And I saw an interview with McHale who said that Wedman (I think) yelled from the Celtic bench to Jerome Kersey who was guarding Bird , "Hey Jerome, wait 'til Larry starts using his right hand!". Classic trash talk!!
Larry is also the only player in NBA history to win 3 league MVP's in a row. He did it in a era going up against Jordan and Magic. To me his a top 5 player of all time because he did all of this against the best competition the NBA has ever seen.
To be fair, Larry was drafted ahead of MJ by 5 seasons. He won his first MVP in the season before Jordan played his 1st game (1983-1984). Also, MJ sat out almost a full season (1985-1986) due to a broken toe/foot, which was when Larry won his 3rd & final MVP.
@WVY KING Larry is Top 5. Your point about MVPs is invalid. In the 80's the award went to who it was supposed to go to. The politics didn't come in at the very least until 2002 when Duncan won over Jason Kidd & in 2006/2007 when Kobe got snubbed due to his Colorado court case. They gave it to him out of pity in 2008.
Growing up in the 90s the GOAT was always MJ, but everyone had Bird second back then. Crazy how much disrespect he gets today. He revolutionized the entire SF position with his elite perimeter game.
@Greg A How Do You Figure That ? Wilt Chamberlain Has Went Againt More HOF Players Than Anyone in Any Other Decade He Also Has 70+ Records In The Book And 2x Champion And As Far As Larry Bird He Has Everything You Could Want In A Player Passing, Scoring/Shooting , Great Defense Unmatched IQ and Awareness And UnderRated Athletic Ability And He Can Score Any Way He Wants On The Court He didn't have A Weakness besides Injury
everybody had magic until 1992. And I still believe that Magic and Bird were less athletic but better players than MJ. With nowdays physical prep, they would be unbeatable.
I remember my uncle loved Larry bird was his favorite player Celtics was his fav team I was a kid in the early 90s my fav player was MJ couldn’t understand why he liked bird so much but I never seen bird in his prime I only saw the old bird with a bad back
"...steal by Bird, on the lead to DJ, he lays it i...the Celtics win, the Celtics win!!" Johnny Most, Larry Bird and the greatest play in NBA playoff history. Period. GOAT hands down.....
Imagine if luka played defense was tough and won the mvp three straight years and the last one with a broken back well then you have Larry legend do your research my fellow millennials he’s in the top 10 all time
@magellanphone The Celtics had an all time great team with established hall of famers, they played great team basketball but too good for a young Jordan at the time. 0-6 playoff record against the Celtics must irk him a bit. Here are Jordan's stats in those 6 games: 39.6 pts, 6.6 reb, 5.8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks per game. Pretty good.
Prime Bird vs Prime Jordan...... My first pick is Bird all day long. Greatest all around basketball period and a winner (73% win percentage). Even with his rookie team that was 29-53 the year before...
Larry Bird, on numerous occasions, had chances to have quadruple double. One time he refused to go back in the game because, according to him, he already caused enough damage. Dude doesn’t pad his stats. True story.
Man, there are a lot of old cranky ppl in the comment section. Instead of bitching about today’s stars, let’s celebrate the greatness that was Larry Bird. Y’all disrespecting him with all this whining.
Greg A you can blame the young kids, but the same can be said about the old farts. I grew up towards the end of bird/magic dominance. I idolized bird and then mj afterwards. I went back to watch birds early games and he was amazing. To say that he’s “much better player than anyone in the nba today” is completely wrong. As much as I don’t like lebron, he’s a much better player then bird or magic ever were. Luka can one day be as good as bird if he continues to develop. KD is relatively at the same level that bird was. Respect the man for what he was and for his greatness. But let’s not lie about today’s talent just because of nostalgia.
"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
For most people Jordan is the Goat but for me Bird and he was more fun to watch. When Jordan had the ball in his hands you already knew what it was going to happen 99% chance he was going to shoot it. When Bird had it everybody was guessing and when he passed or shot it or whatever he needed to do everybody was in shaking his head in awe...
I hated Larry Legend because I am a diehard Laker especially during Showtime Era, but loved him because him and Magic made what today's NBA is all about. As a fan you have nightmares how to limit him and forget about stopping him. In many ways he'll find a way to win. 😭
@@airballph9502 Yeah, some of the players today may have some more ball-handling skills. I chalk that up to the European way of playing (had a cousin play over there for a couple of years), and they teach ball handling to everyone from PG to C. In the mid-90's a lot of NBA players couldn't score with anything but a dunk. But, I got to watch Magic/Bird when they were in college, go into the pros, and you saw Isiah, Michael, Charles, Patrick, Mailman, Reggie, etc., all come into the league. Plus, you still had The Dr., and oh, yeah, Kareem, playing at high levels. Those guys made the league the marketable commodity it is today.
@1:24 impossible to defend Larry Bird's fade away jump shot, even 6'8" legendary Dominique. White man CAN jump very high = Bird, smart basketball IQ, tenacious, could smoke you both insides and outs. A Legend indeed!
I truly amazes me how people have the audacity to not put Larry Bird anywhere higher than top 5 on the All-Time. I've seen a lot of list putting him at 8-9 & people placing Kobe as lower than him. Around 6-7th, All-TIme. It's absolutely disgraceful. There was virtually nothing Bird couldn't do. Won 3 Straight MVPS, Turned a 20 win team into a 60 win team his Rookie year, without Mchale or Parrish. 50-40-90. Jordan before Jordan in terms of competitive nature. Top 5 All Time.
@@Forever_Soul Imo, Kobe played more defense. He also won 2 titles w/o Shaq. If you took McHale, Parrish, and Ainge away from Bird in a new era of Celtics basketball, ex. the Reggie Lewis era, I'm not sure that Bird would win repeat titles, even with a healthy back. To this point, at full strength in his prime, Bird never repeated. I can't imagine him doing it with less, away from his championship core. He's still a bonafide legend though. Top 5 for sure.
@@Kris-ut8bi KD quite frankly is the best player in the league & Bird was the best from '84-'86 when he won league MVP 3 seasons in a row, which is still a league record today.
@@melvinhhcp3615 It's my personal opinion, I would still chose a 35 year old Lebron over KD. Given a chance to have my dream team I would still chose Larry. That man was a beast.
It's birds creativity and unique style... Him playing basketball reminds me of brasilians playing soccer. Dunno the words to describe why he's so killer
My hero back then Bernard King..Washington Bullets..I read the article about his torn ACL. I had to have a repair to my ANTERIOR CRUCTIA LIGAMENT ON MY LEFT KNEE.
Bird was a solid player. Very well rounded. Insanely lethal jump shots and his dexterity was so on point, flawless passes and ball control, always made sure he was in the right place, he did a lot with a lot less flash and wasted energy. Great trash talker too though, tough as nails and he commanded the court very effectively. His biggest weakness was speed though. He was athletic and had great endurance but he didn't have the speed What he lacked in speed he more than made up for in skill on every area of the game and leadership abilities. I put him behind MJ and Kareem only.
A. Larry is really King B. Excellent production of your video. Everytime I watch these games I think, he has been a gentleman of the NBA, for so many years !
I don't know how people can say he's not in the discussion for top 5 players of all time or even in the discussion of being the best because if you took away lebron or MJs athleticism and physical gifts they were born with and put them in Larry Bird's body there is no way they would or could have done the things he did. For Bird to be so great while being slow and unathletic just shows his heart, toughness, determination and his basketball IQ is probably the best ever. What more can be said and for him to accomplish everything he did in only 13 seasons is unbelievable and truly amazing. His body just wasn't built to do what he did and in the end his body betrayed him
I’d like to preface this by saying that I played basketball in NYC in an all primarily black high school and got my nick name from the brothers playing at The Cage and at Rucker Park. We were all trying to emulate what Larry Bird was doing on the playground and it was impossible for us. However, I remember hearing what Pat Riley said, “If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan, but if I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird."
Using his left hand to save his right for the Lakers?! Legend
!
And I saw an interview with McHale who said that Wedman (I think) yelled from the Celtic bench to Jerome Kersey who was guarding Bird , "Hey Jerome, wait 'til Larry starts using his right hand!". Classic trash talk!!
Ok, I am corrected on this story. It was McHale who yelled to Kersey from the bench. That makes more sense as Kevin was a master Yakker.
@MAN UTD didn’t ask basketball is without a doubt more entertaining and exciting. I’m not sitting watching a 0-0 tie.
MAN UTD didn’t ask lol
@MAN UTD imagine futbol or soccer players playing for 1-2 hours without a single score.. how do you guys enjoy that game? seriously? hahahaha...
"So who's coming second"?
Larry to his competitors on the dressing room of the 86 all star 3point contest .
Larry is also the only player in NBA history to win 3 league MVP's in a row. He did it in a era going up against Jordan and Magic. To me his a top 5 player of all time because he did all of this against the best competition the NBA has ever seen.
brad jb Wilt Chamberlain in 1966, 67, 68 and Bill Russell in 1961, 62, 63 also won three in a row. But i get your point larry was elite.
@@marriego I forgot to put since the ABA/NBA merger, Bird was the only one to 3-peat, my bad.
To be fair, Larry was drafted ahead of MJ by 5 seasons. He won his first MVP in the season before Jordan played his 1st game (1983-1984). Also, MJ sat out almost a full season (1985-1986) due to a broken toe/foot, which was when Larry won his 3rd & final MVP.
@WVY KING Larry is Top 5. Your point about MVPs is invalid. In the 80's the award went to who it was supposed to go to. The politics didn't come in at the very least until 2002 when Duncan won over Jason Kidd & in 2006/2007 when Kobe got snubbed due to his Colorado court case. They gave it to him out of pity in 2008.
@@melvinhhcp3615 Larry went 6-0 against Jordan in the playoffs.
Bird is the real GOAT, better than anyone else for me.
Wilt.
@@jonathansmith3742 facts
Wilt MJ Bird are in my all time starting line up!
Im sorry NO Lebron
mj
lbj
kareem
bird
magic
Growing up in the 90s the GOAT was always MJ, but everyone had Bird second back then. Crazy how much disrespect he gets today. He revolutionized the entire SF position with his elite perimeter game.
He Was Also The Pioneer Of 50 40 90 Club
@G C Nah Wilt Is The Goat
Bird is A Better All Around Player Than Jordan
@Greg A How Do You Figure That ? Wilt Chamberlain Has Went Againt More HOF Players Than Anyone in Any Other Decade
He Also Has 70+ Records In The Book
And 2x Champion
And As Far As Larry Bird He Has Everything You Could Want In A Player Passing, Scoring/Shooting , Great Defense Unmatched IQ and Awareness And UnderRated Athletic Ability
And He Can Score Any Way He Wants On The Court He didn't have A Weakness besides Injury
everybody had magic until 1992.
And I still believe that Magic and Bird were less athletic but better players than MJ.
With nowdays physical prep, they would be unbeatable.
@@AMurr45 Even though he was far ahead of his time, he was not as athletic as Kobe or Jordan so I think he is a bit behind them
they forgot to mention bird hit the game winner in ot in the left handed game
Literally crying. Bird was so good
He was the best he never showboated, he just played the best! I loved watching him play! Amazing player
My favorite SF of all time, Larry Legend
I remember my uncle loved Larry bird was his favorite player Celtics was his fav team I was a kid in the early 90s my fav player was MJ couldn’t understand why he liked bird so much but I never seen bird in his prime I only saw the old bird with a bad back
Can’t believe they been this disrespectful to this legend
Very disappointing. You can guess why it's ok for them to casually clown on one of the greats.
Brando why
Brando fr I mean he’s not better than Jordan or lebron but he is fasho a top 10 player of all timr
Remy 😂 I wouldn’t say def. I say he’s better than Lebron
Remy How?
He was a humble man, but he worked his heart out.
Larry Legend is the REAL GOAT! 💪🔥
Jing Qi From France, YES
Before Mamba Mentality
It was Bird Mentality
Larry bird a legend in Celtic history
NBA history
Simply Larry Legend, over the top forever !
"...steal by Bird, on the lead to DJ, he lays it i...the Celtics win, the Celtics win!!" Johnny Most, Larry Bird and the greatest play in NBA playoff history. Period. GOAT hands down.....
Celtics goat, top 5 player of all time.
Larry LEGEND Bird, greatest all around player EVER
Larry Legend!
@NOLAY AUSTIN facts
@NOLAY AUSTIN either him or Lebron im not sure🤔
@@limayrdm Definitely Bird!
Shot the whole game with left hand!!
Most of it but yeah
On 10 of his 21 field goals. Not the whole game. Still a pretty cool thing though.
Best small forward of all time!
LeBron is the GOAT
Billy Causgrove nope
G C says who?
@@billycausgrove9657 wrong
Bird is a top 3 player in NBA history
G C Did u ever watch basketball
He’s more like a top 10 or top 15
@G C Lebron, MJ, Bird
LEBRON, MJ, BIRD
MJ Kobe Kareem
Bird's performance in 1984 Finals Game 5 vs Lakers...34 pts 17 reb....98 degree heat....ran the Lakers out of the building.
Imagine if luka played defense was tough and won the mvp three straight years and the last one with a broken back well then you have Larry legend do your research my fellow millennials he’s in the top 10 all time
Top 5 imo
To me 4th best all time. Behind Jordan lebron and Kareem.
@@lionstigersbearsohmyanimal6741 Bron honestly shouldn't be mentioned with the others.
you do your research man, he in the top 5 at least
@@lionstigersbearsohmyanimal6741 lebron is not in top 5.lebron is overrated
n°9 imo is one of the single most iconic moment of this sports, along with the long steps dunk from Dr. J, and the layup with change of hand from MJ
Larry’s switch hands is honestly more impressive than Jordan’s.
Yeah and really not close. Such a higher degree of difficulty.
Yeah Larry actually had a defender all over him.
And Larry didn't have the athleticism MJ did
@@sickofthelies1627 that’s why it’s better.
If I'm starting a team with NBA greats Larry Bird is my definitive #2 pick, behind MJ.
@magellanphone Against the stacked Celtics you mean.
@magellanphone The Celtics had an all time great team with established hall of famers, they played great team basketball but too good for a young Jordan at the time. 0-6 playoff record against the Celtics must irk him a bit. Here are Jordan's stats in those 6 games: 39.6 pts, 6.6 reb, 5.8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks per game. Pretty good.
Prime Bird vs Prime Jordan...... My first pick is Bird all day long. Greatest all around basketball period and a winner (73% win percentage). Even with his rookie team that was 29-53 the year before...
Larry should own the Celtics
the Hick from French Lick...best trashtalker ever in my book of great trashtalkers!
One of the best small forwards to play the game in my opinion!!! Wasn’t a big fan but, he was fun the watch!!! Relentless!!!
Bird was not small, his height was 2.06m (6’9″), same height as Lebron James.
In 2021 the average nba player size is 1.98m(6’6″).
@@LuigiPaiPaismall forward is a position
@@1nautica thanks for the explanation, I am not a native English speaker but that was still quite silly of me!
I drove out of my way last summer to visit French Lick, Indiana... because of Larry Bird.
The height of a center, played forward, and the skills of a guard.
86' Celtics greatest team of al time
Larry Bird, on numerous occasions, had chances to have quadruple double. One time he refused to go back in the game because, according to him, he already caused enough damage.
Dude doesn’t pad his stats.
True story.
Yep, against Utah, dude had a triple double and nine steals IN THREE QUARTERS. Just a beast.
Westbrick must learn from this
That's a badddddd mannnn
This video is considerably better when it’s muted!
Man, there are a lot of old cranky ppl in the comment section. Instead of bitching about today’s stars, let’s celebrate the greatness that was Larry Bird. Y’all disrespecting him with all this whining.
Greg A you can blame the young kids, but the same can be said about the old farts. I grew up towards the end of bird/magic dominance. I idolized bird and then mj afterwards. I went back to watch birds early games and he was amazing.
To say that he’s “much better player than anyone in the nba today” is completely wrong. As much as I don’t like lebron, he’s a much better player then bird or magic ever were. Luka can one day be as good as bird if he continues to develop. KD is relatively at the same level that bird was.
Respect the man for what he was and for his greatness. But let’s not lie about today’s talent just because of nostalgia.
Man it had to be so cool going to a game at the Boston Garden in the 80s
The Bird is the Word!
Larry bird is a good player
No he's a great player among the elite
"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
The quality is amazing
Thing about Larry bird is that he has more class then any athletic today
For most people Jordan is the Goat but for me Bird and he was more fun to watch. When Jordan had the ball in his hands you already knew what it was going to happen 99% chance he was going to shoot it. When Bird had it everybody was guessing and when he passed or shot it or whatever he needed to do everybody was in shaking his head in awe...
Number 10 and 9 is already legendary... he is up there as my first 5 players.
The goat!!!!
Bird Matters
I hated Larry Legend because I am a diehard Laker especially during Showtime Era, but loved him because him and Magic made what today's NBA is all about. As a fan you have nightmares how to limit him and forget about stopping him. In many ways he'll find a way to win. 😭
I envy whoever got to see the nba in the 80’s
Greatest decade of the NBA.
@@Nhamp2000 u sure
same. how i wish i could have seen it on tv
@@Nhamp2000 greatest decade gotta be 2020 to 2030. New gen players and new era where bigman can pass and play like a guard
@@airballph9502 Yeah, some of the players today may have some more ball-handling skills. I chalk that up to the European way of playing (had a cousin play over there for a couple of years), and they teach ball handling to everyone from PG to C. In the mid-90's a lot of NBA players couldn't score with anything but a dunk. But, I got to watch Magic/Bird when they were in college, go into the pros, and you saw Isiah, Michael, Charles, Patrick, Mailman, Reggie, etc., all come into the league. Plus, you still had The Dr., and oh, yeah, Kareem, playing at high levels. Those guys made the league the marketable commodity it is today.
Goat 🐐 Celtics!$$$$$
Number 5 is wrong, Bird did not have a triple double in game 6 of the 1981 finals, but still had an equally impressive 27 pts, 13rbs, 5asts, on 55%fg.
0:22 the shot had just left his hands and he's already got his hand raised showing number one
Larry Bird is GOAT!
2:47 -- Bird got hit twice in the face just to get a rebound (no foul)...that's 80s basketball right there
Unbelievable
Larry bird #1 every day of the week.
@1:24 impossible to defend Larry Bird's fade away jump shot, even 6'8" legendary Dominique. White man CAN jump very high = Bird, smart basketball IQ, tenacious, could smoke you both insides and outs. A Legend indeed!
I truly amazes me how people have the audacity to not put Larry Bird anywhere higher than top 5 on the All-Time. I've seen a lot of list putting him at 8-9 & people placing Kobe as lower than him. Around 6-7th, All-TIme. It's absolutely disgraceful. There was virtually nothing Bird couldn't do. Won 3 Straight MVPS, Turned a 20 win team into a 60 win team his Rookie year, without Mchale or Parrish. 50-40-90. Jordan before Jordan in terms of competitive nature. Top 5 All Time.
I'm a real student of the game. Imo, it goes like this: MJ. Wilt. Kareem. Kobe. Bird
@@melvinhhcp3615 You're disgraceful.
@@youngblood4127 Is that it? No rebuttal? Lol
@@melvinhhcp3615 how can kobe even above bird?
@@Forever_Soul Imo, Kobe played more defense. He also won 2 titles w/o Shaq. If you took McHale, Parrish, and Ainge away from Bird in a new era of Celtics basketball, ex. the Reggie Lewis era, I'm not sure that Bird would win repeat titles, even with a healthy back. To this point, at full strength in his prime, Bird never repeated. I can't imagine him doing it with less, away from his championship core. He's still a bonafide legend though. Top 5 for sure.
il giocatore più completo che io abbia mai visto un genio.
Greatest ever. Can argue MJ, Lebron and whoever else. You are wrong. This man is the true GOAT and always will be.
Bird was a better all-around player than the so called stars of today
Yes, most of them. He's about comparable to KD now.
Did you just compare Kevin Durant to Larry Bird. Ha. KD is the second best player in the league but Larry Bird was one of the best ever.
@@Kris-ut8bi KD quite frankly is the best player in the league & Bird was the best from '84-'86 when he won league MVP 3 seasons in a row, which is still a league record today.
@Greg A If you know, you know. You obviously don't know...
@@melvinhhcp3615 It's my personal opinion, I would still chose a 35 year old Lebron over KD. Given a chance to have my dream team I would still chose Larry. That man was a beast.
Bird 🐐‼️
Larry Bird was the best basketball player in NBA history.
Bird was the best basketball player in NBA on the 80's.
Awesome
Bird is extraordinary!
It's birds creativity and unique style... Him playing basketball reminds me of brasilians playing soccer. Dunno the words to describe why he's so killer
Go Larry bird
Larry Bird💚
The bird!!!
saw Bird at the Summit in Houston. Incredible
Larry Byrd best player of all time👍
----
In a jacket!!!
Larry the Legend !🍀
Number 9 is insane.
My hero back then Bernard King..Washington Bullets..I read the article about his torn ACL. I had to have a repair to my ANTERIOR CRUCTIA LIGAMENT ON MY LEFT KNEE.
Those were the days..
Bird was a solid player. Very well rounded. Insanely lethal jump shots and his dexterity was so on point, flawless passes and ball control, always made sure he was in the right place, he did a lot with a lot less flash and wasted energy.
Great trash talker too though, tough as nails and he commanded the court very effectively.
His biggest weakness was speed though. He was athletic and had great endurance but he didn't have the speed
What he lacked in speed he more than made up for in skill on every area of the game and leadership abilities.
I put him behind MJ and Kareem only.
Bird used the trash talking to get in other players heads. He was a lethal clutch assassin when it mattered most.
What? “Bumped his head on the floor”?? He broke his cheek bone! Returned and abused the Pacers. Legend!
the badassery bird had was second to none. not in nba, but in anything.
That man can play basketball!!!!!
When the game had class
лучший на своей позиции. легенда и символ нба 80х )
Larry had handles and could simply make it happen!!! Bird ho!!!
Era un gran jugador de equipo.
Bird was a bad man.
May God wonderfully bless
Better then KD!
Lol well he is a better person / 3pt shooter so yea I agree
@NOLAY AUSTIN Larry >>> Lebum
AMBITIONZ AZ A RIDAH lebron is the second greatest player of all time, Larry isn't even the second best forward of all time
no hes not its not even close
@@ambitionzazaridah4363 naw
A. Larry is really King B. Excellent production of your video. Everytime I watch these games I think, he has been a gentleman of the NBA, for so many years !
Larry bird🔥🔥🔥
How about the Top Ten Larry Bird stories told by retired players? "What do hot dogs have to do with me?"
Larry Bird is awesome at basketball
3-time MVP and 4-time runner-up MVP
The look of horror on Thomas' face is priceless
Larry Bird look kinda like Big Bird
"Magic is a great, great basketball player," Bird stated flatly. "The best I've ever seen."
YES 💞 💕😘💕😘😘💕.
I don't know how people can say he's not in the discussion for top 5 players of all time or even in the discussion of being the best because if you took away lebron or MJs athleticism and physical gifts they were born with and put them in Larry Bird's body there is no way they would or could have done the things he did. For Bird to be so great while being slow and unathletic just shows his heart, toughness, determination and his basketball IQ is probably the best ever. What more can be said and for him to accomplish everything he did in only 13 seasons is unbelievable and truly amazing. His body just wasn't built to do what he did and in the end his body betrayed him
I’d like to preface this by saying that I played basketball in NYC in an all primarily black high school and got my nick name from the brothers playing at The Cage and at Rucker Park. We were all trying to emulate what Larry Bird was doing on the playground and it was impossible for us. However, I remember hearing what Pat Riley said, “If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan, but if I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird."
Dare I say Bird over LeLose James??? Well, guess I just did
G C says who?