I was debating a friend on this earlier, interested to see your take on it. Basically Bird relied on almost zero athleticism, and was probably the GOAT cerebral/BBIQ player I have ever seen. I think he would have been good...but I dont know how good. he woulda been good, how u?
way too much was made about "lack of athleticism." Dude could ball. Eye-hand coordination off the charts as well.
When Larry Bird was hot, no one could stop him. And that happened about 90% of the time when he played.
Bird with today's NBA body would still be awesome. Bird with his 80s body would have some difficulty. He wouldn't be a scrub but not as awesome.
wait... I thought Bud proved he could shoot 40 percent or above from three point land... oh .. he did not.
Yeah, I know. Bird would probably be better ... and last more years. no hand-checking and no more intense physical play in the paint -- '80-90s were much tougher eras. I'm not understanding the whole concept of this question, as if the NBA is a more physical league now, and more capable of stopping the best shooter of all time ... and best passer of all time (tied with Magic). For every player now who would guard Bird, not named Lebron, there is a physically equivalent player in the '80s who Bird schooled. Let's name them. Getting mauled by interior physical play in the '80s is what held him down and ended his career early. That's stuff doesn't happen now...no way. Bird would get superstar treatment.
