I met Bird and spent 3 days around him when he played for Indiana State. He was a humble nice guy. He was liked by his teammates and to say he was racist is pure horse crap !
It’s not arrogance if you can back it up. Just because he won accolades doesn’t mean he is racist. Sounds to me you’ve got the problem, Larry doesn’t have racist bone in his body.
This is one of the dumbest takes I've seen in a while. It screams GenZ fragility and not someone that actually watched Bird play or conduct himself. He was super humble outside of the court. He has always appreciated his time growing up and learning from black players and is grateful they let him play with them. If Larry Bird was black, the black youth of today would know all about him, just like they know Magic. They would know he was one of the greatest clutch players of all time along with the last player to win three MVPs in a row in a league with Jordan, Magic, Dr J, Kareem, Barkley and Moses Malone. Him and Magic brought the NBA back from the dead. If there was no Bird and Magic, then there would have been no Lebron or Curry.
True story. Anyone who's read up on him knows when he worked in French Lick after high school he balled with and against nothing but black players, and that's where he learned his game early on. He didn't see color, he saw good players who made him better. Haters gonna hate.
Thank you, my friend, for stating facts! I'm a 65 year old black man who has watched basketball for decades, and I can say unequivocally that Larry Bird is one of the greatest to ever play the game!! He's in my top five all-time. Any players who made comments like the ones mentioned were in denial because they were getting smoked by a white guy. Also, it was the original Isaiah Thomas who made those comments along with Dennis Rodman's equally ridiculous remarks. ❤😊
You know how hard it was for Bird going in to a majority black sport and take all of bullying and racism he got for being white? Larry Bird is top 3 players of all time and he would be recognized as that if he was black. Bird is underrated because he is white!
Even if he we’re polka dotted for Gods sake you said it all. Sixers fan I happen to be. I was about to just go purchase the green cap and #33 jersey to simply avoid ulcers 😅
He was also part native, which I had found seldomly a thing that black people dislike in their family genealogy. You'd think the way people discouraged him for being white there'd be a black guy with native roots that was the goat of the sport.
dude, bird is absolutely NOT underrated because he is white. Get real. He is literally considered one of the greatest players of all time. Everybody who played with/against him or watched him has to admit that even if they wanted his team to lose. He was a monster player just like Jordan/Magic/etc. I feel like the only people who would say this are people who were born in the 2000s and literally never saw him play and their parents never saw him play so never talked about him. Bird isn't lacking any respect for being white...he is literally considered one of the greatest players of all time. I think it is just young people who are into basketball now and weren't alive in the 90s and 80s (or even watching basketball in the early 2000s) who say this because they have never heard of him and assume "omg its a white guy...I bet it was hard for him!" which is horse shit that is dumb and inaccurate and larry himself would reject because all he cared about was competition. Nobody alive in the Celtics/Lakers rivalry era or was born soon thereafter with parents that liked basketball has ever thought that Bird is some poor oppressed white that didn't get cred for being one of the greatest players of all time. Even lakers fans - who HATED the Celtics (and therefore bird) - would ever pretend he wasn't a stunningly elite player that is one of the greatest of all time. This is just young people discovering Bird for the first time and making up weird racist narratives that they have no reason to believe purely because they are shocked that a white guy in the 80s could be so dominant at basketball and was basically the east coast magic johnson. Believe me, Larry Bird didn't face hard times for being white in the late 70s and early 80s in America....rofl....ironically he did make fun of other teams if they had a white guy guard him but he was just a shit talker who liked to get in their heads. Trust me, being a white basketball star in Boston in the 80s wasn't an oppressive environment rofl. FFS if you grew up in the 90s you had to see a million McDonald's commercials about Michael Jordan competing with Larry Bird in games of horse where they make the most progressively impossible shots through buildings "nothing but net" to see who got to eat the mcdonalds and they both made every shot. The thing about bird was that he wasn't just "good for a white guy" he was just one of the best players the game has seen and everybody of every race could admit that. It is about being great at basketball. Nothing more nothing less.
@@leeaugustine8985 I am glad that this didn’t turn into a big debate. Anyone who was alive when Larry Bird played, knows how good he was. I was a Laker fan, loved Magic and the boys. Even though I hated Larry Bird, it is hard to argue that there was anyone better at that time. When Larry was young and healthy, he was beyond description. I laugh when people say he couldn’t play today. He was a 6‘9“ marksman who averaged 10 rebounds per game. He wouldn’t have just played in this era, we wouldn’t be talking about LeBron or Steph in the same way that we do. Larry would have swallowed up a ton of the limelight. We would still acknowledge LeBron or Steph as great players, but they would be sharing the limelight with Larry Bird. He was an absolute monster on the court.
@@KJofTikTokBird broke Rodman. Evidence? You don't see any photos of Rodman wearing dresses BEFORE Bird relentlessly torched his ass on basketball court.
No Larry Bird = No NBA today! That's how importantly well he played. And man did he play, every second. Yeah he had some off nights...but, NOT when it counted. And he did it until the pain was too much.
Exactly. Stats don't show you when a player like Larry plays great. It's just numbers. Larry played great when his team needed him to play great. This is why stats, as good as Larry Bird's were, will never give an accurate portrayal of just how great he was.
A few things need to be highlighted here. For the '81 season, they won the championship, who cares about his TS %. And that was his second season in the league. The previous season they went to the Eastern conference finals. Would they have won that without Larry? You decide but I say no. For his first five seasons he was a power forward. They're not typically as versatile as small forwards, yet he made three all-defense teams during that time, which was before he broke his back. Even so, including his last year as a power forward he began a five year stretch where he averaged at least 50/40/90 shooting, averaging around 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. That alone is legendary because NO ONE else has done anything like that, not before, not since. Maybe Jokic will be the one to do that; he's on his way, but hasn't done it yet. During that stretch they also won 2 championships, and he won finals MVP twice, and they made the finals three times. That's why he won 3 league MVPs in a row, not because of racism. During that time he also won three 3 point shooting contests, consecutively, and the first time he played with a 3 point line was his rookie year in the NBA. So these are reasons why he was called "Legend". As for racism, yeah he was racist. Against other white players, not black players. That's well known.
I posted up above, but I completely forgot about his three consecutive three-point shooting contest victories. You are correct, he did take issue with being guarded by white player. He even stated that to sports illustrated. He thought it was disrespectful to his game. With that said, I don’t know if he actually felt that way or not but he did state it several times. You failed to mention one thing that is really important here well, so did I. Larry Bird entered the league with Boston, coming off of 29 wins. His first year in the league they won 61 games with essentially the same team they had the year before, except for the addition of Larry Bird. That is the single greatest turnaround for a ball team in league history. You can tell that whoever posted this video didn’t play or better yet didn’t live during that time. Noticed that he only went by what Dennis Rodman said. Anyone alive during that time knows that Isaiah Thomas went in to bat for Dennis Rodman, but he will not do it any longer. You can go all over UA-cam and find videos of Isaiah Thomas talking about how great Larry Bird was. They found the one player that didn’t like getting torched by Larry Bird and held him up like he was some kind of icon. Dennis Rodman was a defensive wizard who had just gotten scorched for 37 points by Larry Bird, when he made those comments. BTW, Larry lit him up every time they played against each other.
Wake up. Hakeem sampson never beat bird. Jordan swept by bird 2 times. Bird beat Isiah on steal lol. Beat Dr j. Magic Kareem. Drexler. Dominick. Those were 80s. Goats he beat
Worst video ever. Larry was NEVER in anyone’s shadow. He won the ROY over Magic and 3 MVP awards in a row. A feet only done by Wilt and Russell at that time. And no one ever thought he went too far. Ask anyone who played with him and they laugh about it. Tell me you know NOTHING about Larry Bird, without telling me. I watched his whole career. 🙄
This is a bs video,bird is better than LeBron,Kobe,whom I know your gonna say thee goats,Shaq doesn't hate bird wtf why you creating a narrative that doesn't exist,cube is a laker fan and ofcourse bird is an enemy,Larry always lifted up black players,and put them over,so let's talk about overrated,start w this video
Further proof of Larry not caring about stats was when playing the Utah Jazz he was informed he was one steal away from a quadruple double. His reply? I did enough damage, then continued to sit out the entire fourth quarter in a blowout win. He put up 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 steals in 3 quarters.
@@michaelmarrone5768 Yeah, He said I did enough damage. He was always happy when the whole Team got to play. Because it's a Team Effort that gets you the Win in the first place! 👍
The difference between Bird and Drexler is that one of them led their team, and won against Dr. J, Moses Malone, Magic, Hakeem, Jordan, and Isiah, and one didn’t.
"When I played, Larry Bird was the only one I feared. A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said Larry Bird is so good it's frightening." says Magic Johnson about Larry Bird on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series.
Some stats are more important than others. But being a leader, making others better, clutch ability and always backing up his trash talking.... those factors are even more important !!!
Disagree….. how you know he wasn’t a racist ?????? And LeBron is better at small forward all time and Jordan is better and Kobe and I could keep going on and on 😂😂😂
@@pauljorden2932I’ve been watching NBA for many years, and the ONLY person to have ever come close to Larry Birds shooting accuracy and skills is Steph Curry. Larry may not have had the hops of Jordan, or the dunk of Kobe. But if I had to give someone a game winning shot, Neither are getting it and it’s going to Larry. Hate to burst your bubble
@@creeperkiller9795 and guess what I’ll take Magic Johnson over Larry Bird any day in a week only thing he can do better than those guys shoot the basketball the game is more than just shooting you must’ve forgot 😂😂😂😂😂
More Race baiting nonsense ! Bird didn’t care about race , in fact the only racism I saw was against Bird for DWW ! ( dominating the league while white )
@pauljorden2932 think I'll use Magic Johnson words to shut this nonsense down.... "there will never be another Larry Bird" Magic knew he was #2 to Larry deep down... !!
61-21 : r/nba 1979 Celtics before Larry Bird = 29-53. With rookie Larry Bird = 61-21 ... This was before Kevin McHale entered the league and Robert Parish was ..
For about 90% of Bird's career he and his Celtics absolutely dominated Jordan and his Bulls. By the time Jordan was trying just beat the Pistons, Bird only had 2 to 3 years left. Bird's Celtics also were more dominant in the first half of the 80's compared to Magic's Lakers, who absolutely owned the second half of the 80's.
Dudes full of 💩. Larry won the MVP 3 years in a row with the entire 1992 Dream Team in the league. Mike never beat Larry when it counted. Mike had the better career, but not while Larry Legend was there. He beat them ALL and told them how he was going to do it while he was doing it. I don't hear no stories of MJ telling his opponent how he was about to score to the finest detail and then doing exactly that. He was that good. THAT GOOD.
We like Bird because of the player he was. It also helps that his 20 10 6 /points/rebounds/assists/ adds Bird’s resume to secure his legacy. By the way, there is a player right now with similar stats, Nikola Jokic, also white, with similar numbers.
Jokic just got up to 20 pts after the last four big scoring seasons. He is 21/10/7, i think. But Larry is still the only retired 20/10/5 guy, with 24/10/6. Jokic could get there in this much easier to score league
You're quoting Rodman and Thomas, both known for backstabbing their own supposed best friends? Isiah dissed and gossiped about his friend Magic when he contracted HIV. Rodman was embarrassed by Bird who cooked him, especially as a rookie. This video is a joke. Bird hated the Great White Hope talk. He had the utmosr respect for black players. The racist is whoever wrote this script.
I don't even know what this guy's point was. It wasn't argued well, and he was all over the place. It started off by claiming that people didn't like Bird, and treated him as overrated, because he was arrogant. (I've watched videos on his trash talk, and it seems like his "arrogance" -- or ability to back up his talk -- earned him respect among his contemporaries, and the only people who know about his "arrogance" today are people watch the UA-cam videos about his trash-talking. Otherwise, his reputation is a mild-mannered nice guy.) Then, after saying people didn't like Bird because he was arrogant, he went on to say that some black players thought he was overrated because he was white and that he "inspired" -- note: didn't personally use -- racist talk perhaps among the media, etc. Finally, oddly, he asks: "Would he have gotten as much acclaim if he was black?" And brings up obscure, nontraditional stats while ignoring all the stuff that matters. How about we bring these up: "Would a black player had received as much acclaim if he: * Won NCAA player of the year * NBA Rookie of the Year * Took a 29 win team to a 61 win team that played in the conference finals in his first season * Won NBA championship in his sophomore season * 3 consecutive MVP's and nearly 70% of all MVP votes _for a decade_ * Was the undisputed team leader on 3 NBA championship teams * Was the founding member of the 50-40-90 club * Had as many famous clutch performances as made-clutch shots as Bird did * Went on to win NBA manager of the year * Went on to win NBA executive of the year * And let's add that he played with many of the all-time greatest players, such as MJ, Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Dominique, Dr. J, etc. -- and that they they had incredible things to say about how great this guy was, saying that he was unstoppable, incredible, "a problem", the "best basketball player ever", and so on. In fact, let's put it that way, and then imagine that white players said they think this black player who accomplished all of this was "overrated because he's black." I think that would sound pretty ridiculous. A career like this speaks for itself. Anyone who can't see and admit that Bird is great (or MJ, or Lebron, or Kareem, for that matter) is simply biased and not being reasonable.
The GOAT (MJ) said this about Bird: “I get so many questions about Larry Bird. The thing is, ‘Was he really that good?’ I say, ‘Yeah! He was really that good. White, black, green or yellow, he was really that good! When you see a player like Luka when you see a player like Dirk, they’re great players, but they’re not Larry Bird [laughs], by no means."
I watched at the time. You don't have a clue if you think he was racist. He wasn't in anybody's shadow. Swept Jordan twice in the playoffs. Three consecutive MVPs with the entire Dream Team in the league.
The whole GOAT thing will never really be solved, Larry Bird was my favorite player and to me he was the GOAT....I think Pat Reilly said it best..." If the game is on the line, I would get the ball to Michael Jordan.....If my life was on the line, I'd get the ball to Larry Bird ".
One stats aren't everything and 2 you can't compare a guys stats by the rules in the 80s to a guys stats in the current era or early 2000s. Also, I think I'll take the word of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan who both rank bird in their top 5 NBA players of all time over people who just dislike him or his trash talk and who never played against him. Oh and Larry's stats are not even closely comparable to the players listed who I might add are also hall of famers. For example Larry Bird stats (24.3 ppg, 10 rb per game, 6.3 Assists per game vs KG stats (17.8 ppg, 10.0 rb per game, 3.7 assists per game)
What a load of garbage, no one argued or disagreed when he won those MVPs and his stats in his prime are comparable to Lebron, the most celebrated player ever, give me a break. When the game was big, chips all in, game 7s give me Larry Bird
Larry Bird is the only player in NBA history to shoot 50-40-90 four straight years while averaging over 28 PPG. And that's not counting the double digit career rebounding and being the best passing forward in NBA history. Celts go from 29 wins before his rookie year to 61 wins his rookie year and there was no Parish, McKale, DJ, or Ainge on that team, just the same guys who won only 29 plus Larry Bird. Greatest one year win improvement by ANY team in NBA history and it came because of the addition of a rookie. It proved that Bird carrying a bunch of no-name players at Indiana State to an undefeated season, slaying one giant after another during March madness until that 1979 NCAA championship game was no fluke. What he did at sad sack Indiana State has never been repeated and what he did his rookie year at (then) sad sack Boston has never been repeated. There is a reason for that, a very precise reason...BECAUSE NO ONE SINCE HAS BEEN AS GOOD AS BIRD AND THEREFORE COULDN'T DO THOSE THINGS AND DIDN'T DO THOSE THINGS. You will never see another Larry Joe Bird.
Dr. J on Larry Bird: "Bird and I have an interesting relationship on the court. When I defend him, and when the Celtics draft Kevin McHale and move Larry to the small forward, that becomes a regular matchup for me. If he puts the ball down on the floor, then I think I have him. I can poke the ball away and maybe get a steal. Larry's game doesn't have any weaknesses, but among his relative strengths, he's least skilled as a dribbler. When he's guarding me, he can't stay with me. But I'll be honest, I can't really stop him, either. And at that point in my career, he's a better rebounder than I am.
Is there ANY quality control viewing of these bot-AI produced videos!? Isaiah Thomas in 1987…yet they show today’s Charlotte Hornets Isaiah Thomas. And let’s be real for a second… I am in the category of a person that is just now getting to like bird… I grew up a Lakers fan in the 80s… But to question his greatness after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said that Bird was the greatest player that he ever played against …then ALL of this is ridiculous!
When you say ACTUAL goats like magic and mj…does that imply bird wasn’t in that category? Because if you are, you lost me right there. Racist?? Ask how many black basketball players what they think of white guys athletic ability? I mean you have guys on these videos literally saying black players are racist when it comes to white players…
Pat Riley said it best and I'm paraphrasing: "If I had to pick someone to take the last shot for the win, I'd pick Michael Jordan. If I had to pick someone to take the last shot to save my life, I'd pick Larry Bird."
I grew up watching Bird throughout the 80s. He was amazing to watch, and I don't think many will agree with your conclusions. Bird's abbreviated career mean his stats aren't really ever going to be relevant, unless you look at his back-to-back-to-back MVP titles. I will quote one of the finest coaches ever...Pat Riley. "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan," Riley said. "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life... I'd take Larry Bird."
Isaiah was the team leader, trying to cover for his best rookie defender. He later back-pedaled that bs, because he Knew what all the top players did. Bird was the big dog in the league when he played.
This is bs. Larry was 60 points everytime he hit the floor even if he didn't score. He was always 3 plays ahead mentally and no one seen the court like him. Larry could do it all,fantastic passer,shooter,rebounder,ball handler.along being a great defensive player. Bird could have scored 50 points every game but he was a team player and a winner!
Weird, Rodman Thomas and leman all had worse stats than Larry…not really hated, more of jealous. Remember Birds last 2 years drug his stats down due to injury, but he still averaged over 30 a game, 10 rebounds 9 assist, 2 steals and a block… id say that’s goat status for a guy who hurt so bad he had to lay down when not on the court
Have you ever heard of Bob Pettit, George Mikan, Jerry West, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Pete Maravich,Gail Goodrich, Bob Cousy,Tom Chambers,Billy Cunningham,Bobby Jones? Learn your NBA history before making trash videos.
Wow! This information is completely wrong. No context. Improper presentation and reeks of incompetency. Now I know never to watch this channel. Well done. Get the truth straight before you present them. For example, Rodman and Isaiah both later said how wrong they were and ate humble pie over those comments. Just...wow! You are so wrong. 😂
Big Time Clutch is all I can say which is what makes you great. If you pile up all your stats in the first half and can't deliver your team a victory later you are just a player, not a legend.
I'm old enough to remember much of Birds career. There was a ton of controversy in about every way with Larry. I've never heard anyone say he was racist. This is a bad way to try to build a challenge
Those 81 stats are from the Finals. His stats in the more important Sixers series were incredible, and very impressive in the regular season, coming a couple votes short of mvp. He's the only player since the 76 nba/aba merger to win three straight mvps. Bird's as good as anyone who ever played
Normally I ignore clickbaot so I hate myself for biting. This is the biggest load of bs since qanon. Save your time, Zeke was part of the same conversation as rodman, he was still a piston so that is just a liar bending history to make a point. Listen to the damn audio, they are all laughing, it was a joke. Larry and Zeke sat in a press conference and said it at the time. Even though I've given this idiot what he wanted, feel better now.
Total b.s. put up just to get clicks. Whenever you hear, "Don't get more wrong. I'm not trying to hate on..." you know you better duck because the horse manure is going to start flying.
We are talking about level of excellence here. The way I see it is, that excellence is to be admired and appreciated no matter where it comes from, just because it is so rare and difficult to obtain. Mr. Bird deserve the accolades.
"If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird.” - Pat Riley
Larry Bird grew up not far from racists but he wasn't one. He played basketball outside of school with black players from the hotel staff. To suggest he's somehow racist with no proof is slander.
The major issue here hinges on the fact that people attribute 'race' to things that should be ascribed to 'culture'. - Anyone who was raised in the midwest recognizes how Bird plays because that is how the midwest overwhelmingly plays. The focus on shooting, the team tactics, the whole thing. You will see full-court shots before you see a dunk unless you clear 6'6 + (too much effort for a cheap pop on a 2 pt shot). -Bird was just an 'Alpha' example of the Midwest-style and was the guy to really bring the people's attention to it.That area just so happens to be predominantly white (people who have basically been too poor to move too far from their hometowns for forever). - Bird's race plays its biggest role during the college game against Michigan State. The stark contrast was what set the game apart to a public that had spent so long being 'out of the loop' concerning basketball, in general, and gave that game an extra novelty to get them over that initial hump. That being said, the trajectory had been set after that and Birds race had become a technical non-factor by the time he hit the NBA. Any mentions of it didn't go anywhere beyond 'superficial'/sh!t talking. - He broke to much ground on the achievment end to not 'still' be talked about. If Bird had been black, all achievments the same, the fact that the hypothetical "Black Bird" has basically created the template by which all "Shooters" are judged would, alone, set him apart and make sure he was mentioned throughout the decades. the 50/40/90 club was founded by Bird, he won the first three 3-pt contests, he's a Johnson-level passer, opponents still talk about how he outsmarted them and got into their heads. On top of all that, he used his status as one of the "Big 2" of the 80s and grabbed that megaphone to make sure that no one could ignore MJ any longer. Bird's mark on the NBA is much to large as long as he's given that chance.
a lot of his pears know he was good player and very dangerous on the court..bird did not show boat it was all about winning...and yes bird had major competition from great player of his Era...and he knew it
Bird averaged around 28 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists per game during his prime while leading the Celtics to 3 NBA titles and winning 3 MVP awards. 50-40-90 (50%+ FG, 40%+ 3 pt, 90%+ FT) was 1st achieved by Larry Bird. I grew up watching the NBA in the 1980s. *Bird was the best player in the NBA in the 1980s with Magic Johnson #2.* Jordan took the crown in the 1990s with Olajuwon #2.
A white guy that broke up an all-black league is something unnatural for the NBA back then and now. Bird and Stockton are still some of the best of all time.
To call Larry Bird a racist is the most ridiculous thing I've EVER heard. Larry didn't care. You could either play and guard him or you couldn't. And Larry could have DESTROYED Thomas's career and he told the press that what he said "dont bother me it shouldn't bother you. It doesn't matter." Pistons couldn't handle losing to the Celtics.
Larry Bird didn’t invent trash talking he just backed it up. There’s a 30 minute UA-cam video of several NBA greats that played against Bird and not one of them mentioned racism. A couple of them said he may be the greatest NBA player ever.
Everyone of those Detroit players you just referenced have come out and said how great he was. Bird was an assassin he would tell the defender what the play was going to be. He would say I'm going to that corner and shot a 3 in your face. Then he did it. He would shoot left-handed some times just to get into his opponents head. Dude was great and I have never heard anyone say different.
I don't think that people means that he got no athleticism because he's white, but because he was slow, didn't dunk that much and he had a short career because of back issues
He is a legend because he produced when it mattered. He was clutch and cold as ice under pressure. Larry took a 29 win team the year before he came into the league to 61 wins his rookie year. To suggest otherwise makes you look ignorant.
Love the motivation behind your reasoning. 💕. But, your premise is flawed: current analytics do not apply to past eras in the Association. Different rules. Different game.
Yeah analytics can’t measure when a guy is bored at the end of a long road trip, tells everyone he’s going to shoot left handed to change it up and still drops 47 points..show me another player that has ever done that
It is a shame that they don’t keep statistics for the last two minutes of the game. Larry Bird said it best “40,000 eyes know that Larry Bird is getting the ball. We knew it, our opponents knew it, and the fans knew it.” Everybody in the world knew he was going to get the ball and he still delivered time and time and time again. Magic Johnson had the greatest quote about Larry when he missed the final shot in game four. “It was dead on. I was thinking he is going to do it to us again.“
KD 27.3 PPG, 7 RPG, 4.4 APG. KD averages 4.9 3-pointers per game as opposed to Larry’s 1.9. Considering that Larry only loses to KD in the points per game category and only by three, in an era where blood was an every day event as opposed to this soft as cotton league today, I think we can categorically prove that Larry Bird is better than KD. Never forget, the last six years of Larry Bird’s career were pain riddled with injuries.
Let's see, MJ, Magic, & LeBron all have Larry Legend in their top 3. As a kid Bird would play ball with blacks after school. Plus, I notice that no names were mentioned on who said Larry was racist. It seems that Latest Hoops, Rodman, Thomas, and others attitude towards Bird show that YOU"RE the real racists. I agree with @aragorn 1 ring about Gen Z.
I met Bird and spent 3 days around him when he played for Indiana State. He was a humble nice guy. He was liked by his teammates and to say he was racist is pure horse crap !
He got a talent while talking trash lol bro 😂😮
He got a jumper lol whoa bro he got a jumper lol 😂
He was just nice white or black he was a problem lol bro 😮
John Havlicek, Jerry West, and Dave Debusher were highly touted white players before Larry Bird?
There's Larry they guy and there is Larry the competitor
It’s not arrogance if you can back it up. Just because he won accolades doesn’t mean he is racist. Sounds to me you’ve got the problem, Larry doesn’t have racist bone in his body.
The AI that originated this docu post never played basketball. Has no idea about trash talk... as these new generation b-ball players.
Bird = was clutch !
This is one of the dumbest takes I've seen in a while. It screams GenZ fragility and not someone that actually watched Bird play or conduct himself. He was super humble outside of the court. He has always appreciated his time growing up and learning from black players and is grateful they let him play with them.
If Larry Bird was black, the black youth of today would know all about him, just like they know Magic. They would know he was one of the greatest clutch players of all time along with the last player to win three MVPs in a row in a league with Jordan, Magic, Dr J, Kareem, Barkley and Moses Malone. Him and Magic brought the NBA back from the dead. If there was no Bird and Magic, then there would have been no Lebron or Curry.
he was even confused with isiah and isaiah thomas..
@@victorquintana4018 smh
True story. Anyone who's read up on him knows when he worked in French Lick after high school he balled with and against nothing but black players, and that's where he learned his game early on. He didn't see color, he saw good players who made him better.
Haters gonna hate.
Thank you, my friend, for stating facts! I'm a 65 year old black man who has watched basketball for decades, and I can say unequivocally that Larry Bird is one of the greatest to ever play the game!! He's in my top five all-time. Any players who made comments like the ones mentioned were in denial because they were getting smoked by a white guy. Also, it was the original Isaiah Thomas who made those comments along with Dennis Rodman's equally ridiculous remarks. ❤😊
"in an era of actual goats"
if you don't think that includes larry, i don't know why i'm watching this video
You know how hard it was for Bird going in to a majority black sport and take all of bullying and racism he got for being white? Larry Bird is top 3 players of all time and he would be recognized as that if he was black. Bird is underrated because he is white!
Even if he we’re polka dotted for Gods sake you said it all. Sixers fan I happen to be. I was about to just go purchase the green cap and #33 jersey to simply avoid ulcers 😅
I wouldn’t say he is top 3 he is definitely in the top 7.
@@Mike_Goldberg That is a respectable number but why do you rank Larry at 7? What did he do wrong?
He was also part native, which I had found seldomly a thing that black people dislike in their family genealogy. You'd think the way people discouraged him for being white there'd be a black guy with native roots that was the goat of the sport.
dude, bird is absolutely NOT underrated because he is white. Get real. He is literally considered one of the greatest players of all time. Everybody who played with/against him or watched him has to admit that even if they wanted his team to lose. He was a monster player just like Jordan/Magic/etc. I feel like the only people who would say this are people who were born in the 2000s and literally never saw him play and their parents never saw him play so never talked about him. Bird isn't lacking any respect for being white...he is literally considered one of the greatest players of all time. I think it is just young people who are into basketball now and weren't alive in the 90s and 80s (or even watching basketball in the early 2000s) who say this because they have never heard of him and assume "omg its a white guy...I bet it was hard for him!" which is horse shit that is dumb and inaccurate and larry himself would reject because all he cared about was competition. Nobody alive in the Celtics/Lakers rivalry era or was born soon thereafter with parents that liked basketball has ever thought that Bird is some poor oppressed white that didn't get cred for being one of the greatest players of all time. Even lakers fans - who HATED the Celtics (and therefore bird) - would ever pretend he wasn't a stunningly elite player that is one of the greatest of all time. This is just young people discovering Bird for the first time and making up weird racist narratives that they have no reason to believe purely because they are shocked that a white guy in the 80s could be so dominant at basketball and was basically the east coast magic johnson. Believe me, Larry Bird didn't face hard times for being white in the late 70s and early 80s in America....rofl....ironically he did make fun of other teams if they had a white guy guard him but he was just a shit talker who liked to get in their heads. Trust me, being a white basketball star in Boston in the 80s wasn't an oppressive environment rofl. FFS if you grew up in the 90s you had to see a million McDonald's commercials about Michael Jordan competing with Larry Bird in games of horse where they make the most progressively impossible shots through buildings "nothing but net" to see who got to eat the mcdonalds and they both made every shot. The thing about bird was that he wasn't just "good for a white guy" he was just one of the best players the game has seen and everybody of every race could admit that. It is about being great at basketball. Nothing more nothing less.
The only racism displayed are those who are envious of Birds skill because he was better than them.
The Isiah Thomas who made that remark about Bird was the Isiah Thomas from the Detroit Pistons, not Isaiah Thomas from Charlotte.
Yeah, and he was only trying to bail Dennis Rodman out after Larry had just torched him for 37 points. Dennis was a little salty to say the least.
Correct, that's just one of several errors in this video!
@@leeaugustine8985 I am glad that this didn’t turn into a big debate. Anyone who was alive when Larry Bird played, knows how good he was. I was a Laker fan, loved Magic and the boys. Even though I hated Larry Bird, it is hard to argue that there was anyone better at that time. When Larry was young and healthy, he was beyond description. I laugh when people say he couldn’t play today. He was a 6‘9“ marksman who averaged 10 rebounds per game. He wouldn’t have just played in this era, we wouldn’t be talking about LeBron or Steph in the same way that we do. Larry would have swallowed up a ton of the limelight. We would still acknowledge LeBron or Steph as great players, but they would be sharing the limelight with Larry Bird. He was an absolute monster on the court.
LOL. Holy sheet! that Thomas must have been 2 years old at the time that was said.
@@KJofTikTokBird broke Rodman. Evidence? You don't see any photos of Rodman wearing dresses BEFORE Bird relentlessly torched his ass on basketball court.
No Larry Bird = No NBA today! That's how importantly well he played. And man did he play, every second. Yeah he had some off nights...but, NOT when it counted. And he did it until the pain was too much.
Exactly. Stats don't show you when a player like Larry plays great. It's just numbers. Larry played great when his team needed him to play great. This is why stats, as good as Larry Bird's were, will never give an accurate portrayal of just how great he was.
They didn’t hate him, they feared him. And, at the end of the day, they had an admiration and respect for his game.
A few things need to be highlighted here. For the '81 season, they won the championship, who cares about his TS %. And that was his second season in the league. The previous season they went to the Eastern conference finals. Would they have won that without Larry? You decide but I say no.
For his first five seasons he was a power forward. They're not typically as versatile as small forwards, yet he made three all-defense teams during that time, which was before he broke his back. Even so, including his last year as a power forward he began a five year stretch where he averaged at least 50/40/90 shooting, averaging around 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. That alone is legendary because NO ONE else has done anything like that, not before, not since. Maybe Jokic will be the one to do that; he's on his way, but hasn't done it yet.
During that stretch they also won 2 championships, and he won finals MVP twice, and they made the finals three times. That's why he won 3 league MVPs in a row, not because of racism. During that time he also won three 3 point shooting contests, consecutively, and the first time he played with a 3 point line was his rookie year in the NBA. So these are reasons why he was called "Legend".
As for racism, yeah he was racist. Against other white players, not black players. That's well known.
I posted up above, but I completely forgot about his three consecutive three-point shooting contest victories. You are correct, he did take issue with being guarded by white player. He even stated that to sports illustrated. He thought it was disrespectful to his game. With that said, I don’t know if he actually felt that way or not but he did state it several times. You failed to mention one thing that is really important here well, so did I. Larry Bird entered the league with Boston, coming off of 29 wins. His first year in the league they won 61 games with essentially the same team they had the year before, except for the addition of Larry Bird. That is the single greatest turnaround for a ball team in league history. You can tell that whoever posted this video didn’t play or better yet didn’t live during that time. Noticed that he only went by what Dennis Rodman said. Anyone alive during that time knows that Isaiah Thomas went in to bat for Dennis Rodman, but he will not do it any longer. You can go all over UA-cam and find videos of Isaiah Thomas talking about how great Larry Bird was. They found the one player that didn’t like getting torched by Larry Bird and held him up like he was some kind of icon. Dennis Rodman was a defensive wizard who had just gotten scorched for 37 points by Larry Bird, when he made those comments. BTW, Larry lit him up every time they played against each other.
Wake up. Hakeem sampson never beat bird. Jordan swept by bird 2 times. Bird beat Isiah on steal lol. Beat Dr j. Magic Kareem. Drexler. Dominick. Those were 80s. Goats he beat
@@robluv4592Who are you talking to? We're not saying anything against what you're saying.
@@jimmyboy131 I was adding that bird Hakeem two greats had losing all time record wins losses vs bird two greats could not beat him.
U kidding?bird top 5 player of all time white or black.
Worst video ever. Larry was NEVER in anyone’s shadow. He won the ROY over Magic and 3 MVP awards in a row. A feet only done by Wilt and Russell at that time. And no one ever thought he went too far. Ask anyone who played with him and they laugh about it. Tell me you know NOTHING about Larry Bird, without telling me. I watched his whole career. 🙄
This is a bs video,bird is better than LeBron,Kobe,whom I know your gonna say thee goats,Shaq doesn't hate bird wtf why you creating a narrative that doesn't exist,cube is a laker fan and ofcourse bird is an enemy,Larry always lifted up black players,and put them over,so let's talk about overrated,start w this video
When you don't choke under pressure. Screw stats.
“People often ignored him…” LOL Nobody paying attention to basketball during the 1980s could possibly say such a thing.
Boy you need to go back to school and maybe listen this time!!!! Larry Bird never cared about STATS just wanted to WIN THE GAME!!!
This guy has no clue
Further proof of Larry not caring about stats was when playing the Utah Jazz he was informed he was one steal away from a quadruple double. His reply? I did enough damage, then continued to sit out the entire fourth quarter in a blowout win. He put up 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 9 steals in 3 quarters.
@@michaelmarrone5768 Yeah, He said I did enough damage. He was always happy when the whole Team got to play. Because it's a Team Effort that gets you the Win in the first place! 👍
The difference between Bird and Drexler is that one of them led their team, and won against Dr. J, Moses Malone, Magic, Hakeem, Jordan, and Isiah, and one didn’t.
"When I played, Larry Bird was the only one I feared. A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said Larry Bird is so good it's frightening." says Magic Johnson about Larry Bird on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series.
Some stats are more important than others. But being a leader, making others better, clutch ability and always backing up his trash talking.... those factors are even more important !!!
Utter nonsense , Yes Larry had arrogance, thats what gave him the edge.... To say he is racist is an absolute JOKE!!! Larry = GOAT
Disagree….. how you know he wasn’t a racist ?????? And LeBron is better at small forward all time and Jordan is better and Kobe and I could keep going on and on 😂😂😂
@@pauljorden2932I’ve been watching NBA for many years, and the ONLY person to have ever come close to Larry Birds shooting accuracy and skills is Steph Curry. Larry may not have had the hops of Jordan, or the dunk of Kobe. But if I had to give someone a game winning shot, Neither are getting it and it’s going to Larry. Hate to burst your bubble
@@creeperkiller9795 and guess what I’ll take Magic Johnson over Larry Bird any day in a week only thing he can do better than those guys shoot the basketball the game is more than just shooting you must’ve forgot 😂😂😂😂😂
More Race baiting nonsense !
Bird didn’t care about race ,
in fact the only racism I saw
was against Bird for DWW !
( dominating the league
while white )
@pauljorden2932 think I'll use Magic Johnson words to shut this nonsense down.... "there will never be another Larry Bird"
Magic knew he was #2 to Larry deep down... !!
61-21 : r/nba
1979 Celtics before Larry Bird = 29-53. With rookie Larry Bird = 61-21 ... This was before Kevin McHale entered the league and Robert Parish was ..
This was also before Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge arrived.
Bird was the only addition to the Celtics starting 5
For about 90% of Bird's career he and his Celtics absolutely dominated Jordan and his Bulls. By the time Jordan was trying just beat the Pistons, Bird only had 2 to 3 years left. Bird's Celtics also were more dominant in the first half of the 80's compared to Magic's Lakers, who absolutely owned the second half of the 80's.
Jordan didn’t have a team then. Larry also found out that Jesus was black.😂
What say Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson about the Bird? Exactly!
Hmmm...
A fact often ignored Bird received 60% of the MVP votes....
Not in '84, '85, '86....
... but total votes in the 80's!
Think about that!
Dudes full of 💩. Larry won the MVP 3 years in a row with the entire 1992 Dream Team in the league. Mike never beat Larry when it counted. Mike had the better career, but not while Larry Legend was there. He beat them ALL and told them how he was going to do it while he was doing it. I don't hear no stories of MJ telling his opponent how he was about to score to the finest detail and then doing exactly that. He was that good. THAT GOOD.
Can anyone follow the train of thought in this video? This is a case study in schizophrenia.
I followed, but I just couldn't take the bullsht "facts" and lack of understanding.
apparently
everyone forgot
about pistol pete.
get off the internet
Maravitch was great. He just wasn't as influential as LB.
We like Bird because of the player he was. It also helps that his 20 10 6 /points/rebounds/assists/ adds Bird’s resume to secure his legacy. By the way, there is a player right now with similar stats, Nikola Jokic, also white, with similar numbers.
Jokic just got up to 20 pts after the last four big scoring seasons. He is 21/10/7, i think. But Larry is still the only retired 20/10/5 guy, with 24/10/6. Jokic could get there in this much easier to score league
You're quoting Rodman and Thomas, both known for backstabbing their own supposed best friends? Isiah dissed and gossiped about his friend Magic when he contracted HIV. Rodman was embarrassed by Bird who cooked him, especially as a rookie. This video is a joke. Bird hated the Great White Hope talk. He had the utmosr respect for black players. The racist is whoever wrote this script.
Definitely cooked Rodman up. If I got done like that I'd be mad too.. 😂
@@LogicallyKnot "Over here, rook!" 🤣
I don't even know what this guy's point was. It wasn't argued well, and he was all over the place. It started off by claiming that people didn't like Bird, and treated him as overrated, because he was arrogant. (I've watched videos on his trash talk, and it seems like his "arrogance" -- or ability to back up his talk -- earned him respect among his contemporaries, and the only people who know about his "arrogance" today are people watch the UA-cam videos about his trash-talking. Otherwise, his reputation is a mild-mannered nice guy.)
Then, after saying people didn't like Bird because he was arrogant, he went on to say that some black players thought he was overrated because he was white and that he "inspired" -- note: didn't personally use -- racist talk perhaps among the media, etc.
Finally, oddly, he asks: "Would he have gotten as much acclaim if he was black?" And brings up obscure, nontraditional stats while ignoring all the stuff that matters. How about we bring these up: "Would a black player had received as much acclaim if he:
* Won NCAA player of the year
* NBA Rookie of the Year
* Took a 29 win team to a 61 win team that played in the conference finals in his first season
* Won NBA championship in his sophomore season
* 3 consecutive MVP's and nearly 70% of all MVP votes _for a decade_
* Was the undisputed team leader on 3 NBA championship teams
* Was the founding member of the 50-40-90 club
* Had as many famous clutch performances as made-clutch shots as Bird did
* Went on to win NBA manager of the year
* Went on to win NBA executive of the year
* And let's add that he played with many of the all-time greatest players, such as MJ, Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Dominique, Dr. J, etc. -- and that they they had incredible things to say about how great this guy was, saying that he was unstoppable, incredible, "a problem", the "best basketball player ever", and so on.
In fact, let's put it that way, and then imagine that white players said they think this black player who accomplished all of this was "overrated because he's black." I think that would sound pretty ridiculous.
A career like this speaks for itself. Anyone who can't see and admit that Bird is great (or MJ, or Lebron, or Kareem, for that matter) is simply biased and not being reasonable.
What bullshit. Bird was never a racist. Bird was the GOAT!
Larry isn't white Larry's clear😆
The GOAT (MJ) said this about Bird: “I get so many questions about Larry Bird. The thing is, ‘Was he really that good?’ I say, ‘Yeah! He was really that good. White, black, green or yellow, he was really that good! When you see a player like Luka when you see a player like Dirk, they’re great players, but they’re not Larry Bird [laughs], by no means."
I watched at the time. You don't have a clue if you think he was racist.
He wasn't in anybody's shadow. Swept Jordan twice in the playoffs. Three consecutive MVPs with the entire Dream Team in the league.
The whole GOAT thing will never really be solved, Larry Bird was my favorite player and to me he was the GOAT....I think Pat Reilly said it best..." If the game is on the line, I would get the ball to Michael Jordan.....If my life was on the line, I'd get the ball to Larry Bird ".
One stats aren't everything and 2 you can't compare a guys stats by the rules in the 80s to a guys stats in the current era or early 2000s. Also, I think I'll take the word of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan who both rank bird in their top 5 NBA players of all time over people who just dislike him or his trash talk and who never played against him. Oh and Larry's stats are not even closely comparable to the players listed who I might add are also hall of famers. For example Larry Bird stats (24.3 ppg, 10 rb per game, 6.3 Assists per game vs KG stats (17.8 ppg, 10.0 rb per game, 3.7 assists per game)
The 80s was an Intimidation Era. Trash-talking was a tactic, backed up with skill. Today it's called un-sportsmanlike.
What a load of garbage, no one argued or disagreed when he won those MVPs and his stats in his prime are comparable to Lebron, the most celebrated player ever, give me a break. When the game was big, chips all in, game 7s give me Larry Bird
"Another A.I. voiced video"
Only if "AI" means Actual Idiocy.
Never heard he was hated. He was greatly respected. So humble and genuine!
And feared.
THANK YOU JOE BIDEN . YOU NEED TO STOP RACE BAITING .
Larry Bird is the only player in NBA history to shoot 50-40-90 four straight years while averaging over 28 PPG.
And that's not counting the double digit career rebounding and being the best passing forward in NBA history.
Celts go from 29 wins before his rookie year to 61 wins his rookie year and there was no Parish, McKale, DJ, or Ainge on that team, just the same guys who won only 29 plus Larry Bird.
Greatest one year win improvement by ANY team in NBA history and it came because of the addition of a rookie.
It proved that Bird carrying a bunch of no-name players at Indiana State to an undefeated season, slaying one giant after another during March madness until that 1979 NCAA championship game was no fluke.
What he did at sad sack Indiana State has never been repeated and what he did his rookie year at (then) sad sack Boston has never been repeated.
There is a reason for that, a very precise reason...BECAUSE NO ONE SINCE HAS BEEN AS GOOD AS BIRD AND THEREFORE COULDN'T DO THOSE THINGS AND DIDN'T DO THOSE THINGS.
You will never see another Larry Joe Bird.
Dr. J on Larry Bird: "Bird and I have an interesting relationship on the court. When I defend him, and when the Celtics draft Kevin McHale and move Larry to the small forward, that becomes a regular matchup for me. If he puts the ball down on the floor, then I think I have him. I can poke the ball away and maybe get a steal. Larry's game doesn't have any weaknesses, but among his relative strengths, he's least skilled as a dribbler. When he's guarding me, he can't stay with me. But I'll be honest, I can't really stop him, either. And at that point in my career, he's a better rebounder than I am.
Is there ANY quality control viewing of these bot-AI produced videos!? Isaiah Thomas in 1987…yet they show today’s Charlotte Hornets Isaiah Thomas. And let’s be real for a second… I am in the category of a person that is just now getting to like bird… I grew up a Lakers fan in the 80s… But to question his greatness after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said that Bird was the greatest player that he ever played against …then ALL of this is ridiculous!
Stop it bird beat Hakeem sampson. Jordan. Magic Isiah. Drexler. Dr j Kareem Jordan never beat t bird. Wake up.
Who said,"He's God, disguised as Michael Jordan"
@@anthonyjohnson9403 Larry did. MJ said Bird was white Jesus.
When you say ACTUAL goats like magic and mj…does that imply bird wasn’t in that category? Because if you are, you lost me right there. Racist?? Ask how many black basketball players what they think of white guys athletic ability? I mean you have guys on these videos literally saying black players are racist when it comes to white players…
Once you started talking about race I'm done with this video
I'm just wondering what you were smoking or huffing when you put this video together. It must have been quite strong.
Pat Riley said it best and I'm paraphrasing: "If I had to pick someone to take the last shot for the win, I'd pick Michael Jordan. If I had to pick someone to take the last shot to save my life, I'd pick Larry Bird."
I grew up watching Bird throughout the 80s. He was amazing to watch, and I don't think many will agree with your conclusions. Bird's abbreviated career mean his stats aren't really ever going to be relevant, unless you look at his back-to-back-to-back MVP titles. I will quote one of the finest coaches ever...Pat Riley. "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan," Riley said. "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life... I'd take Larry Bird."
First of all … it was Isaiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons who said that along with Rodman
Isaiah was the team leader, trying to cover for his best rookie defender. He later back-pedaled that bs, because he Knew what all the top players did. Bird was the big dog in the league when he played.
This is bs. Larry was 60 points everytime he hit the floor even if he didn't score. He was always 3 plays ahead mentally and no one seen the court like him. Larry could do it all,fantastic passer,shooter,rebounder,ball handler.along being a great defensive player. Bird could have scored 50 points every game but he was a team player and a winner!
Hated he was not. What a horrible lie.
It's not birdman. There was another player called birdman. Larry Bird is a top 5 player period. Larry in his prime would crush prime LeBron.
Weird, Rodman Thomas and leman all had worse stats than Larry…not really hated, more of jealous. Remember Birds last 2 years drug his stats down due to injury, but he still averaged over 30 a game, 10 rebounds 9 assist, 2 steals and a block… id say that’s goat status for a guy who hurt so bad he had to lay down when not on the court
You should be Ashamed of Yourself!!!!!!
Have you ever heard of Bob Pettit, George Mikan, Jerry West, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Pete Maravich,Gail Goodrich, Bob Cousy,Tom Chambers,Billy Cunningham,Bobby Jones? Learn your NBA history before making trash videos.
Wow! This information is completely wrong. No context. Improper presentation and reeks of incompetency. Now I know never to watch this channel. Well done. Get the truth straight before you present them. For example, Rodman and Isaiah both later said how wrong they were and ate humble pie over those comments. Just...wow! You are so wrong. 😂
Big Time Clutch is all I can say which is what makes you great. If you pile up all your stats in the first half and can't deliver your team a victory later you are just a player, not a legend.
This nonsense has to be AI generated. I've never heard ANYONE getting something so wrong
I have never heard anyone say this before. Nothing but respect from all of his peers. They all said he trash talked more than anyone else.
Larry is a Legend.
I'm old enough to remember much of Birds career. There was a ton of controversy in about every way with Larry. I've never heard anyone say he was racist. This is a bad way to try to build a challenge
Those 81 stats are from the Finals. His stats in the more important Sixers series were incredible, and very impressive in the regular season, coming a couple votes short of mvp. He's the only player since the 76 nba/aba merger to win three straight mvps. Bird's as good as anyone who ever played
Normally I ignore clickbaot so I hate myself for biting.
This is the biggest load of bs since qanon.
Save your time,
Zeke was part of the same conversation as rodman, he was still a piston so that is just a liar bending history to make a point.
Listen to the damn audio, they are all laughing, it was a joke. Larry and Zeke sat in a press conference and said it at the time.
Even though I've given this idiot what he wanted, feel better now.
Total b.s. put up just to get clicks. Whenever you hear, "Don't get more wrong. I'm not trying to hate on..." you know you better duck because the horse manure is going to start flying.
We are talking about level of excellence here. The way I see it is, that excellence is to be admired and appreciated no matter where it comes from, just because it is so rare and difficult to obtain. Mr. Bird deserve the accolades.
Who you been watching????? Larry Bird is the GOAT. Your views are nuts!
That's 8 minutes of my life I'll never get back!!!!🤮
This is ridiculous
Yeah, this video should be taken down man.
There is a reason why he is called Larry legend one of the all time greats 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
Fact: calling someone a racist is meaningless
End of story
Somebody needs attention. Dumbest take ever.
"If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird.” - Pat Riley
Larry Bird grew up not far from racists but he wasn't one. He played basketball outside of school with black players from the hotel staff. To suggest he's somehow racist with no proof is slander.
Nice AI video
The major issue here hinges on the fact that people attribute 'race' to things that should be ascribed to 'culture'.
- Anyone who was raised in the midwest recognizes how Bird plays because that is how the midwest overwhelmingly plays. The focus on shooting, the team tactics, the whole thing. You will see full-court shots before you see a dunk unless you clear 6'6 + (too much effort for a cheap pop on a 2 pt shot).
-Bird was just an 'Alpha' example of the Midwest-style and was the guy to really bring the people's attention to it.That area just so happens to be predominantly white (people who have basically been too poor to move too far from their hometowns for forever).
- Bird's race plays its biggest role during the college game against Michigan State. The stark contrast was what set the game apart to a public that had spent so long being 'out of the loop' concerning basketball, in general, and gave that game an extra novelty to get them over that initial hump. That being said, the trajectory had been set after that and Birds race had become a technical non-factor by the time he hit the NBA. Any mentions of it didn't go anywhere beyond 'superficial'/sh!t talking.
- He broke to much ground on the achievment end to not 'still' be talked about. If Bird had been black, all achievments the same, the fact that the hypothetical "Black Bird" has basically created the template by which all "Shooters" are judged would, alone, set him apart and make sure he was mentioned throughout the decades. the 50/40/90 club was founded by Bird, he won the first three 3-pt contests, he's a Johnson-level passer, opponents still talk about how he outsmarted them and got into their heads. On top of all that, he used his status as one of the "Big 2" of the 80s and grabbed that megaphone to make sure that no one could ignore MJ any longer. Bird's mark on the NBA is much to large as long as he's given that chance.
And what was Brown’s response? He looked over his bench, turned back to Bird and said, “No.”
a lot of his pears know he was good player and very dangerous on the court..bird did not show boat it was all about winning...and yes bird had major competition from great player of his Era...and he knew it
Bird averaged around 28 pts, 10 rebs, 6 assists per game during his prime while leading the Celtics to 3 NBA titles and winning 3 MVP awards.
50-40-90 (50%+ FG, 40%+ 3 pt, 90%+ FT) was 1st achieved by Larry Bird.
I grew up watching the NBA in the 1980s.
*Bird was the best player in the NBA in the 1980s with Magic Johnson #2.*
Jordan took the crown in the 1990s with Olajuwon #2.
It amazes me that the black players call Larry racist but it’s ok for a black player trash talks it’s ok, their jealous of how good the legend was
A white guy that broke up an all-black league is something unnatural for the NBA back then and now. Bird and Stockton are still some of the best of all time.
To call Larry Bird a racist is the most ridiculous thing I've EVER heard. Larry didn't care. You could either play and guard him or you couldn't. And Larry could have DESTROYED Thomas's career and he told the press that what he said "dont bother me it shouldn't bother you. It doesn't matter." Pistons couldn't handle losing to the Celtics.
Stop the hate bating
Larry Bird didn’t invent trash talking he just backed it up. There’s a 30 minute UA-cam video of several NBA greats that played against Bird and not one of them mentioned racism. A couple of them said he may be the greatest NBA player ever.
Oh and I was a Sixers fan growing up and HATED Bird, but give the man his props.
Everyone of those Detroit players you just referenced have come out and said how great he was. Bird was an assassin he would tell the defender what the play was going to be. He would say I'm going to that corner and shot a 3 in your face. Then he did it. He would shoot left-handed some times just to get into his opponents head. Dude was great and I have never heard anyone say different.
lol must it always come down to race?
I don't think that people means that he got no athleticism because he's white, but because he was slow, didn't dunk that much and he had a short career because of back issues
7:23 beautiful picture, both drafted and won it all. PAUL SHOULD BE IN IT TOO along with Bill
He is a legend because he produced when it mattered. He was clutch and cold as ice under pressure. Larry took a 29 win team the year before he came into the league to 61 wins his rookie year. To suggest otherwise makes you look ignorant.
I grew up in colo.Loved watching this man played and iam 77 years old He was the vato the man.
Love the motivation behind your reasoning. 💕. But, your premise is flawed: current analytics do not apply to past eras in the Association. Different rules. Different game.
Yeah analytics can’t measure when a guy is bored at the end of a long road trip, tells everyone he’s going to shoot left handed to change it up and still drops 47 points..show me another player that has ever done that
Why isn't there a mention about 5 nba finals appearances?
I think that is because Magic had 5, but all the wins against the Celts (one) it was Very close.
Cmon, the only people who don’t like Bird are Ray Cists and the guys he roasted on the court. Best player I ever saw
You don't know how Larry Byrd developed his basketball skills. If you did, you wouldn't claim on your thumbnail that he's a racist.
Larry was definitely the greatest trash talker. Basketball is a mental game and he was arguably the best .
Lary Bird Career Stats: PTS: 24.3 , TRB: 10.00 , AST:6.3....
It is a shame that they don’t keep statistics for the last two minutes of the game. Larry Bird said it best “40,000 eyes know that Larry Bird is getting the ball. We knew it, our opponents knew it, and the fans knew it.” Everybody in the world knew he was going to get the ball and he still delivered time and time and time again. Magic Johnson had the greatest quote about Larry when he missed the final shot in game four. “It was dead on. I was thinking he is going to do it to us again.“
KD 27.3 PPG, 7 RPG, 4.4 APG. KD averages 4.9 3-pointers per game as opposed to Larry’s 1.9. Considering that Larry only loses to KD in the points per game category and only by three, in an era where blood was an every day event as opposed to this soft as cotton league today, I think we can categorically prove that Larry Bird is better than KD. Never forget, the last six years of Larry Bird’s career were pain riddled with injuries.
I remember that quote, and it was just as profound to me as it was to you.
Whatever liars! He played with.brothers before he even went to the pros
Bird was the Greatest all around player to ever play. Bar none. He was not a racist.
Let's see, MJ, Magic, & LeBron all have Larry Legend in their top 3. As a kid Bird would play ball with blacks after school. Plus, I notice that no names were mentioned on who said Larry was racist. It seems that Latest Hoops, Rodman, Thomas, and others attitude towards Bird show that YOU"RE the real racists. I agree with @aragorn 1 ring about Gen Z.
Bird was one of the greatest ever his greatness is in winning and effort all you have to do is watch him in a game