Watching The Last Dance documentary noticing how humble Mike was when he was a rookie. I believe you.

When Larry retired Michael said I'm sick of seeing your face you messed up a lot of my games playing the Celtics and Michael never did come out on top when Bird was playing with the Celtics. He never won, never beat the Celtics when Bird was a player. They both have a lot of respect for each other as well they should. Like Kareem said chubby white guy he wore us out.

MJ was 0-6 vs Bird in the playoffs.

Yessir

Bird is the most clutch player of all time. Even ahead of Jordan. Yes, Jordan was 6 for 6 in the Finals. But, the league was down during MJ’s run & he didn’t face anything close to the competition that Bird did. Those 80s Lakers, Celtics & Sixers team would’ve wiped the floor with the 90s Bulls. I agree that MJ is the overall GOAT. But, he wasn’t MORE clutch than Bird. And, IMO, Bird & Magic both rank ahead of LBJ. They didn’t have to build super teams to chase rings. That diminishes LBJ’s legacy, IMO.

Facts.

Facts…I got Larry all day every day!

That quote has its own fully furnished studio apartment in my head.

Lebron is a flopping ,crybaby quitter. Something Larry, Majic and Mike never did.

Facts on the quote. Larry was a cold hard killer at the end of a game.

That is an excellent breakdown of their different greatness.

Yeah, and #42 was a quick as they come. Also a teammate. James knew what was up.

I agree that the bond between Magic and Larry Legend is incredible. The rivalry between these two legendary players and their franchise are close to the foundation of the modern game of basketball. You can not mention one player name without thinking of the other. Rivals on the hardwood, mutual respect as competitors and friends for life.

Larry always stood by Magic. As Magic said he is a Friend Forever.

I like that angle, but he was still trash talking😂

Bars

WOW AGREE

I miss the big ol' hippie. He was always so unshakably positive.

He didn't go after the low hanging fruit, that would have been too easy. He needed the challenge to keep him interested.

@@78tag he should have played the Cool Hand Luke challenge. Eat 50 eggs and go out on the court

@@jeremystanton382 🤠

I love Larry but let's be realistic. It was a 29 win team so much closer 30 then 20. They also signed M.L. Carr who was no slouch

@@scottmenze2704 Objectively false. Regardless of the exaggeration, that '79-'80 Celtics is still Top 5 all time in season to season Win Percentage improvement. Carr was not a bad player but he still came off the bench all season. Bird gets all the credit, deservedly. You are actually the one not being realistic.

I can't place a title of "most" or "number one" on any basketball player. Larry obviously had the skills. But on the other side of the rivalry, I remember the Lakers being down with a few seconds left, and needing to hit the shot to tie/win the game. The ball went to Magic Johnson. OF COURSE it went to Magic Johnson. And he shot the ball, and you knew the Lakers had just won the game. You KNEW it, long before the ball got to the hoop. And the reason that moment was so memorable to me is because he missed. And everyone had to pick their jaw up off the floor. I suspect Larry Bird had to do the same thing if he later watched the highlights. That was the reputation that Magic Johnson had built for himself as a clutch player, and it was well-deserved. As stated, not trying to take anything away from Larry Bird. I just can't personally label any single player as being the GOAT in basketball. There is a really good series of videos where the person making the videos gives really solid arguments for why each of eight different players deserves the title of GOAT. Each player has their own video, and while I haven't watched them all, the few I've watched were very informative and well-done.

As a Laker fan watching the Great Laker and Celtic Teams in the 80’s, no one terrified us like Larry legend. You just have no idea how unstoppable he was. Incredible. ❤

@@cassianfalkener3706 You have it backwards. Pat Riley & Magic spoke on it.

I discovered this myself sometime after I posted. That being said, Magic had a very similar reputation. During that time in the league, there were a lot of "clutch players" spread throughout the league.

Jerry West, RIP, was nicknamed; Mr. Clutch, the Logo, Mr. Outside, & Zeke from Cabin Creek. I saw a lot of Laker games in LA from 1969-1993.

Larry Bird wouldn't even let Mike win one in the playoffs, who else can say that in the 80s before Larry broke his back.

The era of the gentleman athlete.

I remember I was like in 2nd grade, living in LA when Celtics and Lakers were in the playoffs, watching it in a restaurant after a day at Disneyland. Good times. I wasn't too strong until late Jr High. Stronger?!? So I was surprised when I didn't have to granny shot a ball. I was pretty decent at 3s when I shot but it was on the side of my head and behind it. Had the best high arc. So I tried to change it and have it look cooler. Never as good. Years later, I see Bird and was like, Dayyum...I ised to do that. Some things you lose. I lost my finger roll as I got to lift more. Never could get it back. Frustrated that I didn't get what I did. Especially since I had a teaching mentality.

You forgot Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP also.

​@@jswerve386and Gold Medal winner 92 Dream Team.

3 straight MVP's career 24ppg 10 rebounds 6 assists career stats

Bill Laimbeer, even his teammates, when talking about him, would talk ill of him and smirked while giving him bare minimum props, cause everyone knew he was dirty!! Outside of him for sure, look how well the Dream Team played with one another, if they were not friends before the Olympics they were after.

Great Comment. Thanks!

That's the truth. Lightening in a bottle.

NBAs best decade ever.

80s basketball was incredible. It was incredible. There was nothing better to watch. So much talent, so much heart, so much drive... Today's game isn't even close.

One time in the 80s, I was watching a fight and a basketball game broke out!

@davidanon1568 man, that how I was introduced to Hockey- I went to the fights last, and a hockey game br9ke out!

I don't know, I still put Michael Jordan above him as a complete basketball player. But Larry Bird is a better passer and 3-point shooter and is my #2 choice. It's very impressive when you think that Larry Bird never shot 3s in high school or college because they didn't exist until he got to the NBA when they were introducing it.

McHale freak cause Larry would put back spin on some passes. McHale tried gave up after 15 minutes of trying.

And came in second 5 times. The player of the 1980’s.

@@ddthor especially 80-86. Really '79 too but they were still learning to catch his accurate crazy passes.

@cryptozoomauler5505 yup. In 79-80, he came in 4th in MVP voting and won rookie of the year nearly unanimously; he got 63 votes and Magic got 3 votes for 2nd place.

-- Yup. It's MJ and Bird. Then its everyone else. Lebron? He maybe the 3rd GOAT behind MJ and Kareem but LeThird ain't clutch.

@@jlui21 -No It's Bird, followed by MJ

Yep! Growing up, not even being raised around bball, I knew Larry Bird was a Legend!

Truth. The entire sport stands on Magic and Larry’s shoulders.

Also espn did a 30 for 30 series called lakers vs Celtics. That was epic!

@@seankoonce4779 oooh, I’ll have to check it out!

That shit was beautiful but it broke my heart at the end!!! I loved that series!!!

@@christophernunnally3907 definitely!

Great documentary!

When bird and Magic entered the league, they would run reruns of sitcoms instead of broadcasting nba playoff games live. You’d see it hours later on a tape delay.

Thank you for remembering Len Bias, I am a fan of Maryland basketball, Len was such a great player and yes, history in the 80s would be very different if not for his tragic death. The Celtics would have won more titles, the Lakers and Pistons, probably less titles, things would have been very different, no doubt.

RIP Len Bias,

Bird…are you thinking of the other legend Byrd? (The Arkansas state trooper 😂)

@@lynnhoffman247 Weird. Thanks for the catch. Corrected now.

My fav. quote.

I agree - Larry was more of a team player

i was never a fan of either, but i used to have Jordan 1 and Bird 2. but the more i go back and really dive in, i got Bird SLIGHTLY over Mike, because of intelligence and team play.

@@soramirez5473 His team play was so good that he CREATED star players on his team! You can't say the same about Jordan, or LeBron.

@@korndogz69 yes.. thats why i give bird the edge.. but i would like to have BOTH on my team, plus three 3 and d guys land im winning.

@@korndogz69 and i mean both Bird and Jordan. I dont really need lebron. too ball dominant..

I grew up as a Lakers fan in the 80’s and I despised the Celtics, esp Bird. Over the years I have come to respect and appreciate Bird and it’s so cool to hear all these stories decades later.

Basketball was FANtastic back then. My favorite NBA slogan and so true.

Great documentary.

Excellent analysis. Thank you

Muhammad Ali level

Between 1980-1989, Larry Bird Received 67 Percent Of MVP Votes. He never finished MVP race lower than 4th place in his WHOLE CAREER. He was in the race for MVP in his rookie season. He did received 3 league MVPs with 66.97 % possible votes CONSECUTIVELY! Some quotes, "Jordan made you look slow, Bird made you look stupid" "If I had to pick a player to save a game, I would pick Michael Jordan, if I had to pick a player to make a shot to save my life, I would pick Larry Bird"" Every Single NBA player that shared a court with Larry Bird is in awl of what he did, everyone of them has a story, everyone of them lost consistently to him, Everyone of his opponents learned to be better players because of the lessons he laid down. No other player is consistently lauded across the board, Jordan and Kobe come up as #1 a lot, and they may be, but even they are in the shadow of the legend. MVP voting 1980 Larry 's rookie year 1979-80 - 15 Points (MVP Race Finish: 4th) Season Statistics: 21.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG 1980-81: 423 Points (MVP Race Finish: 2nd) Season Statistics: 21.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG 1981-82: 406 Points (MVP Race Finish: 2nd) Season Statistics: 22.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.9 BPG 1982-83: 364 Points (MVP Race Finish: 2nd) Season Statistics: 23.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.9 BPG 1983-84: 652 Points (MVP Race Finish: 1st) Season Statistics: 24.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG 1984-85: 763 Points (MVP Race Finish: 1st)Season Statistics: 28.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG 1985-86: 765 Points (MVP Race Finish: 1st)Season Statistics: 25.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.6 BPG 1986-87: 271 Points (MVP Race Finish: 3rd)Season Statistics: 28.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 7.6 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG 1987-88: 527 Points (MVP Race Finish: 2nd)Season Statistics: 29.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG 1988-89: (MVP Race Finish: N/A) Season Statistics: 19.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG 1989-90: 5 Points (MVP Race Finish: 10th) Season Statistics: 24.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.8 BPG 1990-91: 25 Points (MVP Race Finish: 9th)Season Statistics: 19.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG 1991-92: 3 Points (MVP Race Finish: 14th)Season Statistics: 20.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 6.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG 1987-1989 only played 6 games with double achillies tendon surgery, and broke his back, In addition to a bad elbow, shattered knuckles on his dominate hand and half a dozen injuries that aren't as well known, "Larry body betrayed him" is what is repeated, what isn't as well known is just how busted up Larry was. Most of Larry's rivals knew he had some injuries, but they had no idea HOW BADLY until they shared a locker room on the Dream Team, they are all, "Damn" and every one of those players have Larry in their personal top 5, That says a awful lot. LARRY LEGEND TIMELINE to look at the career of NBA’s greatest small forward: 1974 - Larry played high school basketball at Valley High School in French Lick, Indiana. 1975 - Enrolls at Indiana University to play for coach Bobby Knight but quits school after a few weeks and works as a garbage man. 1976 - Enrolls at Indiana State, sitting out the season as a transfer student. 1978 - ISU goes 23-9 and Bird named to All-America first team. Selected 6th overall by the Boston Celtics. 1979 - Bird wins AP player of the year, first-team All-America and led his team to NCAA Championship game. 1980 - Bird named NBA rookie of the year. 1981 - The Celtics wins the NBA championship. 1982 - The Celtics improves his record 63-19, lost Philly in East Finals. 1984 - Bird is MVP and the Finals MVP 1985 - Bird is the MVP again despite nagging elbow injury, leads his team to the NBA Finals. 1986 - Bird is the MVP again, three years in a row, Finals MVP and ’86 Celtics are the arguably the best team ever. 1987 - Celtics advanced to the Finals again but injuries set a blockade to win over Lakers. 1988 - Celtics fails to advance to the finals, losing Pistons in a 6 game series. 1989 & 1990 - Bird plays the first 6 games before deciding to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs in both heels. 1991 - Celtics ended season 56-23 and injured Bird shows some of the flashes of vintage himself. 1992 - Bird misses 37 games, most of them are the second half of the season, play for the Dream Team in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and retires from the game of basketball. Yes this is repost to a earlier comment on another video, but it shows why I have Larry Bird as my #1, is stats are consistently superior across his whole career, in spite of multiple injuries that should have ended his career, and yet the played on. Most of Larry's rivals knew he was injured, but none knew how badly until they shared a locker room on the dream team, everyone of those hall of fame players on the dream team ALL have Larry Bird in their personal top 5. When you consider completion, and the injuries that he literal played handicapped, Then the fact that Larry informed his opponent what was going to happen, then did it and they could not stop it. There is no doubt. Why he is the legend. With Larry, most people don't realize how good he was because STAT PADDING and ACCOLADES were beneath him. Take a look at his games against the rockets, the 60pt game, but the 1988 playoff game is really the one that tells you what kind of player Larry was, because his stats aren't that impressive until you know that 20 of those points came in the last quarter of the game, and he was on the court with TWO Ruptured Achilles Tendons that had him benched the following season AND Bronchial Pneumonia, that sent him to the hospital.

I agree. I’m just about Bird’s age and watched nearly every Celtics game until he retired. I didn’t have any clue that he was such a trash talker. I have really enjoyed watching your reaction!