajuwon.
@@BroadbandJosea I agree with half your statement and I have to say bringing Hakeem's name into the conversation was eye opening. Here is my new top 5 1. Bird 2. Magic 3. Hakeem 4. Jordan 5. Kareem Let me explain how I came up with that list. I used the following basic statistics and how players ranked all time within them. I used Field goal % Free throw % Points per game Assists per game Rebounds per game Blocks per game Steals per game Minutes per game There is only 1 player I could find that was in the top 250 NBA players of all time for each of these categories - BIRD! Jordan isn't, Magic isn't, Wilt isn't, Russell isn't, Lebron isn't, Duncan isn't, Durant isn't, Kobe isn't, Kareem isn't and the list goes on and on Bird is actually in the top 60 players of all time in 6 of the 8 categories. Hakeem is in the top 60 in 5 of the 8 categories and so is Kareem Magic, Jordan and Lebron are in the top 60 in 3 of the 8 categories However Magic is in the top 100 in 6 of the 8 categories, as is Hakeem Lebron has a couple of categories where he is high on the list - points per game, assists per game. minutes per game Jordan is high in points per game, steals per game and minutes per game. There are 2 categories that Lebron does poorly in when compared to the top 250 of all time - Free throw percentage(where he is outside the top 250 of all time) and blocks per game(where he is 244th all time) and that now puts him 8th on my list since with you suggestion I added Hakeem who comes up 3rd
Larry Bird had a career-ending back injury less than half way through his career. If he had been healthy he would have played for another four or five years and he would have dominated the league to an even greater extent. A healthy, in his prime Larry Bird would dominate in any era.
11:50 - Just to give you an idea of how the game was more physical back then, when McHale took down Rambis on that play in the '84 Finals, I'm pretty sure that was just a common foul. Back then I don't think they had "flagrant fouls". It was either a common foul or they could throw you out of the game (but that was pretty much only for if you got into a fight and started throwing punches). A few years after that when Jordan was emerging whenever he drove to the basket against the Pistons, they'd hit him as hard as they could and sometimes after a foul was called they'd hit him again harder because the refs can't call two fouls on the same play. It was ROUGH.
They did have "technical fouls," that were used for fights and also for bad behavior. They didn't as often go to the "double technicals" call, like they do now, but if there was a minor altercation they would give a T to whoever started it. The league would get much more stringent in outlawing both fighting and also bad behavior after the 1997 Heat-Knicks series, which saw multiple fights and players getting ejected every night.
When Larry came back out in that game from getting medical treatment, he had a fractured cheek. They didn’t want him back out. But he came back anyway. He had double vision also. And was still sinking shots. Players today wouldn’t come back out.
To be fair, Bird was also concussed, and today's players could not legally come back anyway. The league would have stopped them from trying to play. So while they probably wouldn't have anyway (though one could make a case for someone like Iverson or Russell Westbrook, etc.), they simply can't try to do what Bird did.
The real GOAT list is short,Wilt,Russell,Kareem,Bird,MJ, and Magic. With all due respect to Stockton and Duncan,there's no one else in the conversation.
The most amazing part of the Larry Bird story is that he literally NEVER played at 100% through his entire pro career. He shattered the knuckle of his pointer finger the year before his first season and he said he never had the same feel for the ball. Compound that with foot and back injuries and recalculate how good you think he was. And for the record, the last player whose ankles he broke with the double jab was Dominique Wilkins. DOMINIQUE FREAKING WILKINS.
James Worthy said, "Jordan would make you look slow, but Bird made you look stupid." Pat Riley said, "If I need someone to take a shot to win a game, I'm giving it to Jordan. If I need someone to take a shot to save my life, I'm giving it to Bird."
If you want to be the best, you got to beat the best! Something Jordan never did... Larry Bird was the best when Jordan came into the league.. 0-6 vs legend in the playoffs
for me, what determines whose the GOAT is what you do during your career AND after. being the founding member of the 50-40-90 club, winning three 3-point contests in a row, and being the only player ever to get MVP, manager of the year, and coach of the year. Those feats are what makes Bird the best ever to me.
Growing up in MA, the stories of Bird like the one below are the ones that stick out to me. I remember clips shown during Celtics broadcasts of Bird running up and down the stairs of an empty Garden while the other team was on the court having practice/shoot around. Then he'd go and play near 40 minutes that night. His mind games were an another level. Except from an article I found posted below: During that ’85 season, New Jersey Nets coach Stan Albeck praised Bird in front of his team when he saw the Celtis star shooting three hours before the game. Months later during a return trip to the Boston Garden, Albeck’s players questioned Albeck’s praise when there was no sign of Bird three hours before the game.
“They were all getting on me,’ said Albeck. “They were saying, ‘So where’s Bird? You said he was always out here.’ I pointed up into the stands. None of them had noticed Bird up there. He was running laps. He’d already finished his shooting.”
Can you see that Bird would dominate in today's NBA? With todays rules and medical advances. By the way, that packed to the rafters crowd at his retirement ceremony, was only there for Bird's retirement ceremony. There was no game that night. Some of those people were from around the country, as well as a lot of people from the immediate area.
Dear Sir thank you for your commentary. Okay, a couple of things, Bird did not travel. He bounced the ball and it's hard to see. And my top 5 are: Kareem, Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe. Off the bench: Dream, Drexler, KD, Stockton, Dirk.
1. Jordan. 2. Bird. 3. Magic. 4. Wilt. 5. Oscar Robertson. Lebron isn't in MY top 5 because he's not clutch. He also plays in the easy era of NBA and flops and cries all the time. Takes plays off defense all the time too.
You are absolutely right. They shouldn't be falling from those jab steps. The reason that guys were falling from those moves is because nobody had done them before. James Harden didn't invent the jab step...... Larry Bird did.
What a gift it was growing up in New England in the 80’s going to the Garden and watching Bird play. Is he the GOAT? It’s hard to say, but if you don’t have him in the conversation you’re a fool.
MJ number one, even though Larry has always been my hero. (Larry may have been the best all around player) You could argue all day about a top five or 10, but I will disagree big time on James. Plenty of guys I would take before him. Biggest reason, he's not clutch. Oh, and as far as comparing him to Bird, please, give me Larry every time. Better all around stats, played harder, smarter, made other players cry with his trash talk. The biggest reason Larry is better to quote Pat Riley "If I needed someone to win the game at the buzzer I would take MJ, but if I needed someone to save my I would take Larry Bird.
It's very hard to pick a top 5 across different eras of basketball, or any sport for that matter. But there are players that transcend all eras, and Larry Bird is one of them, MJ is one of them, Bill Russell is one of them, Magic Johnson is one of them and Wilt Chamberlain is one of them. Lebron doesn't make the cut because he never would have survived in the 80's and 90's, he's not tough enough. You couldn't be a crybaby in those times. Today there are too many immature players who do not know the fundamentals and don't know how to play as a team.
This is meant as no disrespect towards you young man but all you young people think LeBron belongs in the top 2 positions trust me he doesnt!! You say you dont want to talk to no one if they dont put LeBron up near the top ok here is the real deal and this is true facts and if anyone disagrees well then they do but just shows they dont know TRUE NBA legends!! 1 and 2 belong to Bill Russell (who has 11 NBA rings) and the other is Wilt Chamberlain tied for 3rd is Bird Magic and Jordan!! Thats REAL talk!! LeBron is maybe in the top 10!
And to think, Larry made 24 Million in his entire career. Yeah you can extrapolate that to today's money, still negligible to today's players, who won't play a game because of a strained muscle in a pinky toe. Bro came back after bouncing his face off the court to win the game. Different times. Different drives.
Why y’all not including Lebron in y’all Top 5???? What’s good wit y’all 😂?
LeBron isn't in a lot of fans top five because he isn't seen as having that killer competitive gene. Larry came back in the game after that fall but he had spent the night before in traction for his back. His back was very bad by then.
React to Larry bird greatest passer of all time re-edit
Bron ain't in my top five.
1. Wilt
2. MJ
3. Larry
4. Kareem
5. Magic
Just because he isn't in peoples' top 5 doesn't mean they don't think he's top 10 💀💀
Leflop is all athlete and no heart. That's why people,especially older ones that have seen the greatest players ever, will never put him near the top. He's definitely not in my top 10 in any hypothetical all time draft.
“Looking into Larry Bird’s eyes is like looking into the eyes of an assassin.” -Dominique Wilkins
That’s a crazy quote
Dominique was always a class act. One of my all time favorites.
@@davidpennington1127 I agree. I feel he is underrated today. People only talk about his dunking ability. He was an outstanding player.
Dominique was one of the players that got his ankle broken at the beginning of video.
My top 10
1 wilt
2russell
3bird
4magic
5kareem
6jordan
7oscar
8dr j
9west
10akeem
You'll understand why Dominique and others were falling after you watch all the Bird stuff.
He made Hall of Famers look stupid.
There's a quote from one saying "MJ will make you look slow, Larry will make you look stupid.". It may have been Worthy or Barkley, maybe even Isaiah Thomas, I can't recall just who said it but certain it was a HOFer.
Worthy said he would rather guard Jordan than Bird. @@theemaygoogleme151
They fell because Bird was a dangerous all around player. He could shoot and pass at a high elite level and had an extremely high basketball IQ. The sudden "jabs" got them because Bird had them unbalanced on their feet not knowing what he was going to do next.
Watch Larry when he's about to make a move. He waits until the opponent is wrong footed, then makes his move. That's why they fall.
Cause he's a stone cold assassin; they trying to get back for what they think coming. LIke in chess: The threat is stronger than the execution.
and the psychological warfare with all his trash talking. Cerebral assassin.
shoot and pass at an elite level- WITH BOTH HANDS, that's what made it even crazier..
No travel, Bird dribbled once after he caught the ball.
yes, that's right - no travel
If you look between his legs, you'll see one dribble.
No Travel - Bird Dribbled
^ THIS
You want to see traveling? Watch Michael Jordan.
" why you falling " lol the guy falling is Dominique Wilkins he is not a random bad player xD
Larry Bird is the greatest small forward ever. Lebron can only dream of being as great as Bird. Two Pat Riley quotes about Bird:
1) "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."
2) "He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!"
😂😂😂
Agreed
How many players would fracture their face in a game and still come back and finish the game…Bird was incredible and still is my all time favorite player
Broken cheekbone, concussion and seeing double, yet he sneaks away from the trainer and wins the game. LeBron gets carried off the court due to a CRAMP? Seriously?
Today? Not many. In the 70’s I started thing my last name was Walkitoff…… baseball, volleyball, basketball…. I’d get hurt and hear Jeanine, walk it off, walk it off. Actually, Walkitoff could be a cool name, I shoulda changed it years ago.
story I heard once was Bird was being treated watching the game on TV. he saw Chuck Pearson for the Pacers celebrating. Bird said F that and caught the trainer not looking grabbed a warm up jacket and went back into the game. said he shot at the basket on the left.@@randyfergus8781
These reaction videos almost always miss the fact that he fractured his face and came back to play. They're so young, they just don't get it
The reason they fall on that jab step is because no one knew what Bird was going to do so they had to anticipate what Bird was going to do and where him and the ball was going. If they anticipated wrong they would lose there balance and down they would go. It was just beautiful!
Exactly, Larry Bird could do everything so good, he had no predictability. He had alot of players seeing ghosts on D.
He’d also set them up for 3 quarters ie drive to right but then hit them with jab to right then step back.
add to those skills the rare ability to make his defender look stupid. When facing against bird when he has the ball, sometimes the defender is just a little too worried about looking stupid - and the fear becomes reality. No one else has ever been quite that scary to defend.
Haha, I came to the comments to say this. Good job. I'd also add that he also had a decent first step in the early 80s, so defenders were worried about that too.
If Bird is not in your top 2 you are illogical. Bird is the greatest all around player I have ever seen! Period!
He really is that great. Why people don’t have him higher is a mystery. Probably cause he had a short career or cause he’s white and not too athletic.
They're falling because Larry was unpredictable. He was already in their heads before he even touched the ball.
That was Dominique who fell the third time. People were falling over Bird because they had no idea what he was going to do, and they were just reacting as quickly as they could. Defense was man-to-man in those days--zone was illegal--and was far tougher than it is now. Bird had his defenders just grasping at straws.
Yea... in a vacuum... Nique doesn't look good crumpling from that jab step. But people forget that Bird could score from anywhere within 15 ft with either hand.. back to the basket, faced up, didn't matter. These guys aren't guarding some player that you simply need to force to their offhand. Bird didn't have an offhand.
Exactly
Also, look at the shoes they are wearing. Trying to play in those old shoes. You go sliding.
In
Yea he did that shit wearing PONY shoes
Check out more videos of Larry and he's gonna go up on your top list superfast :)
And Larry had suffered a fractured cheek bone during the game he came back. Larry broke his orbital….and played….broke his back….played 7 more seasons….played with a concussion and double vision twice…the list of injuries, some that should of been career ending….that he played through is unmatched….with no pain meds ever…Lebron got carted off the court crying with leg cramps….just saying
He played I believe 3 games while seeing double after breaking his orbital bone.
@@edwardrichard2561 I think it was even more than that….it was that brief goggle wearing days…
@@jameylebel he also played with a 2 inch cut between his toes,because he had an infection in his foot.and played the whole game
@@jameylebel the time Bird wore the goggles was when he played with a broken nose.
Not to mention in college he'd injured the index finger on his right hand and it never straightened again. You can see how it's bent in the 3-pt contest.
Pat Riley said "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." You should react to Making the Case. th-cam.com/video/Pxf4RzocHN8/w-d-xo.html The guy has a whole series, 8 videos, about Making the Case for who is the greatest of all time.
I appreciate your reaction, but no player who whines as much as LeBron can be in my top 5, especially one who whines when someone else gets mvp.
We ALL agree
Or calls himself the greatest of all time....SMDH
All time great players don't fold in the finals. ( Twice ) .
LoL Young Buck I was interested till you said LeFlop is Top 2... I would take a broke back Larry Legend all day everyday and twice on Sunday over LeFlop James ...
101% agree with you: you can't write NBA history without Larry and Magic. Period.
Imagine had bird and Johnson been on the same team together.
Great reaction!!
If you’re wondering why so many players broke their ankles trying to defend Larry Bird when all Larry Bird did was a “simple” step back, it’s because, to put it frankly, Larry Bird was the literal INVENTOR of the step back
None of them had ever seen that move before, so it left even all-time great defenders bamboozled on how to deal with it. It was as dynamic and revolutionary in the 80s as AI’s crossover and Harden’s double step back in the 2000s and 2010s. I mean, how do you defend a move you’ve literally never seen before?
When he returned after hitting his face he had a fractured right check and was seeing double and still hit every shot.
He shot it in between the "two" baskets
@@reptomicus yes I know but still that was hard to do
I've been an NBA fan since the mid 1970's and coached youth basketball for years. 2 of my 3 sons played basketball through high school here in North Carolina. My personal top 3 are: 1. Michael Jordan, 2. Larry Bird, 3. Magic Johnson. After the top 3, it’s more debatable to me. I’ve seen everyone over the last 45+ years. IMO, these players had the best BALANCE of FG%, FT%, clutch play, great offense, great defense, makes teammates better, great team play, shares the ball, passing ability, finishing, coachable, high basketball IQ, finds a way to win, has all areas of the basic fundamentals down pat, seeks high % shots first, knows where teammates are on the court at all times, able to score while being fouled, played against tougher competition, played against great defenses. No one today has ALL of these attributes. Not even Lebron. He flops and has choked in too many key games, which brings down his value. To me, only Michael Jordan and Larry Bird have ALL of these attributes and are (by far) the most clutch players of all time. Consistently winning the close games is what separates icon players from everyone else. No players after my top 3 come close to doing it at the level they did. Though today's players have a lot of talent, most players lack most of these attributes and no one has all of them. Defense and team play aren’t nearly as good today as in the 80’s/90’s. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson (by far) are the most clutch players of all time and did it against the best defenses of all time. Great video. You did a good job.
I like your line of thinking. Those 3 are also the best to ever play their individual positions IMO. I have all 3 in my Top 5 as well, and can see arguments for all of them in the 1 spot of the GOAT conversation. However, it’s worth mentioning that Bird is the only 1 of the 3 to beat the other 2 when it counted. Jordan beat Magic, but never beat Bird. Magic Beat Bird, but never beat Jordan. Bird beat them both (and had a perfect record agains Jordan in the Playoffs). 😉
How can you not include Julius Erving?
@@shadowbanned1146 Dr J was an amazing player. He may not be top 5 but he isn't that far away from it. Oscar Robertson deserves some love as well.
Clutch players... How about the great John havlicek... And what about Kareem.. you don't think hes on that level
@@shadowbanned1146 Julius gets overlooked because his best days were in the ABA. He was FUCKING AWESOME.
2:55 he did not travel he literally bounced the ball as he caught it and took two steps to the rim learn basketball knowledge before u calling travel
The best 5 players in NBA history are as follows, in NO particular order:
Larry Bird
LeBron James
Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant
Wilt Chamberlain
I guess Bird was my favorite player to watch because he did things that he wasn't supposed to be able to do. He always came out full steam, win or lose. Thing is, you always expected him to win. In my book, no one can touch Larry Bird. There may be players with more accomplishments, but there are none as much fun just to watch
I think you would love Birds greatest passes. Best court vision of anyone I’ve ever seen play the game
If one is attempting to select a GOAT in the NBA - remember that it is a team sport. A GOAT must enable his teammates to be their best as well. Bird was truly transformational as a team player. The Celtics had their worst team performance in their history the year prior to Larry's arrival to Boston - only 29 wins. With Bird as their only significant addition to their line-up, they won 61 games his first year (+32), and the following year with McHale & Parrish won the NBA Championship. Despite his "superlative" individual stats, MJ was not transformational, but only added to his team's performance by his singular action - and in fact his play often reduced the potential of his team mates. MJ arrived to a weak Bulls team to be sure, but it would be 4 yrs before the Bulls got to .500, and only after Pippen and Grant arrived did the Bulls make their move upward. Further proof comes later when MJ "retired" to play baseball, and the Bulls did not suffer a major downturn (55 wins to the previous year's 57), with Pippen having a better year than ever now without MJ.
Larry B gets my nod for all he could do in all situations, plus his unbelievable positive impact on the team as a whole.
Absolute facts and thank your for speaking the truth
True. Bird also took a team of nobodies in College to a perfect regular season record and the NCAA championship where he lost to Magic Johnson’s more talented Michigan State team.
Like Russell before him and Magic, Bird seemed to intrinsically understand that Basketball is a team sport and so always looked to get his teammates involved and knew how to make them better.
Jordan on the other hand was more like Wilt or Lebron in that he had incredible physical gifts which allowed him to rack up amazing numbers individually, but it took one of the greatest coaches in league history in Jackson to get him to buy into a team first concept and to start trusting his teammates and it wasn’t until a combination of that and Bird retiring till he finally made it to and won a championship.
It’s really Jordan’s 6-0 Finals record (even though, IMO his level of competition wasn’t as high as Magic’s or Bird’s) combined with his individual accomplishments that gives him the GOAT claim.
But, if I had to pick a player to build a team around I’d pick Bird over Jordan.
@@lcpgrowers4658 I disagree with you on 1 thing Jordan was nothing like Wilt not even close cause Wilt got every stat in doubles Jordan did not and coaches didn't know how to use Wilt in the team so they just had him do it all
@@JET1970 yes, I agree, Wilt is the greatest individual player of all time. Jordan has more scoring titles, but that’s only because Wilt decided to stop scoring to try to be more of a team player and focused on Assists and Defense, not because Wilt wasn’t capable of continuing to win them had he wanted to.
This however is why I think it’s a fair comparison. Both men were head and shoulders over their competition in terms of raw talent and both started out trying to carry their teams on their backs and single-handedly win games. Eventually both realized that Basketball was a team game though and decided to put getting their teammates into the action and put the individual stats in second place.
The difference was that Jordan had an All Time great coach for his entire career (well, in Chicago anyhow) who knew how to put his talents to best use, and he had the privilege of having some great teammates in their primes in Pippen, Grant, and Rodman, and a pretty strong supporting cast in Kukoc and Kerr.
Had Wilt had Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, or some other great coach that knew how to use his talent and the same caliber of teammates as Jordan had, I have no doubt he’d have way more rings and would be at least Top 5 on everyone’s list.
@@lcpgrowers4658 besides me I've seen a lot of people on you tube have Wilt either in their top 5 or as the best ever for me I have Wilt and Bird 1 and 2 them Kareem at 3
1.larry
2.magic
3.mj
4.russell
Nearly mine
Siii ciao👋! Non dire cazzate america
1 MJ
2 LARRY
3 MAGIC
4 TIMMY D
5 WILT
Great list but I might switch magic for wilt
@@andremakavelli Duncan over Russell or Kareem... Not quite
I thought it was a travel too but if you look closely there's a dribble that's away from the camera angle
Yep
Thank you for the reaction. I enjoyed watching it and listening to you.
Problem is MJ is way above Lebron. MJ never beat Bird in the playoffs, i.e Larry beat MJ each time in the playoffs.
Just to beat your guys I would take Lambier (sp) lol.
Really though I would start with Bird then there are so many that could make up the rest to include the Celtis 86 team.
Learn more about Bird and many of the 80s players before you start picking your five.
Thanks again.
This guy never even heard of Bill Russell, when trying to name best Celtics players. The guy's got more rings than fingers.
Magic & Larry, resurrected the game of basketball......My dad loved basketball, but stopped watching, until the competition between Johnson & Bird was highlighted......What my Dad used to say, about Larry's game, is that it reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, hockey, baseball, football, soccer, & strategic chess, all at the same time, and was what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
I’ve seen quite a few reactors change their minds about Larry. After a handful of videos, they were hooked. I hope you’re next 👍
The ankle breaking is bcuz from what I’ve heard, nobody was doing the step back in Larry’s day. Plus Larry was so unpredictable he caught everyone off guard. Regarding that “travel” I’ve rewound that & saw a dribble…. 🤷♀️
What you should be seeing is that LARRY IS AHEAD OF HIS TIME.
Larry
Magic
Wilt
(NO JORDAN. NO BRON. NOT SORRY.)
❤️🍀🏀
NNNNAAAAAWWW, LARRY LEGEND JOE BIRD,.. WAS DOING STEP BACKS,.. BACK THEN, TOO!!!
& HE HAD A SSSSWWWEEETTT ONE, TOO!!!
@@angiewilliams8472
I know. Obviously, since the video shows Larry doing it. My comment speaks to the fact that
Larry was among the first to do it.
@@irishgrl OH, OK!!!😁😁
Yes, if you watch Bird's feet you see the ball hit the floor once in the movement to the net. 👍
Watched lots of Larry reaction videos, you're one of the few that recognizes Bird's left hand finish off his own shot. One of the greatest plays ever, good for you for recognizing it.
Larry fuckin legend
You heard it from Magic. He even wrote it on his jersey!
Larry is the goat.
I wonder how much would that jersey go for in a auction..
Stats are stats and you can argue about them all day, but if you are judging by who had the biggest impact on the game, it's hard to find anything with a bigger impact than the Bird\Magic rivalry. It literally saved the game from a slow painful death in the 80's.
What shortened his career significantly was wanting to make a driveway for his mom's house himself, instead of hiring a crew :P
Shit completely messed up his back.
But that's who Bird was, one of the spectacles in Boston was a crowd watching Larry mow his lawn XD
1a. Larry Bird
1b. Magic Johnson
3. Michael Jordan
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Bill Russell
6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
7. Oscar Robertson
8. Lebron James
9. Jerry West
10. Pete Maravich
11. Elgin Baylor
12. Hakeem Olajuwon
good list
Why Jason Williams is not on the list .?
@@manuelhuzanic2063 J Will is one of my all time favorites but he’s nowhere close to even a top 100 list much less top 10
Larry fuckin legend
Young man, probably one of the the greatest Coach of all time Pat Reilly said” lf I needed someone to make a shot to win a game, I would pick Jordan, if I needed someone to make a shot to save my life, I would pick Bird.”
1.) Larry Legend
2.) Magic
3.) Jordan
4.) Kareem
5.) Russell
2:55 He didn't travel at that one point you're were talking about. It looks like he took four steps but if you slow it down and look more closely you'll see he bounced it once on his way to the hoop.
My top 5 are Wilt, Magic, Jordan, Bird, and maybe Kobe or Bill Russel or Pistol Pete or Kareem. Sorry Lebron's not there in the top 5. I respect his accomplishments and stats but he's just not quite there with those other guys. They're cut from a different cloth. Maybe top 10, or top 20 for sure, but again, he's just not quite at their level overall. It's a big picture thing at this point when trying to rank top players all time.
No one will likely ever match Wilt for scoring per game and rebounds. Kareem is the all time scoring champ. Bill Russel is the only one close in rebounds, and Bill has 11 rings and went toe to toe with Wilt and Kareem. Jordan was a nearly unstoppable scoring monster and all around player and has 6 rings? Who has 7, I forget. No one else close to 11, though. Kobe was a killer and a scoring monster, too. And Magic's accomplishments overall may be unmatched, looking at everything, except by Larry Bird, but even his overall accolades and accomplishments aren't QUITE the same, just close. Though Larry might be the better all around individual player. And Larry might be the smartest and best all around skilled player of all them (not the fastest, but skilled).
For context, Larry faced all the greats except the ones before he was in the NBA or after '93, and he was the only one to ever be undefeated against Jordan in the post season, 6-0, even when Jordan drops 63 points on him. Larry's record against Jordan regular seasons is 18-11.
Was gonna make the same point he dribbled once to keep it from being a travel. And yea Larry beat all the greats of his day. If you gave him an inch of daylight you got punished. He's my GOAT and I've been watching since the early 70s. Just me.
Robert Horry has 7, the most of anyone that wasn't on The Celtics in the 60's
MJ/larry/wilt in whatever order...then the rest. for me tho, the GOAT is bird.
@@derkaiser1306 Absolutely right. Magic & Lebron 4-5
@@stevemd6488 see my commentary above re: this alleged offense
My top 5. Give me Bird, Magic and MJ no certain order and the next 2 are debatable.
The night of his retirement celebration there no game that night but the place was packed .
Top 5
1: Bird
2: Magic
3: MJ
4: "Pistol" Pete
5: Dr. J
Bird is the one player from the past who I wish we could see play in the present. He would dominate, because a freak is a freak in any generation.
and there is no defense in today's game. Imagine giving Bird even more space to get his shot off. He could have averaged 40 a game easily.
Jordan, kareem, magic, Russell and bird. Bron can't be top five. He's underperformed with having the most help in history. Also that 2011 finals is crushing.
⛔️ NO TRAVEL - HE TOOK A DRIBBLE - RE-WATCH IT AT 2:55 - he didn’t just take a bunch of steps, he put the ball on the floor then took two steps
Bird got elbowed in the side of his face which left him with a hole in his cheek.. but he still played.
Bird had a toe infection for which he ignored. After a week, he had to have a 2 1/2 inch cut in between his toes. He had a game later that night… and he still played.
He got another elbow to his head that left him with double vision… but Bird still.
It is said, that despite having injuries, Bird never took any pain medication.
My top 5 of all time are Jordan, Chamberlain, Russell, Bird, and Kareem. You could keep going because there are another 15 players who could all be considered top 5! And both Bird and Kareem do not get enough respect! I would say Magic is the best assist man of all time! Magic could also be considered a top 5 player! Its simply hard because there are to many good players. Best to play and not win a ring I would say Karl Malone. Barkley was amazing but just lacking a little!
It's possible Stockton was better than Malone. Deadly together.
1. Jordan 2. Wilt 3. Kareem 4. Bird/Magic
5. Olajuwon
It wasn't a travel. Watch it again, his body blocked the view of a dribble on the way to the basket.
2:44 you may want to take another look at that "travel", closely, and see the dribble between the 2nd and 3rd step....
Check out Larry Bird Making the case , 5 times Larry Bird refused to quit and Larry Birds Heartbreaking story
Everybody, especially the young players today, say they wouldn't "fall" for Larry's back step. They talking like they're better than the pros. Do you know know many players back then said they wouldn't fall for Larry's "tricks", but then fell for them anyway? If you let him shoot, he made it. If you guarded him too close, he went around you, and, at 6'9", most of them couldn't stop him. It's funny to me how many young players say they wouldn't get taken by Larry, but they most certainly would! Mot players brag, or talk trash, but very few can back it up. Larry certainly could and did!
Bird and Bill Russell, the best Celtics ever!
Nobody does it better, NOBODY! One can only dream to be as Bird, his drive alone is amazing!
React to Larry bird greatest passer of all time re-edit or react to Larry bird ain’t no choir boy.
Larry had so many tools in his arsenal of weapons on the court that defenders were nervous that’s why jab steps dropped him. He got them twisted and falling over their own feet because they didn’t know what he was going to do next. If you noticed one of those guys was Dominique Wilkins not exactly an easy guy to drop. On a sidenote Larry hurt his back trying to fix his mothers driveway which was the beginnings of his back problems.
Larry Legend was the most complete player to ever play in the NBA. Bird was the smartest most clutch, best shooter to ever play. Top three- Bird, Jordan, Olajuwon.
I suggest watching Making the Case Larry Bird video for a more info driven video of why Larry is in the top 5 convo and the GOAT convo.
1. Bird
2. Magic
3. Jordan
4. Kareem
5. Barkley , Sir Charles is so underrated.
Barkley is not better than Bron or Hakeem dawg I’m sorry. Appreciate the comment😂
@@BroadbandJosea I agree with half your statement and I have to say bringing Hakeem's name into the conversation was eye opening.
Here is my new top 5
1. Bird
2. Magic
3. Hakeem
4. Jordan
5. Kareem
Let me explain how I came up with that list. I used the following basic statistics and how players ranked all time within them.
I used
Field goal %
Free throw %
Points per game
Assists per game
Rebounds per game
Blocks per game
Steals per game
Minutes per game
There is only 1 player I could find that was in the top 250 NBA players of all time for each of these categories - BIRD!
Jordan isn't, Magic isn't, Wilt isn't, Russell isn't, Lebron isn't, Duncan isn't, Durant isn't, Kobe isn't, Kareem isn't and the list goes on and on
Bird is actually in the top 60 players of all time in 6 of the 8 categories.
Hakeem is in the top 60 in 5 of the 8 categories and so is Kareem
Magic, Jordan and Lebron are in the top 60 in 3 of the 8 categories
However Magic is in the top 100 in 6 of the 8 categories, as is Hakeem
Lebron has a couple of categories where he is high on the list - points per game, assists per game. minutes per game
Jordan is high in points per game, steals per game and minutes per game.
There are 2 categories that Lebron does poorly in when compared to the top 250 of all time - Free throw percentage(where he is outside the top 250 of all time) and blocks per game(where he is 244th all time) and that now puts him 8th on my list since with you suggestion I added Hakeem who comes up 3rd
@@robgelfand2414 don't forget Magic and Bird are the highest in win percentage. #1 and #2
Rob love your top 5
Larry Bird had a career-ending back injury less than half way through his career. If he had been healthy he would have played for another four or five years and he would have dominated the league to an even greater extent. A healthy, in his prime Larry Bird would dominate in any era.
11:50 - Just to give you an idea of how the game was more physical back then, when McHale took down Rambis on that play in the '84 Finals, I'm pretty sure that was just a common foul. Back then I don't think they had "flagrant fouls". It was either a common foul or they could throw you out of the game (but that was pretty much only for if you got into a fight and started throwing punches). A few years after that when Jordan was emerging whenever he drove to the basket against the Pistons, they'd hit him as hard as they could and sometimes after a foul was called they'd hit him again harder because the refs can't call two fouls on the same play. It was ROUGH.
They did have "technical fouls," that were used for fights and also for bad behavior. They didn't as often go to the "double technicals" call, like they do now, but if there was a minor altercation they would give a T to whoever started it. The league would get much more stringent in outlawing both fighting and also bad behavior after the 1997 Heat-Knicks series, which saw multiple fights and players getting ejected every night.
1. Bird
2. MJ
3. Kobe
4. Kareem
5. Magic
My top 5 is Bird, Bird, Bird, Bird and Bird. Everyone else is a distant 2nd
They fell because you had to respect EVERYTHING Larry did..
When Larry came back out in that game from getting medical treatment, he had a fractured cheek. They didn’t want him back out. But he came back anyway. He had double vision also. And was still sinking shots. Players today wouldn’t come back out.
To be fair, Bird was also concussed, and today's players could not legally come back anyway. The league would have stopped them from trying to play. So while they probably wouldn't have anyway (though one could make a case for someone like Iverson or Russell Westbrook, etc.), they simply can't try to do what Bird did.
The real GOAT list is short,Wilt,Russell,Kareem,Bird,MJ, and Magic. With all due respect to Stockton and Duncan,there's no one else in the conversation.
The most amazing part of the Larry Bird story is that he literally NEVER played at 100% through his entire pro career. He shattered the knuckle of his pointer finger the year before his first season and he said he never had the same feel for the ball. Compound that with foot and back injuries and recalculate how good you think he was. And for the record, the last player whose ankles he broke with the double jab was Dominique Wilkins. DOMINIQUE FREAKING WILKINS.
James Worthy said, "Jordan would make you look slow, but Bird made you look stupid." Pat Riley said, "If I need someone to take a shot to win a game, I'm giving it to Jordan. If I need someone to take a shot to save my life, I'm giving it to Bird."
If you want to be the best, you got to beat the best! Something Jordan never did... Larry Bird was the best when Jordan came into the league.. 0-6 vs legend in the playoffs
for me, what determines whose the GOAT is what you do during your career AND after.
being the founding member of the 50-40-90 club, winning three 3-point contests in a row, and being the only player ever to get MVP, manager of the year, and coach of the year.
Those feats are what makes Bird the best ever to me.
Growing up in MA, the stories of Bird like the one below are the ones that stick out to me. I remember clips shown during Celtics broadcasts of Bird running up and down the stairs of an empty Garden while the other team was on the court having practice/shoot around. Then he'd go and play near 40 minutes that night. His mind games were an another level.
Except from an article I found posted below:
During that ’85 season, New Jersey Nets coach Stan Albeck praised Bird in front of his team when he saw the Celtis star shooting three hours before the game. Months later during a return trip to the Boston Garden, Albeck’s players questioned Albeck’s praise when there was no sign of Bird three hours before the game.
“They were all getting on me,’ said Albeck. “They were saying, ‘So where’s Bird? You said he was always out here.’ I pointed up into the stands. None of them had noticed Bird up there. He was running laps. He’d already finished his shooting.”
Can you see that Bird would dominate in today's NBA? With todays rules and medical advances. By the way, that packed to the rafters crowd at his retirement ceremony, was only there for Bird's retirement ceremony. There was no game that night. Some of those people were from around the country, as well as a lot of people from the immediate area.
Bill Laimbeer is the most hated player ever. check him out.
I always hear about how athletic the guys are today but they look like they are playing in slow motion
Now that you've started the Bird-wagon. You should watch his trash talking stories, making the case, and 50 assist videos.
Jordan, kobe, bird, Duncan, magic
Lebron
Why all you young guys think Lebron so great…..
League sales campaign hype?
Bird 1 because he saved the game The NBA was broke and he came in and paved the way for all of them
Dear Sir thank you for your commentary. Okay, a couple of things, Bird did not travel. He bounced the ball and it's hard to see. And my top 5 are: Kareem, Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe. Off the bench: Dream, Drexler, KD, Stockton, Dirk.
3:00 Larry didn’t travel. There was one dribble before he dunked it. Check again
Fun fact, Jordan never won a playoff game against Larry bird 6-0
1. Jordan. 2. Bird. 3. Magic. 4. Wilt. 5. Oscar Robertson. Lebron isn't in MY top 5 because he's not clutch. He also plays in the easy era of NBA and flops and cries all the time. Takes plays off defense all the time too.
MJ NEVER beat Larry Bird
You are absolutely right. They shouldn't be falling from those jab steps. The reason that guys were falling from those moves is because nobody had done them before. James Harden didn't invent the jab step...... Larry Bird did.
Bron not even top twenty bro.. Theres fifty guys from the 70"s and 80"s that would have eaten Lebrons lunch.
Bird, Magic, Kareem, Pistol Pete, Bill Russell (Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, MJ, and Dr. J for my top 10)
What a gift it was growing up in New England in the 80’s going to the Garden and watching Bird play. Is he the GOAT? It’s hard to say, but if you don’t have him in the conversation you’re a fool.
Never got to the garden back then, but wish I did
MJ number one, even though Larry has always been my hero. (Larry may have been the best all around player) You could argue all day about a top five or 10, but I will disagree big time on James. Plenty of guys I would take before him. Biggest reason, he's not clutch. Oh, and as far as comparing him to Bird, please, give me Larry every time. Better all around stats, played harder, smarter, made other players cry with his trash talk. The biggest reason Larry is better to quote Pat Riley "If I needed someone to win the game at the buzzer I would take MJ, but if I needed someone to save my I would take Larry Bird.
It's very hard to pick a top 5 across different eras of basketball, or any sport for that matter. But there are players that transcend all eras, and Larry Bird is one of them, MJ is one of them, Bill Russell is one of them, Magic Johnson is one of them and Wilt Chamberlain is one of them. Lebron doesn't make the cut because he never would have survived in the 80's and 90's, he's not tough enough. You couldn't be a crybaby in those times. Today there are too many immature players who do not know the fundamentals and don't know how to play as a team.
This is meant as no disrespect towards you young man but all you young people think LeBron belongs in the top 2 positions trust me he doesnt!! You say you dont want to talk to no one if they dont put LeBron up near the top ok here is the real deal and this is true facts and if anyone disagrees well then they do but just shows they dont know TRUE NBA legends!! 1 and 2 belong to Bill Russell (who has 11 NBA rings) and the other is Wilt Chamberlain tied for 3rd is Bird Magic and Jordan!! Thats REAL talk!! LeBron is maybe in the top 10!
And to think, Larry made 24 Million in his entire career. Yeah you can extrapolate that to today's money, still negligible to today's players, who won't play a game because of a strained muscle in a pinky toe. Bro came back after bouncing his face off the court to win the game. Different times. Different drives.
you need to watch "a courtship of rivals" its about and hour and 30min, tells you about larry and magics rivalry and friendship
Jordan, Kobe, Bird, LeBron & Russell.
the reason for the broken snkles....the way Larry could pass the ball....a head fake would do the trick. yea...he could pass, shoot and steal!!
Great reaction! I’m hitting that sub button! Double check that first clip, he didn’t travel, he bounced that ball during those “4 steps”… 😁
5:42 One of the nastiest plays....
No particular order, but my top 5 is wilt, jordan, larry, magic and kareem