I have tons of respect for Bird, even though I didn't like him. (I don't like trash talkers in general.) He is a true legend and one of the top 5 players of all time no doubt.
The new rules have helped move it that way, allowing zone etc, but it has killed the big man game. DD
Jordan's physical giftedness overshadowed his fundamental skills. Kids only saw his flashy side and wanted to imitate the spectacular style. Bird, on the other hand, is relatively unathletic and his skills are all in plain sight. Kids should watch Bird more to understand what it takes to be a great player.
A great list. People should remember that this was written the season the Rockets crushed the defending champion Showtime Lakers and took Bird's Celtics to 6 games in the Finals. That Celtics team was arguably the best of all time. Bird was truly in a class all his own for his position. Sadly, his style of play shortened his career. Like Hakeem and the other greats, he had a motor that simply never quit. He never took a play off. He dove for every ball he thought he could get to and usually came up with it. For taking the winning shot in a game, I'd pick him over Jordan, Hakeem, or anyone else, and I hated his guts at the time. Hated his guts and respected the hell out of him. edit: Found a great tidbit about Bird that's groovy (and scary). They're talking about the 1981 Finals against Houston and Moses. Enjoy! Woolf recalls that when a Today show crew came to tape a segment on Bird shortly after last May's playoffs, they wanted to show Larry watching a replay of the championship game against Houston. They threw the videotape on at a random point in the game and Woolf asked Bird if he could tell what part of the game was showing. "Fourth quarter, 5:40 left," said Bird. "How could you possibly be that precise?" Woolf asked. There had been no commentary, and no score flashed. "The song," Bird said. "The song?" Woolf said. "That fight song. That's the last time they played it. They played it three times during the game. This is the last time because the crowd is going nuts. Houston came from 17 down and there's about 5:40 left." "You mean you were aware of the song?" Woolf asked incredulously. "I was there, wasn't I?" Bird asked. "I was there, too, but I don't remember any song," Woolf said. "And I wasn't playing." Bird chuckled and went on watching the tape. He proceeded to call each play in perfect detail, about five seconds before it appeared on the tape. "Larry's not subject to the normal persuasions," Woolf says. "He doesn't react to things the way normal people do." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1998/bird/flashbacks/1981flash.html
My list would have been this: PG: John Stockton SG: Michael Jordan SF: Larry Bird PF: Hakeem Olajuwon C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar My bench would include Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Bill Russell, Karl Malone, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson.
As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me - red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game. --Larry Bird
Bird worked harder than anyone in the game. He made himself great. He wanted to beat everyone, on every single occasion. I think he benefited from playing in a physical era.
He actually seems like such a nice guy now, but when you watch him play he clearly wanted to rip your heart out.
Can you imagine the backlash that would occur nowadays if Lebron said something like this? Between the media and the haters, we'd never hear the end of it. The NBA is so soft compared to just 20-30 years ago.
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7jBWiol12SA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7jBWiol12SA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Laimbeer knocks Bird down a couple of times, Bird gets pissed and throws in 31 points in the half.
...is actually from an 11 month wedding prior to his NBA career. He has never made any serious attempts to cultivate a relationship with her, despite her obvious and earnest desires in that regard.
I agree 100%...As a kid I loved Magic, but as an adult I like Bird more...He just played the game to best of his abilities and gave it his all...Gotta respect that.
Totally agree, Bird would rip your heart out, his passion and desire to win rivaled any player I've ever seen, including Jordan
I always loved how he put the finger in the air the second the ball leaves his hand knowing the ball was gonna be in the basket, and was walking away as the last ball dropped. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mvzIPnfSaDI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mvzIPnfSaDI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> And this is an amazing shot, amazing talent! <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sN5Gf4O9OiY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sN5Gf4O9OiY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
