I don't understand how people are now talking about his "barely being top 10" these days. I swear he and Kobe are the most hated and underrated players in the basketball history at this point.
It's a damn shame his prime and career was cut short due to that back injury, his peak was absolutely insane. He'd be making his opponents cry if he played in today's game
Pippen better than larry bum, pippen 6-0 in the finals, you play to win the game, and pippen won more than larry bum, pippen never lost, better than larry 3-2
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Julius Erving were iconic figures in the NBA in the 1980s. In the NBA until the 1970s, powerful center players such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar determined the outcome of games and the superiority of teams. However, the emergence of players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan showed that it was possible for players like guards and forwards to dominate the game. In this sense, Bird was one of the players who revolutionized the NBA and, by extension, basketball.
Larry Bird, in my humble opinion, had a top 3 PEAK of all time. He is top 10 overall, and can be debated into the top 5 (which is where I personally have him).
Good point, rule changes factor in as well, allowing skills to be more effective, although Larry would have dominated previous eras as well, since he was big, strong, physical and played with hustle
That fact that this guy had only 13 seasons with a broken back half of his career, double Achilles surgery, broken finger from start of his career on his shooting hand just gives you an idea how nerfed he was.
@@skap_attack I had Bird top 3 peakwise until Jokic came along last year. It's too early top put Jokic top 15 or 10 all time but just peak for peak hes risen to #3 behind MJ and Shaq for me
Great video! Bird had one physical attribute that most greats did and do not have - endurance. Bird's high school basketball coach emphasized running. Bird continued to do extra miles in college and during his NBA years. That's why he was so dominant in the fourth quarter - he was not as tired as his opponents. Explosive athletes have to rest. That's why Dr. J, Dominque, Jordan, and Kobe can be seen resting on the wings during games. Bird was constantly moving.
Was in Boston 3 weeks ago. My son went to Boston University, stayed. I saw zero modern Celtics jerseys. A zillion Bird jerseys, saw Russell, Hondo, Dave Cowens even a Cornbread. Saw Yaz & Orr. They have a serious sense of history. Bird gets mad respect.
Loving your Bird content. Grew up in the 80s and MJ was my favorite. I hated when they played Boston. Bird was too good. I always rooted against him but as time has gone on I've really grown to appreciate his game and I think you're right. He would definitely dominate today. As if Jokic isn't enough proof of that.
EXACTLY! Players like Curry, Jokic and Luka prove that skillful players lacking in the athletics department can dominate any era. Tho, in my opinion, Bird was an underrated athlete. Not saying he was overly athletic, but I think the commentary about how bad of an athlete he was is overstated.
@@skap_attackagreed on his athleticism. Though it was clear that even against "plumbers" he was a step slower and more ground bound than everyone else. Yet he still dominated. Can you imagine him in the east of the 2010s-today?
I was the opposite. Loved Bird, hated Magic because Magic was so good!!! Like you, as time went on, I grew to greatly appreciate Magic's talent and how fortunate I was to watch both throughout the 80s. They truly changed the NBA for the good! I cannot say the same for LeBron.
@@bpsactclass2218 So who is better for you, Bird or Magic? What do you think about Jokic? I am Serbian, and like all the Serbs we felt that we were robbed in the semifinals of the Olympics, a lot of bad calls (for example, Embiid travels and scores, and they gave tec to the Serbian coach...), I am tired of Instagram kids comments, I wanna ask the real grown-up basketball lover, what do you think, was Serbia robbed??
Thank you for this video. I've never understood my father's fascination with Larry Bird until I saw a documentary about him shown to me by my father. It also had a Magic and Jordan one in it. They inspired me to play.
Bird was a BEAST in his prime. I too am slightly too young to remember him. I was born in the mid 80s, so I was still a little kid when he retired. But in studying his game in recent years, I am BLOWN AWAY by this guys peak.
If Magic Johnson is saying Larry is the smartest player he's played against that should speak levels considering Magic has extremely high basketball IQ as well _💯_
Great video as always, Skap Attack! MJ was right about Bird being the greatest forward (he played primarily PF for his 5 seasons prior to McHale's ascension to the starting lineup then SF for the rest of his career). After MJ, I'd put Bird and Hakeem right afterwards in terms of greatest regardless of position. What is often exaggerated about Bird's lack of athleticism is that many of his equally famous contemporaries were more skilled than truly athletic freaks . For instance, Magic and Kareem were really tall, but neither were crazy fast, springy athletes like a Wilt, Dominique, Barkley, or Admiral. The other greatest PG of all time, Stockton, had huge hands but was also not blindingly fast or jumped high. Thus, the common trait to Bird, Magic, Kareem, MJ, Barkley, Stockton, Admiral, Dominique, and others were their tough mentality and competitiveness. Among them, Bird was probably only rivaled in that aspect by MJ, whose 11-23 record was obviously skewed by his teams still building while Bird's Celtics were already dynastic. In current era, the closest thing to Bird would be Jokic, Doncic, and Dirk, but none of them have been good enough to sniff an all-defensive team. Plus, Bird was even more clutch. Just as MJ would average 50 pts/g in the current era, Bird would average 35p-12r-10a easily because of the current era's weak mentality, aversion to contact, and over-reliance on getting away traveling/flopping to inflate their stats.
@@skap_attack Yes, Larry's peak was great but his all-around averages for his career stand alone. Bird is the only player to ever average for his career over 20 points (24.3), over 5 assists (6.3), and at least 10 rebounds (10.0). Great all-around stats for a career.
lol that Byron Scott story reminds me of another one that Karl Malone was telling Zeke about Larry telling the Jazz bench where he was going to shoot a 3 from and pointed on a spot in front of their bench.
Well, I certainly hope so! In the meantime, I greatly appreciate just spreading the word of truth about these underrated and overrated players. Many thanks for watching and supporting the channel. I appreciate you!
He is awesome, he is spitting so many facts and preaching in the basketball world. The only thing that I can say bad is that he didn't make a video of a referee's robbery against Serbia. Instead, he said that simply Serbs lost energy & Curry carried (which he did, but it wouldn't be enough without the refs!)...
With all due respect to Dr J, he misremembered the Celtics improving to a 40 win team when Bird arrived. They went from a 29 win team to a 61 win team. Insane
Larry Bird is one of the most unselfish players of all time cuz even though he was a great scorer shooter and clutch performer he still let others shine like DJ McHale Parish Tiny Archibald Bill Walton Danny Ainge Cornbread Maxwell Wedman etc
I feel sorry for young fans who did not watch Dr J, Bird, and Magic play live. Bird was such a great shooter that it seemed strange when his shot hit the rim. You expected his shots to be all net! He also loved to use the backboard from the midrange, which is still unusual for NBA players. Those backboard shots were always amazing!
His peak was so short because of his back but prime Bird was right up there with the very best ! Incredible skillset and IQ topped with the same killer mentality that Jordan and Koba had. Jordan is the GOAT then I got Bird, Magic, Kobe and Kareem in no particular order. Great video once again, I always love when Bird gets the respect that he deserves !
Prime Bird put up similar numbers to LeBron but he did it with better efficiency and against much less forgiving defenses and against much more physical and tougher opponents while being noticeably less athletic than LeBron. How was this possible one might ask? Well Larry Legend was just that much more skilled and had that much more willpower. Let that sink in!
Straight facts here. Larry has become criminally underrated. If he deployed the team jumping, super team stacking tactics of Lebron, he would have more titles than him too. The only checkmark LeBron gets is durability. But that speaks directly to Bird's mentality and willpower. To play through injuries and never take time off.
@@skap_attack Bird won 3 MVPs in a row which itself shows a lot. It shows he was the greatest player in the world for several years straight. Around the same time period he was also 2nd team all defense multiple times in a row and 50-40-90 club member twice in a row. He arrived to a team that had won around 20 games the previous season and immediately made the team a real contender. So talk about making a difference there! For me Larry Bird is a top 3 player of all time with MJ and Magic. His game was skill, determination, willpower and loyalty to his team. The greatest small forward ever to play the game when you look everything he did and with what he did that with. Stats are 'only stats' but he achieved what he did with skill and smarts. Physicality and athletism are 'gifts', skill is earned and learned.
the greatest sf of all time won the real way didnt join a top 3 player in the league and stack superteams lbj has 1 real championship bird clears never got locked up by jj berea real sf debate should be more so kd/bron bron isnt top 10
Larry Bird was a straight up DAWG. So what if he didn’t have the freakish athleticism!? I would gladly take a player like Bird, have a quiet 40 pt game, than to have a loud 20 points, where all my points came off of dunks and put backs.
I am a life long Laker fan. Larry Bird, I hated him. For his arrogance. For his ability to psyche his teammate's up while psyching his opponents out. There is no one, NO ONE, in todays game that had the will to win like Bird. Not just the will, but smart enough and gifted enough to make it a reality. As usual SKAP ATTACK spits facts at the uninitiated. If you don't know, now you know.
When he said that players of old were firefighters as a pejorative I laughed my ass off ngl. Reddick doesnt know that a firefighter could probably punch of a hole through his ribcage. Ive met several firefighters in my field of work and few dudes are as physically and mentally fit as firefighters.
When I trained to be one you had to lift a 150-200 lb dummy from the stairs down to the ground in drills multiple times I agree they're strong as fuck Me and my friend was lifting freaking hay logs on his farm ... JJ is tripping
awesome player ,Larry is a model for me I play basketball for fun I don't jump high I don't run fast but I try to be 150 percent effort on the court and make smart moves .Skills will always make you go far
These young kids have no idea how great Larry Bird was? Bird had 1 kryptonite and that was Magic who kept him from winning the NCAA title and two more titles in the NBA in 1985 and 1987. Anyone who watched the 1984 finals knew that Lakers gave that series away to Boston with turnovers and missed free throws by Worthy and Magic in games 2 and 4. You can’t deny Bird’s impact he was tremendous at leading Boston to 3 titles and won 3 straght MVPs.
Like a lot of casual fans, I thought athleticism meant only being able to run really fast, jump really high, lift very heavy things, and have a muscular body. Here's a more nuanced opinion on athleticism in an article by James Breese, "Unleashing Athleticism: The 10 Components You Must Know". Before injuries, Larry Bird checks of all ten boxes on the list. And even with injuries, Larry could still cook hall of fame opponents with 8 out of 10 or 7 out of 10 of those boxes. The Ten Components of Complete Athleticism 1. Strength - the ability to create force 2. Speed - the ability to minimize the time cycle of a given movement 3. Power - the ability to create maximal force in minimal time 4. Mental Resilience - the ability to push yourself out of your comfort zone 5. Aerobic Capacity - the maximal amount of physiological work that an individual can do as measured by oxygen consumption 6. Anaerobic Capacity - the maximal work performed during maximum-intensity short term physical effort 7. Balance & Coordination - the ability to perform movements with precision and grace 8. Agility - the ability to be nimble on your feet and move quickly from one movement pattern to another 9. Stability - the ability to prevent movement in one part of the body while creating movement in another, thus protecting vulnerable areas 10. Mobility - flexibility in motion, the range of motion through muscles and joints Thank you for the videos you make.
No one beats Larry Bird when it comes to trash talking, taunting and trolling. Seriously who in the history of the NBA has ever told the defense exactly what they are going to do, do it and still make the defense look helpless. Who walks into the locker room before the 3 point shooting contest and says, "I'm just looking to see who is going to be 2nd?", and then proceeds to win the contest? Or do the contests without taking off his warm up clothes?
Crazy thing is that Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest pure athlete in NBA history & fuck maybe one of the greatest in sports history & yet people act like he wouldn't be good today
Bird’s only flaw was that he literally had no room for growth. The moment he came into the league he had already reached his ceiling. 10/10 player. Magic had continue climbing to new heights in his game with clutch; offensive, and leadership. That’s why I rank Magic higher but for a 3 or 4 year span, Bird was was the GOAT of basketball.
He joined the league when he was older and damaged his back right after his second MVP. There's a good chance he would have gotten better at some things if he never got injured. Who knows...
It's important to remember that nobody makes the NBA without being an extremely high level athlete. Sure very few are freakish elites, but Bird was still a 99th+ percentile athlete.
It tells you how bad this era really is when sports network let a bunch a role player diss the League greats that they actually played in. The nba should take responsibility for letting these networks do this garbage to their own league
Larry Bird is the Greatest SF of all time by a mile. Tough tough tough guy. And for me, he’s not the clutchest player of all time, Michael Jordan is… because Larry isn’t a clutch player, he’s an assasin. Seeing him fail in the clutch is very strange. Amazing player.
Imagine a basketball player that's a small forward and hes 6'9"-6'10" Give him court vision and passing ability only rivalled by magic Give him pf reb ability Shoots over 50% on fg Over 40% on 3's 90% on FT Solid def enough to make NBA def teams The killer instinct of Jordan and Kobe The last second shot taking willingness only rivalled by Jordan and Kobe Top tier trash talking Complete confidence in himself How is that not the perfect basketball player.
Master Plumber, JJ Redick everyone! Please let's have some applause for that poor wyte soul who simply can't breathe under the weight of the Legend's boot on his throat. The only reason he argued the 3 point statistics in the first place is so he could find a way, in his mind, to be comparable to the man who terrorizes his dreams of being remembered as an actual player and not just a middle-aged boy with hurt feelings. Just like Larry, Jokic will own those "Athletes", and he'll continue to embarrass them no matter how high they jump, or how cool the step-back looks.
Bird was playing basketball on a PS5 processing unit when motherfuckers were still using colecovision and he was "restricted" by a lack of athleticism. He's the GOAT. Also Pat Riley said it best, "If I want someone to take the game winning shot I'll take Jordan, If I want someone shooting to save my life I'll take Bird".
I used to HATE Bird back in the day BECAUSE he was so fucking good and kept beating my favorite players and teams. If you were rooting for the other team, there was this constant feeling of DREAD because you just knew Bird was gonna go off and crush all of your dreams. AND this killer was WHITE to boot, so it felt like another case of “Whitey oppressing us Brothers” 🤣. But seriously, Bird was just “That Guy”. Dude could tell you exactly what he was gonna do to you, then do it. Dude has to be the first forward you pick for any All Time NBA starting 5.
The sad thing about Bird and how everybody hypes Peak!Bird, is that Bird didn't even get to reach his prime properly. He got injured in 85 I think, that was what, his 6th season? That's the period most superstars barely start experiencing their prime, which lasts for around 5 years before they start their decline. Bird didn't even get his before he had to run damage contro,l all but doing Yoga mid games just to be able to play, and delay his decline, let alone get the chance to get better over the years. We never got Peak!Bird, and we'll always wonder what that could have looked like given how mythical the legend of a practically Baby!Bird has become over the decades.
Truth. And given that: Bird is also the player who was 2nd place in MVP voting for 3 yrs from 1981 thru 1983. And THEN, was League MVP for 3 years from 1984 thru 1986. 1987 3rd 1988 2nd again followed by dbl Achilles surgery in 89 that he came back from to elite form. Definitely a Legend.
MJ and Bird are 2 players I can think of that even when having a off night are still entertaining, educational and impressive to watch. Which is why its pitiful when stat worshippers live by paper. The game is not played on paper. And you certainly don't learn the game on paper.
Another reason why MJ is the goat. He combined the skillful/willful/technical side with athleticism and flash that hadn't been seen before aside from maybe Magic.
Dr. J is mistaken about Bird's rookie season. Bird went to a 29 win team and with 1 player change to the roster in ML Carr and a new coach in Bill Fitch, Bird was the main reason Boston won 61 games = a 32 game turnaround. Bird won ROY over Magic by a big margin and was 4th in the MVP vote. For the next 8 seasons in the MVP Bird was 2,2,2,1,1,1,3, and 2nd again!!!
When you have legends of the game say Bird was a force to be reckoned with, that goes beyond what media narratives or what ever delusion goes on, he ranks high on my list 3rd behind only 2 other assassins MJ and Kob
Yea, there is no telling why the media does what they do. I feel like Larry and Kobe are the most underrated players in all of basketball history at this point.
Larry Bird is tall and can move without the ball! He's 6'9", has a high release point on his shot, amazing footwork, and is the best trick passer in history. So, you're right that skill is more important, but it's important to know that Bird is not just skilled. If somebody thinks that Bird is unathletic, they just need to consider him a "power forward," in the traditional sense. You'll never see Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett, nor Anthony Davis running around "without the ball" like him. And yet, he could guard those guys. That's a type of athleticism. To move like that without killing your body, while simultaneously guarding bigger dudes. He's quite possibly the most skilled player ever... but he's also very athletic in his own right! However, I need to counter one pro-Bird statement in this video. The claim made by one of the players that Bird could do everything Magic could do is false. I used to think that, myself... but I just recently was watching game 1 of the 1984 NBA finals. And Magic makes the most insanely precise passes -- on demand -- and nearly every play -- that I've seen. Just absolutely wild. Bird is better at Jokic style trick passes. But Magic can quarterback a freaking team. And when you realize how bad the Lakers were on defense without Magic wearing down the other team when he had the ball (and that they went 7-9 in 1984 without Magic!!!!), you start to realize that Magic did not have as stacked of teams as people think. Kareem was only good on offense in the 80's (in the 80's, he was like Shaq.... he scored a lot of points, but he gave up a lot points... and nobody thinks about that!). On the flip side, if Bird wasn't able to play out-of-position for his whole prime, then the Celtics would never have been able to take advantage of McHale. How many other players can play "the wrong position," and become famous for being the best at that position? This is why my top 5 are 1) Mike 2) Kobe 3) Magic 4) Bird 5) Dr. J (he faced them all and was nearly their equal... when he was older and worn-down). But phenomenal freakign video. I'm actually being hyper detailed, here. And it's only because you've encouraged me so much with your analysis. And everything you said is spot-on. Skill is far and away the most important thing, and Bird had it in spades. Yesteryear's players were more skilled at scoring in limited space. They would kiiiillll in this era. That would force opposing teams to expend more effort on defense, which would mean the old school guys would have be able to better handle the new guys' athleticism when they had to guard them. They'd be fresher.
one thing i wish happened differently for Bird is that they didn't loss that finals against Magic. The rivalry could have finish with *both 4 Rings, 3 MVP, 4 Fmvp, 12 NBA All Star, 9 First Team NBA* Players/fans today disrespect old era's because they *play simple but effective basketball* While players today play with what i will call *TOO MUCH SAUCE* I understand that skills today are superior(dribbling, shooting, dunking) BUT the important thing is if they could get it done. If any player could score, rebound, make assist and win as simple as he can but effective, then he is better than lots of any fancy players.
You can watch Larry birds highlights compiled by NBA. The man was doing stepback and dropping dudes 40 years earlier. You cant put supplements and modern conditioning on that. I mean if your last playoffs was dominated in points, rebs, asst, by an unathletic looking dude who used to chug coca cola, then theres really no argument about modern anything.
My Top 5 for years has always been Kareem Larry Bill Mike/Kobe Over the years I realized that no matter how I order it, these 5 players truly have a claim to being the greatest of all time.
The disrespect to Larry Legend is ridiculous. He was giving EVERYBODY work.
I don't understand how people are now talking about his "barely being top 10" these days. I swear he and Kobe are the most hated and underrated players in the basketball history at this point.
@@skap_attack kobe not even better than tim duncan, if anything kobe is overrated
@@Mt554.troll detected
@@Mt554.kobe is way better than Timmy
@@king-ghost1027
Duncan
Rings: 5
Fmvps: 3
Mvps: 2
Kobe
Rings:5
Fmvps:2
mvps: 1
Kobe's not better kid
Larry Bird, the greatest small forward in NBA history and (for me) an all-time top 5 player.
Bird is my number 3 all time.
Agreed
Larry Bird > LeBron James
No lies detected. Bird was a bad dude!
I got Bird at 4 behind MJ, LBJ, and Wilt
It's a damn shame his prime and career was cut short due to that back injury, his peak was absolutely insane. He'd be making his opponents cry if he played in today's game
Too true! 😂😂😂
To me Larry Legend is the greatest SF to ever played the game. He also helped saved the NBA with Magic.
I am with you on both of these counts. Co-sign!
Pippen better than larry bum, pippen 6-0 in the finals, you play to win the game, and pippen won more than larry bum, pippen never lost, better than larry 3-2
@@Mt554.Larry bum? Please get yourself a father figure smh
@@MrTeeMiti larry bum only won 3 rings, pathethic, meanwhile pippen won 6 and neva lost, pippen better and its not even close
@@MrTeeMiti get yourself a 🧠 , 6>3, pippen better
Larry Bird is a great example of how skill, intelligence, determination, and shot selection can beat pure athleticism in a lot of cases.
In a lot of cases and in ANY ERA. I completely agree.
@@skap_attack Facts
Larry Legend best SF ever.
AGREE!
Best player* ever.
@@blurplebear8573 and why do you say that?
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Julius Erving were iconic figures in the NBA in the 1980s.
In the NBA until the 1970s, powerful center players such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar determined the outcome of games and the superiority of teams. However, the emergence of players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan showed that it was possible for players like guards and forwards to dominate the game. In this sense, Bird was one of the players who revolutionized the NBA and, by extension, basketball.
Larry Bird, in my humble opinion, had a top 3 PEAK of all time. He is top 10 overall, and can be debated into the top 5 (which is where I personally have him).
Good point, rule changes factor in as well, allowing skills to be more effective, although Larry would have dominated previous eras as well, since he was big, strong, physical and played with hustle
Great player NBA history Lerry Bird Magic Jackson’s 70”80”👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿Michael Jordan’s
That fact that this guy had only 13 seasons with a broken back half of his career, double Achilles surgery, broken finger from start of his career on his shooting hand just gives you an idea how nerfed he was.
@@skap_attack I had Bird top 3 peakwise until Jokic came along last year. It's too early top put Jokic top 15 or 10 all time but just peak for peak hes risen to #3 behind MJ and Shaq for me
Great video! Bird had one physical attribute that most greats did and do not have - endurance. Bird's high school basketball coach emphasized running. Bird continued to do extra miles in college and during his NBA years. That's why he was so dominant in the fourth quarter - he was not as tired as his opponents. Explosive athletes have to rest. That's why Dr. J, Dominque, Jordan, and Kobe can be seen resting on the wings during games. Bird was constantly moving.
For me the best SF ever. He is in my Top 5 all time.
I co-sign all of this.
Larry Bird is the greatest SF of all time, no one can convince me otherwise. He is top 5 all time! Thanks for keeping his legacy alive Skap 🙏🏾
funny joke larrys still great tho
Was in Boston 3 weeks ago. My son went to Boston University, stayed. I saw zero modern Celtics jerseys. A zillion Bird jerseys, saw Russell, Hondo, Dave Cowens even a Cornbread. Saw Yaz & Orr. They have a serious sense of history. Bird gets mad respect.
As he should! That's awesome!
Loving your Bird content. Grew up in the 80s and MJ was my favorite. I hated when they played Boston. Bird was too good. I always rooted against him but as time has gone on I've really grown to appreciate his game and I think you're right. He would definitely dominate today. As if Jokic isn't enough proof of that.
EXACTLY! Players like Curry, Jokic and Luka prove that skillful players lacking in the athletics department can dominate any era. Tho, in my opinion, Bird was an underrated athlete. Not saying he was overly athletic, but I think the commentary about how bad of an athlete he was is overstated.
@@skap_attackagreed on his athleticism. Though it was clear that even against "plumbers" he was a step slower and more ground bound than everyone else. Yet he still dominated. Can you imagine him in the east of the 2010s-today?
I was the opposite. Loved Bird, hated Magic because Magic was so good!!! Like you, as time went on, I grew to greatly appreciate Magic's talent and how fortunate I was to watch both throughout the 80s. They truly changed the NBA for the good! I cannot say the same for LeBron.
@@bpsactclass2218 So who is better for you, Bird or Magic? What do you think about Jokic? I am Serbian, and like all the Serbs we felt that we were robbed in the semifinals of the Olympics, a lot of bad calls (for example, Embiid travels and scores, and they gave tec to the Serbian coach...), I am tired of Instagram kids comments, I wanna ask the real grown-up basketball lover, what do you think, was Serbia robbed??
Kings get toppled. Legends are forever!!!
Thank you for this video. I've never understood my father's fascination with Larry Bird until I saw a documentary about him shown to me by my father. It also had a Magic and Jordan one in it. They inspired me to play.
Bird was a BEAST in his prime. I too am slightly too young to remember him. I was born in the mid 80s, so I was still a little kid when he retired. But in studying his game in recent years, I am BLOWN AWAY by this guys peak.
Larry Bird and Tim Duncan are the model of consistency. Their careers imo are very similar.
If Magic Johnson is saying Larry is the smartest player he's played against that should speak levels considering Magic has extremely high basketball IQ as well _💯_
Exactly right!
Unfortunately, the current era diss Magic too as another old guy.
Which is crap! Considering the fact if it wasn't for Magic and Bird there would not even be an NBA anymore!
Great video as always, Skap Attack! MJ was right about Bird being the greatest forward (he played primarily PF for his 5 seasons prior to McHale's ascension to the starting lineup then SF for the rest of his career). After MJ, I'd put Bird and Hakeem right afterwards in terms of greatest regardless of position.
What is often exaggerated about Bird's lack of athleticism is that many of his equally famous contemporaries were more skilled than truly athletic freaks . For instance, Magic and Kareem were really tall, but neither were crazy fast, springy athletes like a Wilt, Dominique, Barkley, or Admiral. The other greatest PG of all time, Stockton, had huge hands but was also not blindingly fast or jumped high. Thus, the common trait to Bird, Magic, Kareem, MJ, Barkley, Stockton, Admiral, Dominique, and others were their tough mentality and competitiveness. Among them, Bird was probably only rivaled in that aspect by MJ, whose 11-23 record was obviously skewed by his teams still building while Bird's Celtics were already dynastic.
In current era, the closest thing to Bird would be Jokic, Doncic, and Dirk, but none of them have been good enough to sniff an all-defensive team. Plus, Bird was even more clutch. Just as MJ would average 50 pts/g in the current era, Bird would average 35p-12r-10a easily because of the current era's weak mentality, aversion to contact, and over-reliance on getting away traveling/flopping to inflate their stats.
Larry Bird is the best player I ever saw.
Your can certainly make the case his peak was number one.
@@skap_attack Yes, Larry's peak was great but his all-around averages for his career stand alone. Bird is the only player to ever average for his career over 20 points (24.3), over 5 assists (6.3), and at least 10 rebounds (10.0). Great all-around stats for a career.
One of the only times I’ve seen LeChoke drop the charade and speak with an open heart.
I have Larry legend number 3 on my all time list only Mj and Kobe ahead of him Larry probably had the greatest prime ever never forget 💯
lol that Byron Scott story reminds me of another one that Karl Malone was telling Zeke about Larry telling the Jazz bench where he was going to shoot a 3 from and pointed on a spot in front of their bench.
That's why I have Larry Bird in my top 5 greatest of all time
Your content is going to catch on in a big way, and when it does, you're going to become a deserved millionaire. Great work.
Well, I certainly hope so! In the meantime, I greatly appreciate just spreading the word of truth about these underrated and overrated players. Many thanks for watching and supporting the channel. I appreciate you!
He is awesome, he is spitting so many facts and preaching in the basketball world.
The only thing that I can say bad is that he didn't make a video of a referee's robbery against Serbia. Instead, he said that simply Serbs lost energy & Curry carried (which he did, but it wouldn't be enough without the refs!)...
Preparing for the game working on your craft getting better is the ultimate Larry Legend 🔥
The kids and JJ don’t realize it today but… Larry Bird? That boy was COLD 🥶
Kudos Skap Attack on giving Larry Legend his respect.. He was a straight killer and as klutch as they come...
Couldn't agree more.
With all due respect to Dr J, he misremembered the Celtics improving to a 40 win team when Bird arrived. They went from a 29 win team to a 61 win team. Insane
You are EXACTLY right. The Doctor needs to work on his history.
I am starting to doubt if Dr. J is even a doctor 😂😂
@@inazuma3gou all Dr's have taken a hit in credibility lately it seems rofl
@@FreeFire88sas they should
Dominique doesn't get much love either. Glad you're doing the greatness of players the media wants to minimize.
Best sf ever. Put him in any era and he’s dominating
idk about that one...
Larry Bird is one of the most unselfish players of all time cuz even though he was a great scorer shooter and clutch performer he still let others shine like DJ McHale Parish Tiny Archibald Bill Walton Danny Ainge Cornbread Maxwell Wedman etc
I feel sorry for young fans who did not watch Dr J, Bird, and Magic play live. Bird was such a great shooter that it seemed strange when his shot hit the rim. You expected his shots to be all net! He also loved to use the backboard from the midrange, which is still unusual for NBA players. Those backboard shots were always amazing!
Basketball was a game of skill, now it's a game of divas and crybullies.
HAHA unfortunately you are not wrong...
Sad...but true!
Larry Legend ☘
His peak was so short because of his back but prime Bird was right up there with the very best ! Incredible skillset and IQ topped with the same killer mentality that Jordan and Koba had. Jordan is the GOAT then I got Bird, Magic, Kobe and Kareem in no particular order. Great video once again, I always love when Bird gets the respect that he deserves !
Prime Bird put up similar numbers to LeBron but he did it with better efficiency and against much less forgiving defenses and against much more physical and tougher opponents while being noticeably less athletic than LeBron. How was this possible one might ask? Well Larry Legend was just that much more skilled and had that much more willpower.
Let that sink in!
Straight facts here. Larry has become criminally underrated. If he deployed the team jumping, super team stacking tactics of Lebron, he would have more titles than him too. The only checkmark LeBron gets is durability. But that speaks directly to Bird's mentality and willpower. To play through injuries and never take time off.
@@skap_attack Bird won 3 MVPs in a row which itself shows a lot. It shows he was the greatest player in the world for several years straight. Around the same time period he was also 2nd team all defense multiple times in a row and 50-40-90 club member twice in a row.
He arrived to a team that had won around 20 games the previous season and immediately made the team a real contender. So talk about making a difference there!
For me Larry Bird is a top 3 player of all time with MJ and Magic. His game was skill, determination, willpower and loyalty to his team. The greatest small forward ever to play the game when you look everything he did and with what he did that with. Stats are 'only stats' but he achieved what he did with skill and smarts. Physicality and athletism are 'gifts', skill is earned and learned.
the greatest sf of all time won the real way didnt join a top 3 player in the league and stack superteams lbj has 1 real championship bird clears never got locked up by jj berea real sf debate should be more so kd/bron bron isnt top 10
Jordan, Kobe, Russel, Bird, Magic, Kareem.
Larry Bird was a straight up DAWG. So what if he didn’t have the freakish athleticism!? I would gladly take a player like Bird, have a quiet 40 pt game, than to have a loud 20 points, where all my points came off of dunks and put backs.
I am a life long Laker fan. Larry Bird, I hated him. For his arrogance. For his ability to psyche his teammate's up while psyching his opponents out. There is no one, NO ONE, in todays game that had the will to win like Bird. Not just the will, but smart enough and gifted enough to make it a reality.
As usual SKAP ATTACK spits facts at the uninitiated. If you don't know, now you know.
When he said that players of old were firefighters as a pejorative I laughed my ass off ngl.
Reddick doesnt know that a firefighter could probably punch of a hole through his ribcage. Ive met several firefighters in my field of work and few dudes are as physically and mentally fit as firefighters.
When I trained to be one you had to lift a 150-200 lb dummy from the stairs down to the ground in drills multiple times
I agree they're strong as fuck
Me and my friend was lifting freaking hay logs on his farm ...
JJ is tripping
Going with a straight up positive video today eh? Good on you Skap, needed a little positivity today… but make sure you crush some souls tomorrow. 😉
Larry Legend!!!!!!! Thank God for this channel
awesome player ,Larry is a model for me I play basketball for fun I don't jump high I don't run fast but I try to be 150 percent effort on the court and make smart moves .Skills will always make you go far
These young kids have no idea how great Larry Bird was? Bird had 1 kryptonite and that was Magic who kept him from winning the NCAA title and two more titles in the NBA in 1985 and 1987. Anyone who watched the 1984 finals knew that Lakers gave that series away to Boston with turnovers and missed free throws by Worthy and Magic in games 2 and 4. You can’t deny Bird’s impact he was tremendous at leading Boston to 3 titles and won 3 straght MVPs.
Like a lot of casual fans, I thought athleticism meant only being able to run really fast, jump really high, lift very heavy things, and have a muscular body. Here's a more nuanced opinion on athleticism in an article by James Breese, "Unleashing Athleticism: The 10 Components You Must Know".
Before injuries, Larry Bird checks of all ten boxes on the list. And even with injuries, Larry could still cook hall of fame opponents with 8 out of 10 or 7 out of 10 of those boxes.
The Ten Components of Complete Athleticism
1. Strength - the ability to create force
2. Speed - the ability to minimize the time cycle of a given movement
3. Power - the ability to create maximal force in minimal time
4. Mental Resilience - the ability to push yourself out of your comfort zone
5. Aerobic Capacity - the maximal amount of physiological work that an individual can do as measured by oxygen consumption
6. Anaerobic Capacity - the maximal work performed during maximum-intensity short term physical effort
7. Balance & Coordination - the ability to perform movements with precision and grace
8. Agility - the ability to be nimble on your feet and move quickly from one movement pattern to another
9. Stability - the ability to prevent movement in one part of the body while creating movement in another, thus protecting vulnerable areas
10. Mobility - flexibility in motion, the range of motion through muscles and joints
Thank you for the videos you make.
Larry the legend magic and MJ stand alone .Those three are thee Neos of the nba matrix
No one beats Larry Bird when it comes to trash talking, taunting and trolling.
Seriously who in the history of the NBA has ever told the defense exactly what they are going to do, do it and still make the defense look helpless.
Who walks into the locker room before the 3 point shooting contest and says, "I'm just looking to see who is going to be 2nd?", and then proceeds to win the contest? Or do the contests without taking off his warm up clothes?
Crazy thing is that Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest pure athlete in NBA history & fuck maybe one of the greatest in sports history & yet people act like he wouldn't be good today
Bird’s only flaw was that he literally had no room for growth. The moment he came into the league he had already reached his ceiling. 10/10 player. Magic had continue climbing to new heights in his game with clutch; offensive, and leadership. That’s why I rank Magic higher but for a 3 or 4 year span, Bird was was the GOAT of basketball.
He joined the league when he was older and damaged his back right after his second MVP. There's a good chance he would have gotten better at some things if he never got injured. Who knows...
Bird improved his game every year.
The nba would not stand a chance against larry bird and stephen curry
MJ, Kareem, Kobe, Magic, Bird, Lebron. That's my order.
Steph- 4 rings in 8 years.
MJ- 6 rings in 8 years, but played two seasons in MLB and broke the home run record. Simply amazing.
@victorwiley3739 You're clearly not a student of history.
Jordan 853
Bonds 754
Ruth 714
Larry in my top 5. Kobe Mike lebron magic bird
We are on the same page on four of those lol...
@@skap_attack who not?
@@skap_attack don't tell it's lebron 😂😂
It's important to remember that nobody makes the NBA without being an extremely high level athlete. Sure very few are freakish elites, but Bird was still a 99th+ percentile athlete.
It tells you how bad this era really is when sports network let a bunch a role player diss the League greats that they actually played in. The nba should take responsibility for letting these networks do this garbage to their own league
Larry Bird is the Greatest SF of all time by a mile.
Tough tough tough guy.
And for me, he’s not the clutchest player of all time, Michael Jordan is… because Larry isn’t a clutch player, he’s an assasin. Seeing him fail in the clutch is very strange.
Amazing player.
Imagine if you will. Larry Bird being guarded by LeFlop James. Imagine the trash talk.
The greatest SF ever. The 3rd greatest player ever.
A guy at my work swears that Larry is the best ever
Exellent video ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I appreciate it!!
Pat Ewing @ the 3:14 mark, says it all.
Larry was a beast. I hate to hear people state that Kevin Durant is a better scorer. Larry scored when it mattered.
And didn't chase stats.
gimme larry at SF everyday. goat SF
I’m with you all the way here.
Imagine a basketball player that's a small forward and hes
6'9"-6'10"
Give him court vision and passing ability only rivalled by magic
Give him pf reb ability
Shoots over 50% on fg
Over 40% on 3's
90% on FT
Solid def enough to make NBA def teams
The killer instinct of Jordan and Kobe
The last second shot taking willingness only rivalled by Jordan and Kobe
Top tier trash talking
Complete confidence in himself
How is that not the perfect basketball player.
And unselfish with ball, and all that that implies for the team.
And with an amazing work ethic.
And a true LOVE of the game.
Master Plumber, JJ Redick everyone! Please let's have some applause for that poor wyte soul who simply can't breathe under the weight of the Legend's boot on his throat. The only reason he argued the 3 point statistics in the first place is so he could find a way, in his mind, to be comparable to the man who terrorizes his dreams of being remembered as an actual player and not just a middle-aged boy with hurt feelings. Just like Larry, Jokic will own those "Athletes", and he'll continue to embarrass them no matter how high they jump, or how cool the step-back looks.
Moustache long hair Larry Legend is my favorite look of the Birdman
Those plumber statements be wild 😂
damn bro you are top quality content
Rick Barry said “you get so caught up today in athleticism. You take the athlete: give me the guy who knows how to play.”
Bird was playing basketball on a PS5 processing unit when motherfuckers were still using colecovision and he was "restricted" by a lack of athleticism. He's the GOAT. Also Pat Riley said it best, "If I want someone to take the game winning shot I'll take Jordan, If I want someone shooting to save my life I'll take Bird".
I love your analogy.
Shortened but succesful season > longevity.
I used to HATE Bird back in the day BECAUSE he was so fucking good and kept beating my favorite players and teams. If you were rooting for the other team, there was this constant feeling of DREAD because you just knew Bird was gonna go off and crush all of your dreams. AND this killer was WHITE to boot, so it felt like another case of “Whitey oppressing us Brothers” 🤣.
But seriously, Bird was just “That Guy”. Dude could tell you exactly what he was gonna do to you, then do it. Dude has to be the first forward you pick for any All Time NBA starting 5.
The sad thing about Bird and how everybody hypes Peak!Bird, is that Bird didn't even get to reach his prime properly.
He got injured in 85 I think, that was what, his 6th season? That's the period most superstars barely start experiencing their prime, which lasts for around 5 years before they start their decline.
Bird didn't even get his before he had to run damage contro,l all but doing Yoga mid games just to be able to play, and delay his decline, let alone get the chance to get better over the years.
We never got Peak!Bird, and we'll always wonder what that could have looked like given how mythical the legend of a practically Baby!Bird has become over the decades.
Truth. And given that:
Bird is also the player who was 2nd place in MVP voting for 3 yrs from 1981 thru 1983.
And THEN, was League MVP for 3 years from 1984 thru 1986.
1987 3rd
1988 2nd again
followed by dbl Achilles surgery in 89 that he came back from to elite form.
Definitely a Legend.
People need to remember Bird NEVER played with any top 10 players in his career, he played AGAINST them 👍
Tell that to Queen James 😂
Top 5 for me, ahead of LBJ for SF.
Agree on both of those statements...
@@Mt554.you are making a fool of yourself
Hi, will you make a lebron and Karl malone comparison soon?
I think the beginning of this video explains everything what's wrong today's fans. Athleticism over skill
Yeah the greatest forward in my book too.
I’ve 5:44 always said Bird over Bron. Good vid.
LeBron gave him his props that's respectable honestly
The shade thrown at LeBron in this video is not subtle. I think you undermine your credibility with that.
MJ and Bird are 2 players I can think of that even when having a off night are still entertaining, educational and impressive to watch. Which is why its pitiful when stat worshippers live by paper. The game is not played on paper. And you certainly don't learn the game on paper.
Another reason why MJ is the goat. He combined the skillful/willful/technical side with athleticism and flash that hadn't been seen before aside from maybe Magic.
And Larry himself said Michael Jordan was "God" on the court
dang he would make them all like fools. They wouldn't stand a chance to any player from the 80's. the NBA now looks a lot like the '70's
Whats your thoughts on Victor Wembayama
Skap where do you personally rank Lebron all time
I love Jordan, but I truly believe Bird gives him a run for his money as GOAT.
Agreed
Dr. J is mistaken about Bird's rookie season. Bird went to a 29 win team and with 1 player change to the roster in ML Carr and a new coach in Bill Fitch, Bird was the main reason Boston won 61 games = a 32 game turnaround. Bird won ROY over Magic by a big margin and was 4th in the MVP vote. For the next 8 seasons in the MVP Bird was 2,2,2,1,1,1,3, and 2nd again!!!
When you have legends of the game say Bird was a force to be reckoned with, that goes beyond what media narratives or what ever delusion goes on, he ranks high on my list 3rd behind only 2 other assassins MJ and Kob
The fact Larry doesn’t get any respect in the media or today . Magic Johnson gets more respect than Larry .
Yea, there is no telling why the media does what they do. I feel like Larry and Kobe are the most underrated players in all of basketball history at this point.
@@skap_attack it’s probably to set a narrative and I’ll even add Wilt Chamberlain to that list .
LJB > LBJ
FACTS!
Larry Bird is tall and can move without the ball! He's 6'9", has a high release point on his shot, amazing footwork, and is the best trick passer in history. So, you're right that skill is more important, but it's important to know that Bird is not just skilled. If somebody thinks that Bird is unathletic, they just need to consider him a "power forward," in the traditional sense. You'll never see Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett, nor Anthony Davis running around "without the ball" like him. And yet, he could guard those guys. That's a type of athleticism. To move like that without killing your body, while simultaneously guarding bigger dudes. He's quite possibly the most skilled player ever... but he's also very athletic in his own right!
However, I need to counter one pro-Bird statement in this video. The claim made by one of the players that Bird could do everything Magic could do is false. I used to think that, myself... but I just recently was watching game 1 of the 1984 NBA finals. And Magic makes the most insanely precise passes -- on demand -- and nearly every play -- that I've seen. Just absolutely wild. Bird is better at Jokic style trick passes. But Magic can quarterback a freaking team. And when you realize how bad the Lakers were on defense without Magic wearing down the other team when he had the ball (and that they went 7-9 in 1984 without Magic!!!!), you start to realize that Magic did not have as stacked of teams as people think. Kareem was only good on offense in the 80's (in the 80's, he was like Shaq.... he scored a lot of points, but he gave up a lot points... and nobody thinks about that!). On the flip side, if Bird wasn't able to play out-of-position for his whole prime, then the Celtics would never have been able to take advantage of McHale. How many other players can play "the wrong position," and become famous for being the best at that position? This is why my top 5 are 1) Mike 2) Kobe 3) Magic 4) Bird 5) Dr. J (he faced them all and was nearly their equal... when he was older and worn-down).
But phenomenal freakign video. I'm actually being hyper detailed, here. And it's only because you've encouraged me so much with your analysis. And everything you said is spot-on. Skill is far and away the most important thing, and Bird had it in spades. Yesteryear's players were more skilled at scoring in limited space. They would kiiiillll in this era. That would force opposing teams to expend more effort on defense, which would mean the old school guys would have be able to better handle the new guys' athleticism when they had to guard them. They'd be fresher.
one thing i wish happened differently for Bird is that they didn't loss that finals against Magic.
The rivalry could have finish with *both 4 Rings, 3 MVP, 4 Fmvp, 12 NBA All Star, 9 First Team NBA*
Players/fans today disrespect old era's because they *play simple but effective basketball*
While players today play with what i will call *TOO MUCH SAUCE*
I understand that skills today are superior(dribbling, shooting, dunking) BUT the important thing is if they could get it done.
If any player could score, rebound, make assist and win as simple as he can but effective, then he is better than lots of any fancy players.
I don't see superior dribbling today in the NBA.
You can watch Larry birds highlights compiled by NBA.
The man was doing stepback and dropping dudes 40 years earlier. You cant put supplements and modern conditioning on that.
I mean if your last playoffs was dominated in points, rebs, asst, by an unathletic looking dude who used to chug coca cola, then theres really no argument about modern anything.
I like hearing about real legends. Not these over hyped millionaire cry baby's. Great video
What made Bird a legend? He talked shit like no one else and backed it up. He was so legendary that him mowing his lawn was a media event in Boston.
Imagine Larry’s brain inside of LeBron’s body.
THAT would be a truly unstoppable combination...
@@Mt554.You’re an example of why people shouldn’t do drugs. It fries the brain.
Best in position:
C: Kareem
PF: Duncan
SF: bird
SG: MJ
PG: magic
Totally agree
I don't mind people saying Bob Cousy played against plumbers.
There were some plumbers on that court 😂
My Top 5 for years has always been
Kareem
Larry
Bill
Mike/Kobe
Over the years I realized that no matter how I order it, these 5 players truly have a claim to being the greatest of all time.
funny joke
The are only things that are certain in this life: Death and Skap aka skip hating on Bron at any given occasion
I have larry after mj