He is apparently a terrible human being. He supposedly ignored all his daughter's requests to see him.
You guys know what else Larry Bird was really good at? COACHING. He promised he would coach only 3 years before he took a head coaching position and he stuck to it... even though he was damn good. Coaching record Indiana Pacers * 1998: 58–24, Eastern Conference Runner-Up * 1999: 33–17, Central Division Champions, Eastern Conference Runner-Up (note: season was shortened due to lockout) * 2000: 56–26, Eastern Conference Champions, NBA Finals Runner-Up
Not to be a Bird-hater but how well do you think Larry Bird would do in our league today? Unlike say Magic, Jordan, Wilt and Kareem, he doesn't strike me as all that athletic and that whole shoot-in-your-face probably wouldn't happen if he a premier defenders in the league today like LBJ, Kobe, Odom etc. Do you guys think he will still be a superstar in today's athletic-driven league? Or would his performance diminish somewhat?
He would be a superstar in any era. He's the best shooting and best passing forward ever, and a pretty damn good rebounder to boot. Also, although players are more athletic today than in the 80s, the league as a whole is much more watered down (due to expansion) and rules favor the offensive player a lot more (no handchecking, much less physical play tolerated). Bird would abuse defenders in the post and on the perimeter and there's not much they could do about it outside of running a floating double, in which case he'd pick them apart with passing.
i guess just imagine a better shooting, passing, rebounding, and defending version of dirk if you want to think of someone who does well that isn't "athletic". ...and you act like there weren't athletes in the 80's.
Did you just list Odom as a premier defender? LOL you're posts never cease to amaze me. I take it you've never seen Bird play. And you probably never heard of a guy named Dominique Wilkins aka the "human highlight reel" and the epic battles he and Bird had. LBJ to me is like the present day Dominique. Freak athlete, good to great defender, great size, the list goes on. Well anyways both of these guys played small forward and Larry had his way and always came up on top of Wilkins without striking anybody as being particularly "athletic". There's a good reason why he's nicknamed "Larry Legend."
I really question whether there are better athletes today than in the 1980's. You may have better training and all the extra stuff, but I'm not convinced there are better athletes in the NBA now. And clippy is correct... Bird would be a superstar today, assuming he was the same person. I suspect a lot of Bird's drive came from his childhood circumstances and whether those factors and culture could exist today I don't know. What I do know is that a lot of folks suggest Bird was slow, but he wasn't. He wasn't extremely fast physically, but he was fast enough... and his understanding of the game and his court vision and his geometric awareness helped make him 2 steps faster than a similarly athletic guy. Also, people forget what a remarkably great passer Bird was. Bird and Magic by themselves revolutionized the game with their passing and made the assist something everyone wanted to do.
Please. Bird would have people like LBJ and Odom so psyched out they'd crater spectacularly... not to mention the fact that he'd run them off screens all day long. He'd easily goad Kobe into a "duel" and get him to take bad shots and ignore his teammates. As gifted as they are, LBJ still plays checkers and Kobe, at times, can be tricked into playing checkers when he thinks he's playing chess. Bird was always playing three-dimensional chess while pretending to play tic-tac-toe.
It not just about the training, as a species humans evolve as well over time. Nowadays dunking is pretty ordinary and guys like Shannon Brown who are freak athletes are seen as ordinary players. I doubt majority of the players during the 80's could do the things an "average" player like he does in a regular game. You're right my main question about LL was his speed. He seemed fast enough, but like I said the game is much faster now than 3 decades ago. The adequate speed before might be inadequate speed nowadays. The game is indeed watered down offensively, however it also works the other way and the other player would be able to score more easily on him. The rough and physical D Bird has relied on the past wouldn't be legal here, and if he has slow lateral speed you're looking at Nash on D against the premier forwards in the league. Of course with his passing, shooting and amazing IQ Larry would undoubtedly still be a star, however as someone who will be known as one of the best ever I actually doubt it. Actually Nash would probably be a good comparison for him, a great pg but not the best pg in the league. However unlike Nash he will be playing against the best the league has to offer, so I think his weaknesses will be exposed even more.
it's people like roslolian who make evolution look magical. please go back to science class and read up on evolution. it doesn't occur in half a lifetime and evolution doesn't always mean bigger, stronger, faster, and cooler.
Wait are you actually saying that the people nowadays have evolved from 25 years ago into a more athletic species? That is funny. It is completely about training and performance enhancing substances. Bird would be a legend if he played during these times. I think he played in one of the best era's during basketball history. And he was a legend in that era.
First of all, IMO, Bird would own the forwards of today just by the fact that his fundamentals are so much better, the same reason MJ would still own at an old age and kobe still doing great. But I would have to disagree with your post. First off all, I dont' think roslolian meant 'evolution' as in monkeys to humans or anything like that dramatic. But IMO, humans 'evolution' does change quite a bit with each generation. just like how the average height has increased quite a bit in the lsat 20 or so years. I won't call it evolution, but rather more to do with nutrition. the diet for babies have improved dramatically, which in turn would produce a higher percentage of 'more athelatic' people. anyway, i would still have to disagree with roslolian. Nash does not make an effort to play great d. Bird laid it all on the floor EVERY night. there was no one play where he did not try his hardest. Nash was a warrior this post season, but that is the way bird played EVERY night. He just had a drive in him to be great. He would make modern day dirk look like a p***y (although he is one). You are talking about one of the best passers/shooters in history. how would he not be great in today's game where the offensive player is being benefited by the rules?.
I was going to say this. This was after larry brown left too so its not like he was taking over for a scrub coach. Bird was my man and respected his game so much. Magic v Bird set the nba forward big time.
What about Magic Johnson? Would Magic Johnson be a superstar in today's NBA? IMO of course he would, Magic had talent like no other and it wasn't predicated on athleticism. He almost never dunked or played above the rim. He wasn't blazing fast nor known for lockdown D. And he has said before Bird was basically another version of him, just white. All this doubt about Bird being great in today's NBA is just another version of Dennis Rodman's stupid comment (and Isiah Thomas agreeing) that if Bird was black he'd be just another good player. People who have never seen Bird live seem to underrate him but not Magic. Kinda puzzling.
Even in the 80's the racial barriers was still up. I mean wht made the bird magic rivalry great had alot to do with the racial edge on the subject. Even if bird was a 3 time mvp, it was hard for brothers to say he was the best player in the game. If you watched the documentary, every white fan was for bird and it seems like every black guy was for magic,lol. Bird was the hick from french lick and magic was the flamboyant kid from michigan. Bird used to hoop on the playgrounds with alot of black guys and even said himself that putting a white guy on him was disrespectful,lol. Bird was the dude and would be the dude now. His competitive fire and nastiness made him great also. He called his teammates sissies in the playoffs, had a fight with dr j, gave hard fouls. I couldn't stand the guy because they got all the calls in boston and beat the rockets twice, but i repected him so much.
When you are 6'9" and can shoot and pass like Bird could, you are going to be good in any era. A suped-up version of Dirk Nowitzki is actually a pretty good analogy to how Bird might fare in the current NBA. There is no reason to think that Bird couldn't be a 20+ ppg, 8+ rpg, 6+ apg forward in today's NBA. Think about this for a moment: In the 91-92 season, a 35-year old Larry Bird, who was debilitated by back problems, put up 20.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, and 6.8 apg, while shooting .466/.406/.926. Let that sink in.
The rebounding part is whats amazing. He anticipated the ball bery well and could go get the ball. Bird was awesome to say the least.
Ha, was just about to go there. It's cool that Kobe's grown up to be a decent comparison to MJ, but there hasn't been a Larry or Magic since.
