That's one of things that made Bird great, he could shoot, but he also had no problem passing if someone else had a better shot. Hard to guard against that.
Larry could take over a game but he always got his team mates the ball. They love playing with him because he was unselfish. He was notorious for knowing when a mates contract was up and feeding him the ball so he could shine and get a better deal.
Larry is the greatest passer I’ve EVER seen. He has a larger repertoire of passes & he can accommodate split second timing in traffic with deadly accuracy. Magic never did between the legs, tap passes or quarterback passes like Larry did….nobody did. Larry put BACKSPIN on the ball so it would bounce right into the receiver’s hands! Kevin McHale tells that story in an interview for the NBA Top 75 players program!
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, Larry's game reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, hockey, baseball, track & Field, soccer, football, & strategic chess in his head, and that's what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
Larry Bird was the king of team play. That’s something you don’t see too much of any more. If one of his teammates was having an off night or an off week, he would make the effort to feeding him the ball. He knew where everyone was on the court at any given time… not just his own teammates… Everyone. There was no one like him ever, and I doubt there ever will be again. Love Larry Legend! 👍🏼❤️
people dont think about how much of a team player bird was cause most of his passes he could of shot him self and most players would of shot them to score more but bird passed to his team mate to get them all into the win so they all looked good as a team
Larry had 59 triple-doubles in his career, he could have had way more if he wanted to. Also he had almost a quadruple double (he needed just one more steal) in '85 playing just 3 quarters
Right, but they were so far ahead that they took him out of the game and when the coach realized he only needed on steal to do it and asked Larry if he wanted to go back in, Bird said, Naw he had done enough damage already.
Magic made simple passes look amazing. Larry made amazingly difficult passes look simple. And you notice the pass with the Spanish Speaking commentators had ENGLISH on it. It curved around the defenders. Ironic. 😄
Your comparison with Dennis Rodman is spot on. Ironically, Bird and Rodman also were world-class rebounders due to a huge trait they shared: positioning. Think about it: Bird was a slow white guy who couldn't really jump, and his career average for rebounding was 10+. Rodman, the greatest rebounder of all time, wasn't tall like Kareem, and wasn't physically huge like Shaq or Moses. How did they both succeed? Through positioning: knowing where the ball was gonna go ahead of everybody else, and positioning their bodies into the spot to snag that rebound. The difference was that Rodman based his entire career around rebounding, whereas Bird excelled at pretty much every aspect of the game.
Have you seen The Beautiful Game - 1986 Celtics? It's said that Magic made easy passes seem extraordinary. Bird made extraordinary passes seem easy. The value of the passes are more than only for assist stats. The play they set up, the speed with which the ball can move down the court, the confusion caused to opponents and so much more. Please react to The Beautiful Game. Love to know what you think of it.
It comes down to who among the legends would prefer to face Bird at the top of his game in the deciding game? When Larry was hot, I bet most of the legends playing against him in the deciding game would not want Bird to take the final shot...nor DJ.
Everybody rightly gives credit to Bird for his court vision and having eyes in the back of his head. But you have to credit his teammates, because they were never surprised to find the ball coming their way at the most unlikely of moments.
All 80's bball was like this players dove for balls, and hustled you missed out ,and every kid in the USA in the 80's was trying to be bird or magic they really CHANGED bbl 4ever ,with this NEW kinda play ,every player today has a little of bird in thier game #LB33 💚🐦
Watching Larry play back then his passes used to crack us up. People forget though these guys were wearing flat-bottom thin-soul Cons, not the super advanced basketball shoes guys play in today. Doesn't affect passing but you know the basketball shoes we played in back then compared to today's shoes made you slower, couldn't jump as well, feet got more sore. Makes a huge difference overall. Credit for these guys.
He was really good at the basics and knowing where his teammates were. He played 13 seasons for the Celtics, but missed all but 6 off the games in one season when they cut the Achilles tendons and removed bone spurs from both of his feet. But the next season he came back and averaged 24.3Pts, 9.5TRb, 7.5Ast and 1.4 Stl. During his career he had: 21,791 Points (24.3 ppg), 8,974 Rebounds (10.0 rpg) and 5,695 Assists (6.3 apg). Was the founding member of the 50, 40, 90 club, too.
Larry Bird Did Everything and not only was a leader in game winning clutch Shots he also Passed for Assists, rebounded followed up with passes, got a concussion and broken cheek bone..came back out to finish the game and won it with a clutch shot...He played with serious injuries (especially his back) having to wear a body brace most of the time near the end of his career. Larry was a Navy Seal in Pain Endurance just to play basketball. I Don't Know of a Single NBA Star in the Last 25 Years who is as Strong as the Legend Larry Bird. My favorites in order are Larry Bird, Dr J, Pistol Pete, Kareem then Jordan, Curry for who I think are the best. Stats are not a perfect measure of how awesome someone is. For example if most teams are average players you can have someone score lots of two pointers and get the best stats for most points scored. But you can have someone who is a way better shooter and they loose in the stats because the years they played had better players in the league overall and the rules could have been tougher/weaker etc. The NBA during Larry Bird's time was way better and tougher then the past 25 years. Larry is Awesome 👍😎
Larry hustled in every game. He was the quintessential TEAM player. His passes made other players on the team all-stars. He said: "You get one step on your defender you're getting the ball." If you were good enough for the pros would you want to play on a team with Larry Bird or Michael Jordan?? What fun to play with Bird who's definitely going to make sure you're involved ... rather than having to stand there and watch Jordan shoot. Like the late great Dennis Johnston (Celtics) said, "No one person can beat a team."
the story l heard was Larry insulted Pistol Pete so bad he retired. PP told Larry he was open to pass the ball, Larry told him if he was any good, his man would't be on Bird leaving him open. savage moments was the video i think
Bird could have had unbeatable record career stats if it weren't for him passing up easy shots to allow his teammates their own moments in the spotlight.
Top NBA career combined stats per game (pts, reb, ast, stl, blk) additional career fg%,tp%,ft% 1. Jordan 44.7 -50-33-84 2. Lebron 44.4 -51-35-73 3. Bird 43.1 -50-38-89 4. Kareem 42.9 -56-06-72 5. Durant 40.8 -50-38-88 A bunch of guys in the 40’s.
Bird and Magic deserve royalties from today's players. Without them they wouldn't be making the obscene amount of money they do. I guess they're also to blame for fans having to sell their first born for season tickets today😊.
Boston Celtics would be up by 20 points with under 2 minutes left in the game. Larry Bird would still dive for a loose ball 🏀. Larry Bird never Stopped Moving with or without the Ball 🏀. Larry Bird would run a Marathon every year and the time he scored 60 points against the Hawks. Larry Bird ran a 5K Marathon the day before he dropped 60 on Atlanta.
Maybe so, but… all three you named were point guards. Bird was a small forward and never the primary ball handler. By nature of his position he had fewer assist opportunities than point guards.
Nonsense ….. Bird and Magic are easily the top 2 passers of all time ! Stockton had more assists than anyone else , that doesn’t make him the greatest passer of all time ! Kareem has more points than anyone else , doesn’t make him the greatest shooter either ! And I have no problem with Stockton or Nash …… both great passers !
@@bozeeke No …. Stockton is not the best passer ever ! That is just silly ! But he was a fantastic guard , extremely unselfish with the ball and a top 25 NBA player …. Nash was another good passer and was pretty Cool to watch ! Probably a top 25 player as well ! It’s Just Bird and Magic were on a different level !
That's one of things that made Bird great, he could shoot, but he also had no problem passing if someone else had a better shot. Hard to guard against that.
Larry could take over a game but he always got his team mates the ball. They love playing with him because he was unselfish. He was notorious for knowing when a mates contract was up and feeding him the ball so he could shine and get a better deal.
Larry is the greatest passer I’ve EVER seen. He has a larger repertoire of passes & he can accommodate split second timing in traffic with deadly accuracy. Magic never did between the legs, tap passes or quarterback passes like Larry did….nobody did. Larry put BACKSPIN on the ball so it would bounce right into the receiver’s hands! Kevin McHale tells that story in an interview for the NBA Top 75 players program!
Magic Johnson did throw full court passes.
Bird did it every time they needed to catch up or respond to the other team making up ground ….
Larry isn't a superstar, he's a Legend!
Larry isn’t a legend, he’s a unicorn💚☘️
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, Larry's game reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, hockey, baseball, track & Field, soccer, football, & strategic chess in his head, and that's what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
Bird and Magic are easily the
top 2 passers of all time , but
Bird is the better player !
Birds passes were at a greater difficulty then all of them.
I can't believe you can't admit he is the best passer.
I love the respect you show for Larry Legend 👏
Larry Bird was the king of team play. That’s something you don’t see too much of any more. If one of his teammates was having an off night or an off week, he would make the effort to feeding him the ball. He knew where everyone was on the court at any given time… not just his own teammates… Everyone. There was no one like him ever, and I doubt there ever will be again. Love Larry Legend! 👍🏼❤️
Robert Parrish in his NBA Hall of Fame speech, said something like, yes I scored 20K baskets, but 5K of those came directly from Bird.
people dont think about how much of a team player bird was cause most of his passes he could of shot him self and most players would of shot them to score more but bird passed to his team mate to get them all into the win so they all looked good as a team
It's been said that Magic made easy passes look amazing while Larry made amazing passes look easy.
Sorry to say all those spectacular hustle plays came at a very high price. That floor is hard as rocks.
Larry had 59 triple-doubles in his career, he could have had way more if he wanted to. Also he had almost a quadruple double (he needed just one more steal) in '85 playing just 3 quarters
Right, but they were so far ahead that they took him out of the game and when the coach realized he only needed on steal to do it and asked Larry if he wanted to go back in, Bird said, Naw he had done enough damage already.
Magic made simple passes look amazing.
Larry made amazingly difficult passes look simple.
And you notice the pass with the Spanish Speaking commentators had ENGLISH on it. It curved around the defenders.
Ironic. 😄
Larry Bird is the only man in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.
As well as ROY.
@14:25 Larry gets that ball RIGHT INTO Danny’s hands as he’s standing there in a crouch. Danny doesn’t have to move!
And he did it left handed.
Your comparison with Dennis Rodman is spot on. Ironically, Bird and Rodman also were world-class rebounders due to a huge trait they shared: positioning. Think about it: Bird was a slow white guy who couldn't really jump, and his career average for rebounding was 10+. Rodman, the greatest rebounder of all time, wasn't tall like Kareem, and wasn't physically huge like Shaq or Moses. How did they both succeed? Through positioning: knowing where the ball was gonna go ahead of everybody else, and positioning their bodies into the spot to snag that rebound. The difference was that Rodman based his entire career around rebounding, whereas Bird excelled at pretty much every aspect of the game.
Interesting hearing the mix of Alan Parsons Project music in the background.
Have you seen The Beautiful Game - 1986 Celtics?
It's said that Magic made easy passes seem extraordinary.
Bird made extraordinary passes seem easy.
The value of the passes are more than only for assist stats. The play they set up, the speed with which the ball can move down the court, the confusion caused to opponents and so much more.
Please react to The Beautiful Game. Love to know what you think of it.
It comes down to who among the legends would prefer to face Bird at the top of his game in the deciding game? When Larry was hot, I bet most of the legends playing against him in the deciding game would not want Bird to take the final shot...nor DJ.
Fun Fact: Many of Larry's games were not televised, so there are many lost highlights of the Legend.
I was surprised how many long court passes he made. My goodness, as everyone said, he could have been a QB! 😄
Anyone else’s audio cut out towards the end?
Thought it was just me!
if there is a better team player i have not seen him. lol
He definitely could've played quarterback.
He had some great receivers
Everybody rightly gives credit to Bird for his court vision and having eyes in the back of his head. But you have to credit his teammates, because they were never surprised to find the ball coming their way at the most unlikely of moments.
All 80's bball was like this players dove for balls, and hustled you missed out ,and every kid in the USA in the 80's was trying to be bird or magic they really CHANGED bbl 4ever ,with this NEW kinda play ,every player today has a little of bird in thier game #LB33 💚🐦
Watching Larry play back then his passes used to crack us up. People forget though these guys were wearing flat-bottom thin-soul Cons, not the super advanced basketball shoes guys play in today. Doesn't affect passing but you know the basketball shoes we played in back then compared to today's shoes made you slower, couldn't jump as well, feet got more sore. Makes a huge difference overall. Credit for these guys.
He was really good at the basics and knowing where his teammates were. He played 13 seasons for the Celtics, but missed all but 6 off the games in one season when they cut the Achilles tendons and removed bone spurs from both of his feet. But the next season he came back and averaged 24.3Pts, 9.5TRb, 7.5Ast and 1.4 Stl.
During his career he had: 21,791 Points (24.3 ppg),
8,974 Rebounds (10.0 rpg) and 5,695 Assists (6.3 apg).
Was the founding member of the 50, 40, 90 club, too.
Larry Bird Did Everything and not only was a leader in game winning clutch Shots he also Passed for Assists, rebounded followed up with passes, got a concussion and broken cheek bone..came back out to finish the game and won it with a clutch shot...He played with serious injuries (especially his back) having to wear a body brace most of the time near the end of his career. Larry was a Navy Seal in Pain Endurance just to play basketball. I Don't Know of a Single NBA Star in the Last 25 Years who is as Strong as the Legend Larry Bird. My favorites in order are Larry Bird, Dr J, Pistol Pete, Kareem then Jordan, Curry for who I think are the best. Stats are not a perfect measure of how awesome someone is. For example if most teams are average players you can have someone score lots of two pointers and get the best stats for most points scored. But you can have someone who is a way better shooter and they loose in the stats because the years they played had better players in the league overall and the rules could have been tougher/weaker etc. The NBA during Larry Bird's time was way better and tougher then the past 25 years.
Larry is Awesome 👍😎
THANK YOU FOR NOT TALKING SLAVE. I WILL SUBSCRIBE
Larry hustled in every game. He was the quintessential TEAM player. His passes made other players on the team all-stars. He said: "You get one step on your defender you're getting the ball." If you were good enough for the pros would you want to play on a team with Larry Bird or Michael Jordan?? What fun to play with Bird who's definitely going to make sure you're involved ... rather than having to stand there and watch Jordan shoot. Like the late great Dennis Johnston (Celtics) said, "No one person can beat a team."
Bravo for the graphics proportions. Game has to be displayed large enough in order for us to see what happened in a reaction video
6.3 assists per game.. 10 rebounds per game.. career averages..
Nice steal @3:20 too
the story l heard was Larry insulted Pistol Pete so bad he retired. PP told Larry he was open to pass the ball, Larry told him if he was any good, his man would't be on Bird leaving him open. savage moments was the video i think
You can't outrun the basketball.
I don’t know if you noticed but some of those full court passes were with his left hand
Bird could have had unbeatable record career stats if it weren't for him passing up easy shots to allow his teammates their own moments in the spotlight.
Top NBA career combined stats per game (pts, reb, ast, stl, blk) additional career fg%,tp%,ft%
1. Jordan 44.7 -50-33-84
2. Lebron 44.4 -51-35-73
3. Bird 43.1 -50-38-89
4. Kareem 42.9 -56-06-72
5. Durant 40.8 -50-38-88
A bunch of guys in the 40’s.
Bird and Magic deserve royalties from today's players. Without them they wouldn't be making the obscene amount of money they do. I guess they're also to blame for fans having to sell their first born for season tickets today😊.
Boston Celtics would be up by 20 points with under 2 minutes left in the game. Larry Bird would still dive for a loose ball 🏀. Larry Bird never Stopped Moving with or without the Ball 🏀. Larry Bird would run a Marathon every year and the time he scored 60 points against the Hawks. Larry Bird ran a 5K Marathon the day before he dropped 60 on Atlanta.
these obviously aren’t all his great passes
He's not the greatest passer, Jason Williams (White Chocolate) is the GOAT.
Bird was a great passer, but Magic, John Stockton and Steve Nash were all slightly better.
Maybe so, but… all three you named were point guards. Bird was a small forward and never the primary ball handler. By nature of his position he had fewer assist opportunities than point guards.
Nonsense ….. Bird and Magic
are easily the top 2 passers of
all time ! Stockton had more
assists than anyone else , that
doesn’t make him the greatest
passer of all time ! Kareem has
more points than anyone else ,
doesn’t make him the greatest
shooter either ! And I have no
problem with Stockton or Nash
…… both great passers !
@@rgreen1107 stockton is the best passer ever
@@bozeeke
You’re HIGH
@@bozeeke No …. Stockton is not
the best passer ever ! That is just
silly ! But he was a fantastic guard ,
extremely unselfish with the ball
and a top 25 NBA player …. Nash
was another good passer and was
pretty Cool to watch ! Probably a
top 25 player as well ! It’s Just Bird
and Magic were on a different level !