George: glad you led the comments with this. What a great tribute. I'm 71 and remember seeing Cousy and Russel at the old garden, with a few dead "boards" on the floor. A definite advantage, worth at least a point or two! lol

I was lucky. I was in the crowd that night. They never show everything, like the tribute to Red Auerbach or Johnny Most that they did that night. I still remember the music they played when Larry left the garden. I still have all the swag, which included a bag and a felt copy of the banner that retired his number. That banner would later come to have Parish, McHale, Maxwell, Lewis, Pierce, and Garnett on it.

And Earvin “Magic” Johnson declared Bird the best, ever, at that ceremony.

@@edwardx.winston5744 It's a brotherly bond of love.

Thanks for that information, I was kind of wondering if it was on a game night. Well they really loved him in Boston! And you can see why…

Separates the Men from the boys. MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY .

True story

Lebron still better

@@hassanromulus1476 LOL nope

@@hassanromulus1476 Better at crying

Me as a M🐐J fanatic after reading your comment 👉🏾 Wow 😳. Also me after two seconds thinking about your comment 👉🏾 Can't argue your point😐. ✌🏾

one of the all time great compliments....

He was in so much pain, he had to have his back realigned before every game and STILL won titles, MVPs, shot 50/40/90(twice) and won 3 point contests. Meanwhile Lebron comes out the game with cramps...

Facts

Don’t overstate his injury…it got worse because he didn’t take time off to get it right.

@@mannyneva1760 he had surgeries and they didnt help..if anything him playing with that injury is understated especially in todays load management era

@@mikerobinson6969 he should’ve took time off which he never did..that’s just a fact. It WOULD HAVE extended his career. MJ could’ve come back sooner from the broken ankle but he didn’t and that was the best thing MJ could’ve done. No ankle problem again

I've said it before, but Paige Bueckers game reminds me a lot of Larry Bird.

My doubts are only on the longevity. He said he likes todays game (that makes old fans like me cringe). He likes the changes and feels he would have played a lot longer if he wasn't beaten up, shirt held, tripped etc. I like the 80's game, but I get Larry would have been able to do more in todays game. Heck, He won 3 3 point shooting contests when the line was further out.

What in the fuck does being Black have to do with this discussion?

Thank you for speaking the truth

@@theblacksheep5226 Lol🤡

@@theblacksheep5226 word up

Basketball is a team sport and Bird was the consummate team player.

Bird made ever player he played with better. Dennis Johnson, Parrish, Ainge, McCale, even roll players like Schiting and Wedman, all played their best basketball playing along side Bird! On the other hand, I can’t think of any player who played their best ball as one of Lebrons teammates?!

Listen to what the fuck you’re saying. You don’t think LARRY BIRD is arrogant??? If you’re not racist, you’re stupid.

Every day of the week and twice on Sunday

Bird ALLLLLLLLLLL DAMN DAY

Lebron tries to mimic leadership. Bird didn't have to.

Larry would disagree. LeBron is #2. And I watched basically every televised Celtics game from 1984-present.

@@LtFrankDrebin100 Larry would have Kobe over Lebron. No question. That pushes Lebron at the very least to #3. And that's just for starters.

@@trhansen3244lol sure he would. He’d definitely take Kobe who’s 4th on the all time NBA points list and his 44% career FG% over LeBron who’s 3rd and soon to be #1 point scorer in league history with a 50% career FG%. Whatever you say boss. Kobe isn’t top 5. And anyone that puts him top 5 isn’t objective about past eras. Kobe and Shaq are both somewhere in the 9-12 range. Neither are ahead of Tim Duncan that’s for sure.

@@LtFrankDrebin100 all those LBJ over career stats mean nothing. If Bird or Jordan would had played so many seasons... Guess who would held much more than 72 records, if he didnt played NBA Basketball for only 12 years and NBA would had counted blocks before '73: Exactly: Wilt Chamberlain. it's a shame, you all didnt even mention him in the GOAT conversation. Most consecutive games averaging 40 ppg over a stretch: Wilt Chamberlain - 515 Elgin Baylor - 33 Kobe Bryant - 23 Rick Barry - 22 James Harden - 20 30-30 Games: Wilt Chamberlain -128 All other NBA Players ever combined - 31 40 Points Games: Wilt Chamberlain - 271 Michael Jordan - 173 Kobe Bryant - 122 James Harden - 89 100 pts in a game, 50+ ppg Season, 55 rebounds vs Bill Russel - just to mention the most impressive stats.

Yes. Bird would foul out a lot, he'd also get a ton of techs, ejections and suspensions for trash-talking and fighting.

Larry, Magic, Mike and those guys were smart enough to adapt to the rules they are playing now. TBH they might have scored more today, they had to actually fight through picks and defenses were getting away with all kinds of contact.

@@Adiscretefirm There is an excellent case to make that they'd score more points now. They'd shoot 3's all day and live at the FT line. And with the lack of shot-blocking centers, the lane would be Michael's all day, and Bird would get 7-8 putback layups per game. Just saying that for all of the advantages, none of them would have been able to play with the intensity they had in the 80's, since they'd get thrown out of 30 games per season if they did.

@@SteveGellerMusic a 23 year old Magic in the league today might average a triple double, how could you stop him if you aren't allowed to touch him?

Good points

FACTS

SPOT ON!!

Tru Dat !

I see no lies. Larry Bird is top 3 of all time and Lebron isn’t in that convo.

True. He played most of his career hurt too

That's an excellent video.

That’s my favorite Larry B video. 💚

You should also watch a video on Bird's trash talking. Bird and Johnson saved basketball. If not for them you wouldn't have the NBA as it is today. Also, Bird in his prime would destroy the NBA today.

He also broke a finger on his shooting hand playing softball during the summer before he went to the NBA. He said he thinks he shot way better before he broke it.

Pacers.

Dude, watch Courtship of Rivals…the history of Bird and Magic.

Jordan was happy to see Legend retire. " Maybe we can win a game now".

King of the 3 pointer

FACTS! PO'ME COLORBLIND

Lol, no.

Agree ! BIRD would have his way with Lebron , just like he did everyone he played ! Including names like JORDAN , BARKLEY, KARREM, DOMINIQUE, LEWIS, DR J , MAGIC , THOMAS , LAIMBEER, RODMAN, COOPER and so many more. JAMES might not have been so Great competing in this ERA !

@@rgreen1107 So basketball players have gotten worse over the last 40 years?

@@slappyslapstick4045 yes without a doubt. Wimps.

@@slappyslapstick4045 Hard to say. They can certainly get away with a lot more today than they could during Bird's time. They are not better shooters. Though they take many more long distance shots. The midrange shooter has mostly disappeared. I think they are more athletic simply because of medical advancements. That is true in every sport. But the fundamentals of the game are much worse today. Lebron is not a very fundamentally sound player and he never will be because he learned what he could get away with. And he did. But it's ugly basketball.

You damn Skippy. Larry was all heart and drive to win or at bare minimum...play the game.

@@MrSchmaaz eh?

@@chikitoborroko6597 lol, "you damn Skippy" means "you're absolutely correct" in Southern!

And bron would still dominate Bird, let's be real. Rose colored glasses off. He is too slow, and too unathletic for today's game. You could probably cut his career averages in half and that's being generous.

@@samicuspdawg was Dominique slow? Was Pippen? Was Jordan? Was Drexler? Marques Johnson? Michael Cooper? Dennis Rodman? James Worthy? Mark Aguire? You’re crazy dude. If you watch Courtship of rivals all the doubters sound just like all the black players that didn’t believe Magic on how good Bird was. Cornbread Maxwell says it himself: Black players assumed he wasn’t good because he was white. Then they played against him and said yeah we were wrong.

He reminded me of them too! I thought something was familiar, Bird was probably a fan of theirs.

Bird is arguably the GOAT.

70% Shooting in the last 2 minutes of a game. Highest in NBA history. That is how clutch Larry Bird is. He defines what it means. For the record, the next closet is 56%...and it is Olajawon. (Bryant was 43%, Lebron is 52% and Jordan is 52%, Magic 53%). Bird's Celtics...second highest winning percentage ever, only behind the Showtime Lakers and it is a .5% deference or about 10 total games. And one has to remember that the Lakers had an easier route to the Finals every year than the Celtics did. Bird had to go through... Atlanta - Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis and Spud Webb New York Knicks - Bernard King and Patrick Ewing Chicago Bulls - Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen Detroit Pistons - Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, John Salley and Rick Mahorn. Indiana Pacers - Chuck Person and Reggie Miller Cleveland Cavaliers - Mark Price and Brad Daugherty Milwaukee Bucks - Syndey Monchrieve(sp?) Philadelphia 76ers - Julius Erving and Charles Barkley And Magic Johnson's Lakers.... Houston Rockets - Hakeem Olajawon and Ralph Sampson Portland Trailblazers - Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey Golden State Warriors - Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond (Mitch split time with the Warriors and Kings in different years during the 80's and 90's, finished with the Lakers). Utah Jazz - Karl Malone and John Stockton As no other Western Conference team was consistent in that time period. Denver might be good, Dallas might be good, Seattle might be good, but they also were bad a lot. The Clippers, Kings and Suns were garbage most of the time. (A few good players, but no depth).

@@WolfsDE where.do you get those stats from

Writers say Larry’s, McHale’s and Parish’s injuries in late ‘80’s helped Magic’s Lakers win 5 titles. Bird and the Celtics only won 3. All true. But this never gets mentioned. In 1984 the Boston Celtics traded starting point guard and budding star Gerald Henderson to the Seattle SuperSonics for a 1986 1st round draft pick. Boston had just won he NBA title June 8th in ‘86. Nine days later they had the #2 pick (lottery balls) in the 1st round of the NBA draft. That pick turned out to be Len Bias. Bias was a phenom superstar in Maryland - every every bit the equal to Jordan. KZfaq his highlights and you’ll see what I mean. He could jump out of the building. Could hit the open jumper, score down low, rebound and play ‘D.’ But two days after being drafted that year Bias overdosed on cocaine and died. By all accounts he almost never did cocaine but was talked into celebrating being picked by Boston with cocaine by some friends from the ‘hood that night. I’m from Boston and I still remember where I was, who I was with and what I was doing when I heard the news that Bias died the same way I remember JFK’s assassination. My heart was broken. I was depressed for weeks. I still haven’t got over it. When I remember it I want to cry. A young Len Bias playing alongside an older Larry would have been too much fun to watch. It wasn’t fair to the rest of the NBA. Then he died. And a lot of dreams died with him. It robbed Boston of at least two more titles which would have tied them with Magic’s 5. It all seemed surreal to me because Bias was truly that good. I was salivating thinking of him him here with older but still great Celtics healed from their current injuries and Bird throwing him sky high alley oops for monster jams several times a game. But it wasn’t meant to be. People forget this. It never gets mentioned. And Bird never used it for an excuse saying on David Letterman one night in 2002 that Magic was a better player than him because he had more championships. God bless ‘ya Larry. So cool. Larry Legend.

Thank you king

Larry and LeBron are the best small forwards in my opinion.

I'll say it. Larry is the best small forward ever. I have him in top 2 players ever.

Larry is the TOP 5, he did it all. Michael Jordan was a ball hog his 1st 4 or 5 seasons and then somewhat later on as well. in'79, or maybe it was '80. when the Celtics drafted him only won 20 games or a little more. In Larry's rookie season which I think was '81 they won 60 or more. Anyone else had an impact like that?????? Pat Riley said it best, the Lakers coach, If I had to choose a player to shoot a shot to win a game it would be Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to shoot a shot to save MY LIFE it would be Larry Bird. Magic Johnson even admitted he was the GREATEST basketball player ever!!!!!!

@@genebeamon4898 Look, I give Larry his props, he is a Top 5 all time guy. I love Larry Legend, however, nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever been better than MJ at basketball.

To DutchMastah07: Writers say Larry’s, McHale’s and Parish’s injuries in late ‘80’s helped Magic’s Lakers win 5 titles. Bird and the Celtics only won 3. All true. But this never gets mentioned. In 1984 the Boston Celtics traded starting point guard and budding star Gerald Henderson to the Seattle SuperSonics for a 1986 1st round draft pick. Boston had just won he NBA title June 8th in ‘86. Nine days later they had the #2 pick (lottery balls) in the 1st round of the NBA draft. That pick turned out to be Len Bias. Bias was a phenom superstar in Maryland - every every bit the equal to Jordan. KZfaq his highlights and you’ll see what I mean. He could jump out of the building. Could hit the open jumper, score down low, rebound and play ‘D.’ But two days after being drafted that year Bias overdosed on cocaine and died. By all accounts he almost never did cocaine but was talked into celebrating being picked by Boston with cocaine by some friends from the ‘hood that night. I’m from Boston and I still remember where I was, who I was with and what I was doing when I heard the news that Bias died the same way I remember JFK’s assassination. My heart was broken. I was depressed for weeks. I still haven’t got over it. When I remember it I want to cry. A young Len Bias playing alongside an older Larry would have been too much fun to watch. It wasn’t fair to the rest of the NBA. Then he died. And a lot of dreams died with him. It robbed Boston of at least two more titles which would have tied them with Magic’s 5. It all seemed surreal to me because Bias was truly that good. I was salivating thinking of him him here with older but still great Celtics healed from their current injuries and Bird throwing him sky high alley oops for monster jams several times a game. But it wasn’t meant to be. People forget this. It never gets mentioned. And Bird never used it for an excuse saying on David Letterman one night in 2002 that Magic was a better player than him because he had more championships. God bless ‘ya Larry. So cool. Larry Legend.

TRUTH

Better than that watch a few of his games from back in the day. He dominated in every aspect of the game.

Bird, Magic, Jordan add your last two.. Unstoppable

@@coreyhan8719 Bird, Magic, Jordan, Chamberlain, and Tim Duncan are my all time starting 5.

@@cirrustate8674 I dunno man. Add Duncan and I think Rodman would wreck your whole team 😂

60’s is the worse era of hoop period..era of segregation etc etc..by far the worse

It’s not even questionable

This is a myth Brian. I’m from Boston and love Larry second to none. But the 1960’s and ‘70’s were dynamic decades in the NBA for true NBA fans who knew the game. True they didn’t get the TV ratings that came later but that was just the Johnnie -come-lately fans who were tuning in because of the black/white, East Coast/West Cost, blue collar half-court game Boston Celtics vs. the run ‘n gun showtime L.A. Lakers rivalry thing that boosted TV rating sky high in the ‘80’s. But true NBA fans remember these great NBA champs from the ‘’70’s and the great number of classic playoffs series they all played in: Knicks in ‘71, Bucks in ‘72, Lakers in 73, Celtics in ‘74, Warriors in ‘75, Celtics in ‘76, Portland in ‘77, Bullets in ‘78 and Seattle in ‘79. Not to mention the Celtics and the Bill Russel Celtics dynasty in the 1960’s. Pleas don’t tell me these were boring years in the NBA and that Larry and Magic “saved” the NBA. This isn’t fair to Larry and Magic who were fabulous because this is truly the biggest piece of crap ever perpetuated on the NBA rumor mill. Die-hard NBA fans from those days who are still around know exactly what I’m talking about. We didn’t need no stinking TV ratings to recognize great B-ball homies.

great free throw shooter as well as 3 point shooter. Under pressure.

Larry in an interview about Lebron: "I think everyone should just sit back and enjoy this guy" -- said LBJ was head and shoulders above the league now.

@@jpecci4832 LeBron also mentioned that he looked up to Bird and molded his small forward game partly around him. They respect each other, so it's saying something about both.

dbsti - You make many great points that I agree with. I grew up in the Bird/Magic era too and the game is much less enjoyable to me now. But I don't get all the hate on LeBron. The league is different these days. Players have much more autonomy now so I don't begrudge a player for not staying "loyal" to teams who repeatedly demonstrate that they have no loyalty to players. I can understand why fans get upset about it but, at the end of the day, it's a business and hard decisions have to be made all the time on both sides.

@@ContrarianCorner Well, I don't hate LeBron. He's a fantastic small forward. I have no problem acknowledging that. I was just posting the contrast between the way he is and the way Bird was at their position. It's not meant as an insult, it's just my way of contrasting. Bird was tougher mentally. LeBron gets injured and sits out. Perhaps he wants to conserve his physical health, but LeBron is watching his team lose while sitting on the bench. Bird wasn't gonna play that. He had heart to help his team win. He played injured and just got his surgeries during the off season. Winning was first at all costs...even considering that his career was shorter than LeBrons will be due to injuries.

They saved the NBA from being irrelevant as a sport in the 1980's god knows what it would be if not for the rivalry and greatness of magic and bird.

@@jeffrichards1537 Let's not forget the Doctor.

Good points

@@jeffrichards1537 they were awesome but the NBA would have survived without them

@@senseichess8688 Nope it would've died.

I get the Lebron hate but your statement is stupid lol. Whether you like it or not Lebron is one of the greatest players to play the game, so no he isn't half of Bird that's foolish to say

I’m in between both you guys ! Lebron is a great player but He is no Larry Bird …..

You can said what ever you want lebron is not in the same class as Larry Bird, Bird is way superior player than lebron ever will be. lebron is not even better then Kobe.

Mark price man I haven’t heard that name in a minute!

Larry Bird was not white. Larry Bird was Clear.

Nice shout out to Mark Price, as a Cavs fan he was great to watch. Very good player, nice to see he was noticed.

While I agree with the mark price and John Stockton sentiments, but Dirk Nowitzki would like to have a word about Larry Legend being the last one to be great lol

@@keithdean9149 blank is the word you are looking for. @Kevin Exline: "white American"...

No

with todays rules? maybe, if he survives Larrys trash talk and psychological terrorism which Im not very convinced he would.

@@F1rstWorldNomaD this is stupid.

Jordan said, "Bird is, by far, the best small forward to ever play the game."

@@artvandelay19 Jordan also drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison.

You are so right...

Three of Wilt's four MVPs were won consecutively (66, 67 and 68) and three of Russell's five MVPs were won consecutively (61, 62 and 63). Bird is the only forward (and the only other player) to win 3 straight NBA MVPs The Doctor won three straight MVPs in the ABA (74, 75 and the final ABA award in 76), although he shared the 75 award with George McGinnis.

@@bd001217 good call, Wilt was a beast as well. Dr.J was as you said ABA, before the merge. Bringing up Dr. J. Just reminds me of the time Bird trash talked him so bad just saying the amount of points he had and the number of points of Dr. J had to the point when it got to (bird says 38-6) 42 and 6, that Dr. J got in a fist fight with him. McHale, also said he thought he heard Bird tell Dr. J he should retire. Savage.

Stop it.🤨 You’re going TOO FAR now!!!😅😝 1.) EVERYBODY played & played injured. Don’t say & state it like Larry was the ONLY one who ever played hurt. 2.) Bill Russell was PROBABLY one of the SMARTEST basketball players that EVER lived. Bill won championships on EVERY level & won 11 or 12 in the NBA as a player & player/coach at the same time. 3.) There’s got’sta be something wrong if you don’t realize Jordan is better than LB, even tho I DO believe that Larry is the ABSOLUTE BEST SF of all time, which means I think he’s better than LeBron. But NOT Mike.🤨🤨😝😁

I think your forgetting that in the playoffs jordan never beat bird. NEVER!

🤢🤮 😁😝😂

Comments like this are supposed to come across as insightful and profound, but it's just nonsense. Jordan passed out of a double team to Kerr for the game winner in 97. The best players look to make the best play - most of the time that's them taking the shot, but others it isnt. LeBron has the most "clutch" shots in playoff history but he 'shies' away. Stupid statement.

@@JoeHardacre Not meant to be insightful. The truth doesn't have to be insightful. The greatest basketball players don't flop or feign injury....soccer players and LeBron do.

What ? Are you reading the comments? Everyone is calling him the GOAT ! What planet you on ?

Here’s another saying it ! Larry is the GOAT !

@@rgreen1107 OK, Google top 10 basketball players of all time. Show me one major sporting website that has Larry as #1. Seriously, do it.

@@finkelmana really can’t take you seriously !

Bird was a beast, a machine and a Mountain all combined into one big obstacle on the basketball Court if you were on the opposing team and had to play against this dude. ✌🏾

Did you watch Bird's career live?

Not even close ! BIRD is so much better !Watch some old games of BIRD , you will understand !

@@artvandelay19 yes, did you? Lebron is clearly the more complete player.

​@@WorldwideWyatt Yes, I watched Bird live. I asked because I can't imagine anyone seeing both play live and calling LeFlop the better. I just can't see it. The guy quit in the finals, has made ridiculous flopping part of his game, isn't a great free-throw shooter, shies away from going to the hoop late in the game because of his free-throw shooting, doesn't like to take the game-winning shot, isn't a great shooter from more that three feet away from the hoop, has played some pretty lackluster defense and has benefitted greatly - and so have his stats - from playing in this no-defense era. None of those criticisms apply to Bird. Yeah, I just don't see how he's better than Bird. I hope you don't think he's better than Jordan. That's really getting ridiculous.

@@artvandelay19 you’re a hater if you can’t accept that Lebron is better than Larry, sorry to tell you. The dude has played twice as many minutes and carried a team of nobodies to the NBA finals. Larry was part of the greatest frontcourt of all-time. Of course Jordan is the best ever, but Lebron and Kareem make up the rest of the top-3, not Larry Bird.

I agree Larry is a somewhat better player than Magic, but Magic is one of the top players all time for more than just his passing. Like Larry he was a complete player, was very clutch, and consistently delivered the goods. Larry thinks he and Jordan are probably the two best all around players. Just look at Magic's stats and accomplishments and accolades: they're very very similar to Larry's and in certain cases are better. Magic led the Michigan State team that beat Larry's Indiana State team for the championship, and he led the Lakers to beat the Celtics in the NBA finals 2 out of 3 times. He also led the Lakers to 8 (EIGHT) NBA finals in the 80s, winning 5 of them, including during his rookie year, when he was named Finals MVP. That means he's one of the top players, right there next to Larry and Jordan, in my opinion.

No, not really @@jimmyboy131 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

There’s video out there of Lebron saying that about MJ and.Larry saying it about MJ.

@@mannyneva1760 Larry Bird shutdown MJ everytime in the playoffs.

@@happyfreeliferc no he didn’t stop lying

@@mannyneva1760 he did,look it up.Cheers

@@happyfreeliferc he didn’t no need to look it up