I'll take a wild guess and say alot of you picking Lebron now have never seen Larry Bird play in his heyday, other then short clips through youtube.
I think some of the younger fans are under the impression that the well-rounded stat line that Lebron produces has never been done before. That simply is not true. I still think he is going to end up being a top 10 (at least) all time player but longevity and Championships do play a role in assessing a guy's legacy. Lebron will get his due when he hangs up his sneakers.
True, although I chose Larry Bird, the moment I read and submitted my answer I watched a couple of clips and was thinking to myself how nice it would have been to watch him and magic square off. How would you compare the game back then to todays game? Can the two really be compared? Bird 6th year in NBA 1984-85 Boston 80 77 39.5 .522 .427 .882 2.1 8.5 10.5 6.6 1.6 1.2 3.10 2.60 28.7 Lebron 6th year 2008-2009 CLE 81 81 37.7 0.489 0.344 0.780 1.3 6.3 7.6 7.2 1.7 1.1 2.98 1.70 28.4 Lebron only has Assist and steals against Bird *in 6th year. Bird still has him based on stats
Larry Bird winning "only" three championships is a testament to how great some of the other teams during his time were, particularly the showtime lakers, and Philly of 82-83. People need to watch basketball more.
Howevers in Lebron's defense Bird was peaking by his sixth year whereas Lebron is 24, either way Bird edges him so far.
Larry Bird by a large margin though Lebron can easily take over that mantle if he continues this sort of production over the next 8 years (his "prime" years) but there is a lot of game left to be played for Lebron before he can enter the debate Grant Hill was in a ways the first coming of lebron but more skill, less strength and athleticism but his career sadly was claimed by injuries. Hill was a triple double machine in his prime. Had Hill not been injured and been able to play through what would have been his prime he probably could have been the #2 all time SF behind Bird (i still think Hill wouldnt have been able to win a ring which would separate Bird from him) A potential HOF career killed by injury I really hope nothing like that ever sidelines Lebron as much as the media nut hug him its always fine to see a great player be able to perform at his best.
grant (now-over-the-) hill was considered the first possible jordan heir. then stern went on to his obsession of seeking an mj-2. so the league has manufactured many stars. vince carter, kobe bryant, etc.; and now lebron. my guess is stern will give it up eventually. lebron is gonna be his last effort to package an mj-2 and try to force it to we fans' throat.
Did you mean you chose Lebron? Because Larry and Magic did square off. As far as comparing 80's game to today's, the game was more fluid back then IMO.
Just read my post, it does sound a bit confusing. I chose Bird, and the reason I mentioned watching them square off is because, I didn't watch basketball at the time. I know I can go watch replays but, there is nothing like watching it live
Bird and Magic didn't go head-to-head much (if that's what you meant) since Bird was an SF and Magic played PG for the most part. They were linked together because of their college years and how the Lakers and Celtics squared off. Bird was the face of the Celtics and Magic the face of the Lakers. I just checked the '78 draft to see who was drafted around Bird - Purvis Short was drafted right before him and Ronnie Brewer's dad, Ron Brewer, was drafted after him.
I voted for Lebron because I think he will surpass Bird once its all over. However, if we a talking about Lebron up until now, it's Larry Legend by a mile.
Take the current Cleveland team. You put Bird on it and they would win fewer games. I think people forget that Bird played on some very good teams. If I had to pick a young SF to build a team around: 1. Lebron 2. Dr. J 3. Bird An argument could even be made that Bird was a 4 playing a 3.
