NBA Greatest Duels: Larry Bird vs Hakeem Olajuwon (1986)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มี.ค. 2014
- Finals preview in Boston Garden and another great win for the 1986 Celtics (24th home win in a row)... Young Hakeem against Larry Bird in his absolute prime.
Larry Bird: 36 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 12/21 FG.
Hakeem Olajuwon: 29 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 12/22 FG.
Celtics won the game 114:107.
www.basketball-reference.com/b... - กีฬา
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Me and Larry had a pretty good duel didn’t we thanks for all the love guys
@Ken D same
You were a great player but Larry's the GOAT!
Olajuwon, Bird , and McHale on my all time NBA roster 👍🏽
You were the man....
Top ten all time dude congrats 🥳 👏🏼
DJ and Larry Legend were a magical combo. Rest in Peace Dennis Johnson.
+DoubleVisionandco hahaha,that pass he made to bird with then houston forward was looking the wrong way......zip,it's over. Peterson was dazed and confused.
Hakeem the Dream my favorite all time player and Larry Legend. miss those guys!
Hakeem is so quick!!!!!!!!!
+trha2222
Your comparing a shooting guard for a center...
oh wait... never mind
I was born in '87, but I love watching 80s basketball
especially the Celtics
Love 1970s,1980s, 1960s basketball NBA
Larry's in my Top 3. Hakeem is in my Top 6. Both of these guys were UNREAL.
Bird's hair... business in the front, party in the back!!
LOL.
LMAO!!!!
In 20 years we'll say....tattoos and beards everywhere...they looked ridiculous!
Celtics were never the same after Larry Bird cut his mullet off and shaved his mustache. This is 100% fact. Greatest team of all time with the mullet.
The hair and stache gave him superpowers
Olajuwon is awesome.
trha2222
Absolutely.
The dream lost
Yes, but Bird was more awesome.
@@alan30189 no bird has Better team but hakeem has more talent except for shooting
garxajis pure bird was a better passer
I have so much new appreciation for Larry Bird from these videos, keep up the good work!
Larry Bird = PHENOMENAL!!🔥🔥🔥
A pleasure to watch this. 80's basketball = best.
I grew up playing all sports and watching all sports. I took in many games and got to see Hakeem play from court-side seats. He was up and down the court so quickly that it was hard to even fathom. One of the greatest athletes I have ever seen.
Living in Houston it was a pleasure seeing him grow from a raw athletic skinny college kid to the unstoppable finesse smooth low post unstoppable player he became. There will never be another dream
There's that "slow" Larry Bird stealing the pass at 1:59 and running faster than the defender while dribbling the ball.
People just call him slow because he looks slow, and has a goofy run. But yeah, he's not that slow.
His second year in the league and Hakeem was already playing like a top-tier veteran. I sometimes wonder what his legacy would be if he remained at power forward. He would have still been finesse but somehow I think he would have been more physical and imposing. There are a small handful of players who might rank above Olajuwon but he is by far my favorite player.
I more wonder what his legacy would've been had Sampson not gotten injured and teammates had not had drug addictions behind the scenes. With some decent to good guard play and two athletic 7 footers gaining more experience, the sky would've been the limit for them. Instead Hakeem spent his best year consisting of almost a decade in between Ralph's injury and Clyde's arrival carrying the Rockets at both ends of the floor night in and out.
True
Those 80s players will dominate the voting come all star game, the so called Superstars of today will be lucky if they snatch a spot in the top10 either in East or the West
Hakeem, then Akeem played Center, Ralph Sampson played power foward position.
Watch how the old school teams played. They don't force anything. They play with instincts and feel. They let the game come to them. They choose to shoot or pass by how the play is developing. They don't run to the 3 point line when you have a post up player open. They don't shoot with 3 men in their face. Players today have a hard time passing out of the double team. Players today are robotic and need to satisfy their egos above team sacrifice. The 1986 Celtics would probably sweep any team playing now. Chemistry, continuity, fluidity, stamina, fundamentals, mental toughness, physical play and respect are all gone from the game now.
George Wagner Agree one hundred percent with you, Celtics 1986 was better than any team today by far
2014 spurs?
George Wagner -- Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels the same way!
One change from then to now is zone defense wasn't allowed then. most of the time it was one-on-one.
Late 80’s basketball was clearly the purest form of the sport but if you actually believe that last sentence there is clearly something pathologically wrong with you.
!986 Celtics, greatest NBA team in history, period, end of story.
Yup.
Then you have the 95/96 Bulls and their 72-10 record. Perhaps that rivals just slightly? ;)
ChromaticTempest Nope. The league was weaker. There wasn't a championship team or runner up from the '80s that wouldn't completely embarrass the '96 Bulls. Hell, the '90, '91, '92, and '93 Bulls were way better than the '96 Bulls. And the '96 Bulls would embarrass any championship team since '96. The league hasn't been any where near its peak in three decades.
*****
Well said. . .Finally, someone who knows what the hell they're talking about.
***** LOL... Bulls played nobody that whole entire season. 72-10 is chump change and Chicago wouldn't of beaten any NBA championship in the 1980's...Lakers, 76ers, Celtics would mop up Jordan all day long and twice on Sunday's... Sorry....
Walton, despite being old and broken down by this point in his career, was remarkably athletic.
He was, but still was the icing on the cake that year after he came from the Clippers. He was 6th man of the year.
Just another example of how many great teams and players there were in the eighties! This Houston team made it's mark, went to the finals twice in this great decade!
Houston was in the finals in 1981 before Hakeem but they Moses Malone. They however.lost to the Celtic. This was their second appearance in the finals in the 80s before reaching and winning back to back in 93 and 94. As we all know, Hakeem won every award except the scoring title.
2:00 look how fast bird was
2nd year Olajuwon. 🤯
23y old and became the only player to keep Kareem(27ppg,5rpg), Magic(22ppg,8rpg16apg!!!), and Worthy(20ppg,5rpg,1spg,1bpg) out of the Finals in the 80's! Lead the entire playoffs in points, rebounds, and blocks
Bird would dominate in todays NBA, hes like a less athletic lebron, with better shooting, passing, post moves, court awarenesss, and a lot more clutch.
Larry's got the mullet working for him.
I like it.
Some of these guys survive on their athleticism. When Hakeem showed up at the U. of Houston, he was red-shirted because he had no basketball skills. He played little the next (his freshman) year. But, boy oh boyo, did he learn. Only McHale had better footwork on the box. It's a shame that today I can't think of any big man who has got the post moves of guys like Hakeem and McHale. It's a lost art form.
Can’t blame the players of today since their coaches came from the post heavy era.
hakeem footwork was unmatched
i think he better post player than kevin
@THE Rattler
Mchale wouldn't have gotten HALF of his points had it not been for Bird. Your comments incorrectly imply that Bird was a some kind of ballhog that rarely passed to Mchale or never made the "correct...easier" pass in order to get his teammates more involved in the game. When in reality....that is EXACTLY how Bird played night after night. Bird could control an entire game without scoring over 10 points...if that was what was needed from him!
Obviously you don't know what Mchale's nickname was that ALL of his teammates gave him from those 80s Celtics teams? They called him the "black hole" because Bird, Ainge, DJ and Parrish ALL knew that once they passed the ball to Mchale in the post....it wasn't coming back out. This was NOT a trait or style of play that Bird ever possessed. He was as selfless as a HOF player could possibly be.
Mchale's HOF Speech is on youtube in full. Of course (just as I told you before in the other Bird thread that I had to drop knowledge on you)...Mchale is quoted saying he wouldn't be a HOF player had it NOT been for Larry Bird, Look it up.
Why you seem to have such a hard on attempting to deny Larry Joe Bird's greatness? It just doesn't make any kind of sense.
Did he fuck your wife or something?
@THE Rattler
Man I just came in here to enjoy watching some Bird/Mchale highlights...oh well.
I'm not going to get into it with you again...better things to do. So I'm not going to reply after this.
Anyone that read your last comment with a 1st grade reading comprehension level could take away that you are IMPLYING that Bird was the reason why Mchale wasn't more successful.
And more importantly... personally knowing what you've written about Larry Joe in other BIRD video comment sections?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what your "literal" opinions are about Bird.
You've got a whole body of "ANTI-BIRD" work out there my friend...it doesn't behoove you to pretend like it doesn't exist.
At least one person knows you're completely full of shit.. I'm still extremely curious why you hate the man so much.
No Sir,McHale didn't have foot work like Hakeem...Never ever
1:30 Bill Walton with the 2-on-1 fastbreak defense clinic.
I have never seen Bird unbalance or awkward on the floor. The man was utterly comfortable, like he was in slippers watching an old movie.
Back in the day when NBA offenses had inside game and outside game. Now days it's just a 3 point shooting contest.
My God can u imagine Dream playing today with these clowns?
CLewey44 If you put Olajuwon between 88'-95' in any era, and he would be the best most complete player on the court every night!
@@armandodelossantos736 I know
@@senseichess8688 no, you don't! You're just learning basketball
@@armandodelossantos736 he would not be the best player just one of the best skippy....but you started watching too late lol too bad for you
@@senseichess8688 says the kid pretending to be an adult that watched Wilt play 50 years ago and now comments on TH-cam videos! You didn't even know Wilt's all star teammates and tried to claim Wilt had crappy teams
You notice how you hear no music in the background!? That's because it was about the game and not the money. David Stern rescued and killed the NBA at the same time.
Stern helped the NBA become a billion dollar corporation with world wide success. At the same time he destroyed the "team" aspect as he marketed individual "superstars". He changed rules, styles, looks, paid off refs, gamblers etc to get money. He is a corrupt business man. The NBA lost it's class and dignity all for money.
I think Stern was too busy counting his Jordan era money that he never considered what to do after Jordan left
@@mandodelossantos2 hey where was Jordan the "so called goat" this year btw?
I thought Hakeem was always avoiding meeting him in the Finals. Notice no Jordan loons of TH-cam are anywhere to be found in this video.
That defensive play by Walton at 1:33 was one of the very best I have ever seen....2 on 1 and he beat them both!
Note to Jordan junkies, . . . I started watching the NBA in the 70s. The 80s were incredible. So many great teams. Boston, Houston, LA, Philly, Detroit, and others. Jordan and LeBron as well would have a hard time getting through so many great teams to a championship. The 80s was truly the greatest era of NBA basketball.
+Thos Robert Milwaukee and Atlanta were also very good and very deep in the 80s. The Bucks could've possibly won a championship in 86 if not for Boston. I think a Rockets vs Bucks 86 Finals probably goes to Milwaukee in 7. Fun to think about. It's really a shame the Bucks have been so pathetic since 87.
There are about 4 good teams in the NBA. In the 80's there were 8-12 teams that could compete for a title now.
Did Jordan not play in the 80s? Were his stats sub par compared to his championship years?
His individual stats were actually better in the 80's before Phil got him to play team ball.
Thos Robert Yeah he was only barely beating bums like the Cavs in that era.
This is what I don’t get about the goat rankings that people have. Bird is untouchable as a top 5 player to so many people yet someone like Hakeem who is supremely elite on both ends of the floor, has more longevity, only one less ring on way worser teams and has beaten their biggest rivals the lakers at a young age is considered worse. Where’s the logic? I swear people hate on big men.
It's subjective. No ranking is truly set in stone. Everyone has their different criteria for what greatness is
See the issue with the NBA right now is that teams, the league and fans, want top athletes with no refined basketball skills to be superstars; back in the 70's, 80s, and early 90s you could still find people that were really really good at basketball things, you see Mchale, Olajuwon, Bird, see the way those guys move with, or without the ball, they have basketball common sense, great post moves, good passing, team play, leadership now you expect an athlete that takes more time on the weight room ( and p.e.ds) than practicing their basketball craft. I cringe every time someone says that A. Davis or D. Howard are the best big men in the game... these guys barely have 1 good post move and horrible court awareness on defense.
You are correct. A lot of it has to do with the lack of fundamentals that they would've learned in COLLEGE! Is it a coincidence that Duncan was the most fundamentally sound player of his generation and that he stayed all 4 years in college?
Jacob Graves And money!
Their all millionaires now. The owners want to protect and cash in on their investments.
Back then, you had players making $50,000 a year. In 1986, Hakeem Olajuwon made about $300,000 as opposed to Steph Currys $3,000,000 in his second year.
@Ken D
Nolan Ryan signed the first 1million dollar contract with the Astros in his hometown of Houston and most people said it was all about selling Ryan jerseys to the residents of Houston.
LoL!
Good points
Those bullet passes from DJ with Larry coasting around the rim were complete FU plays lmao
Bird is a Sniper, he can shoot in faraway way if he needed
Just the squeak of sneakers...no crappy music and sound effects overpowering everything
Larry's killing it with the mullet! LOL!
I think so 🥰
Ahhh. Back when basketball was watchable.
Yes indeed
Olajuwon & Sampson of Houston, the first Texas Twin Towers before Duncan & Robinson of San Antonio
I believe the Houston towers who didn't win a chip together was more dominant in a short period of time than the spurs towers whom did win two chips together play a longer time cause even though the west in the late 90s early 2000s was big man heavy mostly in the west, the 80s was more competitive and physical back then and each conference had a big on the block especially the 80s 90s physical East. Whoo!
@@brandedmcgowan9414 would've been fantastic matchup 1985-1986 Rockets vs the 98-99 Spurs
@@FuShengAlex 1999 spurs had the coach point guard (Avery Johnson) and bench but 1986 rockets has the versatile bigs, quick and athletic and team length. I'll take the 1986 rockets in 6 games because of Hakeem's overall presence.
Now what they don't tell you is this in 86 Hakeem in the finals went against arguably the greatest front line in N.B.A History . He went Bird , Parish , and McHale because Ralph Sampson had bum knees and he not play for most of the series. Hakeem still held his own and winning two games in the against the Celtics in the finals. Finally, remember that same year that same year Jordan scored 63 points in Garden but he did not win one playoff game that year and to me Hakeem probably under rated super star in N.B.A. History. M
Dude, you have your facts twisted. Ralph struggled in the series simply as it was put, he was constantly in foul trouble. Hakeem however put on a show and Celtic could not stop him but the Celtic was a much better team and basically shut down everybody else other than Hakeem. Ralph twisted his knee in 1987 and was never the same. By 1988, he was traded to Golden state.
Hakeem is awesome,but Bird is even better than the dream. Both are on my all time starting 5.
Olajuwon's defense alone is better than anything Bird could ever do
@@keeptahoeblue7496 The Celtics were 29-53 in 1979. After Bird's rookie season with the same players as before they finished 61 -21. Could Olajuwon's defense alone do that to a team?
What a great team the 86 Celtics were.
Yes
0:38
The best 2 low post players in NBA history fighting for the rebound. Olajuwon at 7’0”and McHale at 6’10”. But McHale with the 8’0” wingspan.
Crazy to think that McHales reach is 14 inches longer than his height. That’s freaking nuts.
6’9” HW Boxer Tyson Fury has an 84” reach. McHales is 96” (a full foot longer than Fury 😳😳).
I loved the Rockets but this comparison is silly. Hakeem was great for his position but Bird was a better all around player. Both Hall of Famers.
Hakeem was just as good if not better than Bird on offense in the playoffs. And was MUCH better/defensively than Bird.
He was actually slightly more all around better
larry bird the best of the best
Hakeem is arguably the greatest center of all-times...
Wrong not even close to being the best center.
@@73Trident yes he was. Only Kareem was greater.
Omg! Better than Wilt or Kareem? Then you woke up!
Hakeem was outstanding but Wilt and Kareem are LEGENDS!
Chamberlain > Olajuwon
Was this the game that Sampson was severely injured?I was wondering if you have that footage?If yes pls upload it.
2 of the top 5 players of all time in my opinion.
PG Magic
SG MJ
SF Bird
PF Duncan
C Dream
kareem in his hayday was a monster i think he was even better than hakeem. i would put hakeem at pf and kareem at center instead of having duncan.
Kareem and Wilt over Dream, LeBron over Bird
Kareem in his hayday was also playing against weaker competition in the 70s. Even old Nate Thurmound outscored Kareem in a playoff series and had to be saved by Oscar Robertson.
Hakeem dominated one of the better era of centers. Took down Ewing in 94' finals, Robinson in 95' Conf. finals, and Shaq in 95' finals.
Kareem had weaker competition in 70s...he faced Wilt (not in his prime but still great and 1972 finals MVP),Thurmond,Bellamy,Cowens,Gilmore,Lacey,Lanier,Hayes,Reed,Walton,Adams,Sikma,Unseld in their primes...all of them HOF except Lacey and Adams who were all stars and then old Kareem who dominate until 42 and was 20 plus player until 39 (only MJ did the same but in a bad Wizards team by taking 20-25 shots) play against w times MVP Moses,Parish and young and athletic Hakeem and Ewing....no player in NBA face so many HOF in his position as Kareem did in his career!this guy had so long career who did n't play against Russell for one season (Bill retired only 35-36 years old) and also David Robinson for only one season...that amazing!
What beautiful basketball, the way it's supposed to be played. Really both teams played some great ball. Imagine how good Houston was then, and to be destroyed by Boston in the way they were is really amazing and telling of how great Bird and Boston were. . .Thanks for the upload!
I love tommy heinson commentary he gives credit whatever the side
Hello! can you post complete Larry Bird games please?
For some reason I remember this series better than the Boston - LA series. I distinctly remember the Sampson, Sichting fight and what Bird said about it before the next game. . ."he (Sampson) better wear a hard hat to the game", lol. I can remember the pre-series interview with Robert Reid etc. . .Of course I remember the Celts DESTROYING Houston in the last game.
Sampson was team cancer
@@keeptahoeblue7496 I hadn't known that. Even though I'm from VA and watched Sampson play in College, I didn't know much about him.
It doesn't surprise me but what was he doing at that time to be considered a "Team Cancer?"
'86 Celtics certainly one of the best and considered by many as the very best basketball team to ever play. 67 wins, only lost 1 home game during the regular season, and in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs... swept the Bulls, Bucks, and only lost one playoff game (on the road) to the Hawks. So where does that leave Hakeem and the Rockets on the greatest teams list? They beat the reigning NBA Champion Showtime Lakers 4 games to 1 in the WCF series, and beat the Celtics 2 games in the Finals to take the series to 6 - one game was the only home playoff loss and just the second home loss for the Celtics that season. Hakeem was just in his second year in the NBA that season... too bad the team was broken up due to Sampson's injury and other players being suspended for drug use - otherwise the 80's could have been the Rockets decade, and Hakeem likely would have won multiple Championships during the 80's.
Hakeem was CLEARLY one of the BEST all-timers !! LOOK at those f-ing moves...
EWING ?!?! Puhleeeze !!!
+trha2222 he was better than david robinson
trha2222 lol
Ewing was a JOKE - one of THE all-time OVER-RATED players in SPORTS HISTORY !! He was propped up by the Garden honchos - AND the reporters who REFUSED to admit they were wrong about saying how WONDERFUL he was from day one. Look at his assists... about ONE PER GAME ??? Utter BALL HOG !!!! Made Carmelo look like Steve Nash !!! GTFO !!
Taxi Talk NYC who's talking about Ewing
+Taxi Talk NYC hakeem for sure is better than ewing,robinson,shaq...but saying ewing overrated and ballhog is wrong...ewing led knicks in nba finals and lost in 6 and 7 games vs mj's bulls 3 times giving him a hard time!he avg 25-12-3 blocks and shoot 52fg%....he also avg about 3 assists in his prime that is quite good for a center!
the dream
Basically Hakeem vs the Celtics Dynasty team
Nobody was gonna beat the Celtics in 1986.
bird was the master at the left hand
We've never seen anyone so ambidextrous...talking about left handed 12 footers and 3's in a couple games...just for fun he did that.
Check out Bird's "left hand game" where he shot ONLY lefties for an entire game against Portland and scored 42 points.
Bird was a Baaaaadd Man!!!!!!!!!!!
ALTHOUGH HAKEEM LOOKED SO MAJESTIC BIRD OUTSCORED HIM & HIS TEAM WON! I WILL SAY THAT I STILL THANK THE GOOD LORD THAT NEITHER EVER PLAYED FOR THE "HATED" LAKERS! BIRD OR HAKEEM ON THE LAKERS I WOULD HAVE QUIT WATCHING THE NBA THEN!
So the finals that season featured those two teams thanks to Sampson 1 second flip shot in the West finals.
This was also only Hakeems 2nd season!!
@@brandedmcgowan9414 flip shot🤣 we wupt the lakers azzz 4-1 that series. Yet for some reason everyone thinks the series came down to 1 shot! Hilarious!!
@@hookemdagawd5607 total dominance by Houston towers and bad matchup for Lakers frontcourt which was a big deal in that series, Kareem could do so much he has against Hakeem. And yes good thing for the rockets that they can afford to lose that game so the series goes back to Houston for game 6 if Sampson didn't made that flip shot and Hakeem didn't get suckered into a scuffle by Kupchak overtime would be different. Just saying
@@brandedmcgowan9414 agreed
My 2 favourite players
Larry Legend is the greatest ever - behind Wilt.
Maybe, but a more skilled GOAT
Akeem was great and one of the greatest!
Just noticed the big men were quite quick at their feet in this game. Olajuwon, Sampson, Parish, Machale
La era dorada dela NBA.
Love when Mike Gorman called games.
Larry vs Hakeem just seems like such an appropriate duel
This is intense
This is the best team ever assembled Imagine for a moment this team along with Reggie Lewis and Lenny Bias to learn from and take over from the older players there would be no bulls dynasty
they were both in college nigga
And here I thought basketball was a Team game, Celtics V Rockets, I never saw either of them guarding each other very much, and I saw many other players playing, I think....
Olajuwon was the only rocket that wasn't intimidated by the celtics. Everyone else shrunk in boston, especially ralph Sampson
Bird is GOAT !!!!!! MJ #2
keep dreaming
@@smitavijayanitani ever see the video of Bird vs. MJ one on one? Bird scorched him.
@@davida.4933 MJ averaged 45 on him idk what you saying
@@smitavijayanitani
In the 28 times Larry & MJ played head to head, Larry bested MJ 17 to 11.
Facts.
@@irishgrl ok and larry had a wayy better team MJ had no one
Hakeem making Walton look like me
Post some more Larry Bird footage if you can.
5 more Bird games from the 85/86 season coming soon :)
Look how great I was in only my second season
Hakeem's footwork....bruhh...
man with the brains wins alot
Who won the game?
If you had season tickets to the Celtics this season you would've only seen one loss, 4 if you include the playoffs... Amazing.
McHale looks like Michael Sarazin, an actor from the 70's.
Frankenstein
Jordan didn't have anybody like Dr. J, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson to contend with each year. Jordan had guys like Dan Marle, John Stockton, old Isaiah Thomas, an Aids ridden Magic in '91, Jordan didn't have it as tough as the 80s... That's the fact--Jack.
Stockton was 1 of the best point guards of all-time. "Old" Isiah, who was 29 in '90-91 (Boy, that's real old.), still averaged 16 & 9. Aids ridden Magic still averaged 19.4 points & 12.5 assists. Jordan still had it tougher in the 90's than LeBron has (which I say because, judging by your name, you seem to be a Cavs/LeBron fan)
+Ellande Campbell not to mention Jordan had the entire Detroit pistons teaming up to try and stop Jordan with something called the Jordan rules. the 84' draft was the most talented draft class in history. the guys who were drafted in the 80's were in their prime in the 90's which include Barkley, Malone, Stockton(all time assist and steals leader), David Robinson, rodman, mourning, Rick Smits, Ewing, Oakley, Kemp, Gary Payton, Reggie Miller, shaq! oh and the #1 overall draft pick of 84' was Hakeem Olajuwon(all time blocks leader) who's arguably the greatest center of all time. 80's were great, but the 90's was where it was at.
+trha2222 Papers?!? wtf you talking about?
Might have been a different story had Hakeem's Rockets made it to the 1991-93 Finals.
Hey tard magic never had aids
hot damn! I remember this one! Dream is the best.
Poor Rodney McCray! I feel bad for him. Larry Bird was ruthless!
This Celtics team should have had Len Bias in the mix - would have destroyed all teams
The only sports I watch now is 80's NBA and current UFC. All other current sports are down the toilet.
0:45 Keep watching this trying to figure out how Bird freezes his defender and then spins around them like they're a glorified traffic cone. It's not lazy defense and yet Bird still makes McCray look like he's falling asleep, and doesn't even have to do anything fancy or obvious to pull it off. You can tell McCray pretty much has no idea what Bird might do, maybe because he just got burned with a move to the inside a play or two earlier. And then Bird sells it with a hard stare, maybe some trash talk, I dunno -- and then walks past him along the baseline for the easy hoop.
😄 glorified traffic cone 😂
Your point is so valid tho.
So many reactors, (young guys, generally) when they first start to watch any Bird highlights, are shocked that there's "no defense" against Bird. That the defender _isn't even trying_ . That _THEY_ wouldn't let Bird get away with that.
Bird isn't called Larry Legend for no reason.
He's called that for all the reasons.
Bird, MJ, Wilt, (Hakeem, Duncan, or Russell) and Kobe.
can't believe they won; must check the box score in detail ... mchale was hakeem before hakeem as to moves, but the big three (including walton) sure have a tough time with that kid ...
never seen walton move so fast as here, even in college, what a player (wilt's fave at one point), note his perfect vertical D, quite apart from his hustle
ehlo looks at one spot as tough and quick as marciulionis
jordan and bron haters, get serious, they would have thrived in this period as well, easily; the point is that many of these of these guys, and all the greats, would have ruled just fine in the 1990s and today as well
you cannot quite say this of someone like robertson, though, actually
Nice comment. Yeah Hakeem was quite springy in this era. Also Jordan did in fact thrive in this era.
athleticism dosn't win games, just be in shape and have a good percentage in scoring. Larry bird was the greatest, and was that athletic. if athleticism won games, LeBron wouldn't have lost those finals.
+Cipriano Goytia A guy like Larry Bird was able to lead his team in rebounds for a couple of seasons or nearly 3 seasons if I recall correctly and his career average is around 10 rebounds a game. And that was while playing against and alongside great rebounders every night and nearly every minute he is on the court. Think about it, a prime Parish and prime McHale, getting less rebounds than Bird?? And the insane part is he did this while he was their main scoring option which means he would have way lesser opportunities to get rebounds cause he is shooting the ball more often than others.
Lebron James can't even average that playing with Posh Spice and on most nights he doesn't even have to compete against a proper center or power forward.
No matter how much 'athleticism' a guy can have, his average speed in a game will always be heaps slower than the average speed of the ball.
Bird is most overrated player ever, he shouldn't even be mentioned with lebron
bruh... Bird is overrated? 50 40 90, 24 10 and 6... thats not overrated thats pedegree!
trha2222 if bird didn't play with 4 hall of famers he would be a first round exit every year all of his stats drop from regular season to post season with -6 ppg
Bird made them HOFers. Those guys are just ordinary players without Bird.
This was no duel. Bird and the Celtics destroyed the rockets.
best of the best is bird
The Petersen on the Rockets is such a tool.
Bird was theBesT'
thanks for the upload. great displays of basketball intelligence here from both of them.
larry bird lack of athleticism was definitely overhyped. this guy could run up and down the court the whole game with good speed.
both players know how to react instantly upon receiving the ball. defense cant be formed fast enough to contain them. very little dribble down the block and yet very effective. finding the seam between double team d, subtle body movement to create space for a clean shot. i do not understand why the most of the players now never give me enough impression of how they could be a consistent threat in the low post.
popeyeisgood I never bought into claims about Larry's alleged lack of athleticism. You have to be considerably athletic to pull off some of the moves you could see him doing on nightly basis. He is notorious for tough circus shots
Larry Bird's "lack of athleticism" was never mentioned until the NBA and it's reporters and fans, adopted racist stereotypes and assumptions around the year 2000.
Peterson on Bird, "you put a white guy on me, that is dissing me."
Cleveland tribe do ya homework. when 23 came into the nba 32 and 33 was in the prime of their careers. winning championships. Mike mastered his skills, watched 32 and 33 win, got will and heart, and took over the nba. Some of them bull teams were jus as good as 32 or 33s teams. 72 wins.
+Joseph Odom True, but MJ took over the NBA in terms of playoff success only after the teams that had clobbered him for years got over the hill. He was the leagues best player, but couldn't win anything significant until the mighty teams fell off the face of the earth.
MJ already took over the playoffs by 86. Trouble was, he was always going up against stacked teams that eventually went to the NBA Finals or they had the top defense in the league. The Detroit Pistons by '91 had even better defense than when they won their championship in the following year.
bulls hit
@@greatwhitesufi SALMON I MEAN SALMAN GO FISH!
Chief and McCray had a long night I bet.
houston shoulda worked ralf sampson more......as coach I would give him liek 30+ shots each game same as akeem
i always thot ralphie was the only one who could stop mchale, but only when he felt like it.
Sampson got completely cooked by McHale. Sampson was a terrible defender and was always out of position or late in transition. I blame him for Olajuwon only having 2 rings
It was Akeem, not Hakeem.
How was this a vs.? They don't play the same position and they never guarded each other
+trha2222 hell no Hakeem the dream was a Center smh he never had to guard Larry bird in is entire life who the fuck let a Center guard a Small forward ? smh yall dont know shit about the NBA but still find a way to talk shit put Bird against Lebron in a one on one game both in there prime i guarantee you Lebron gonna eat this Man alive eat him ALIVE make him suffer and make him rethink about is whole career i dare you to try
Maybe Hakeem defended Bird when Bird came into the Paint, or maybe on a switch. However, Hakeem played a different position!
If that doesn't make sense then you don't understand how basketball works.
More Cowbell hahahah he clearly dont understand how basketball work SMH
trha2222 you are still here ? im done with you not even gonna argue with a guy who think that a center can guard a small forward lol
trha2222 lol you are definetely under 17 years old what kind of grown ass men say go home to daddy ? smh