kOrOne79 I'm a huge MJ fan, but the more I see Bird in his prime in these videos, as I was too young to comprehend at the time (born in 79), mann, I truly think he is absolutely the greatest. Really, if he had the 'selfish' mentality regarding scoring/taking over more, plus better physical training and nutrition, he really would have been unstoppable. And his mental toughness and trash talking, absolutely just BOSS. One thing that I see clearly, which MJ also had but is severely under appreciated, there is a term used by scouts called "nose for the ball". That was assessed to MJ early on. Basically the ability to anticipate. Such as when there's a loose ball or rebound situation, both have that ability to be ready, grab then quick score (and in Bird's case, pass). Natural instincts that can't be taught.

at1212 b The Celtics had great training in those days. No team would beat the Celtics because of stamina. Larry was never as athletic as most other great players and also his back started giving him trouble after just a few years in the pros. That happens to a lot of tall white guys, especially. He was basketball smart, quick, a great shooter and passer.

Rings are not so important to rate superstars like bird,Magic etc...they both won many,they both dominate the game,both have many mvp and finals mvp so they are very close...of course we shouldn't forget who play before like wilt,oscar,west,Russell,Kareem,drj who should be in goat discussion as well

+kOrOne79 Huh? He's on my all-time team. No brainer

Mike GILBERT When Larry was healthy, his team blew through other teams, even in College. Do you think Indiana State would have made it to the finals without him? Um, may I say "Forget about it!"

You wonder if that 86 team was the best passing team ever.

That was basketball?

TRUTH! He was the greatest player of all time in his prime. Better than Magic or Jordan and absolutely better than Lefraudster.

Bird was really a great player whose career was cut shorter than it should have been due to his back injury as a result of him doing manual work on his driveway in Indiana. Shame, but who does that when they are so gifted and rich enough to hire someone to do that for him? He isn’t the GOAT by any means but what a career he had until he could no longer play due to his back injury.

@@chetroberson5760 beg to differ. He IS the GOAT.

A Larry Bird with no injury history is definitely the GOAT

@Azathoth Hastur wilt even said bird was the greatest .

No one could score, pass and rebound like Bird. A selfless player, always in it for the win. He's different than most all other great players. How fun it would have been to watch him live at the Garden.

Actually McHale started 62 out of 68. Wedman played a major role in that bench and often gets overshadowed by Walton in hindsight. The loss of those two guys immediately after the season was the biggest reason why the wheels fell off the train in 87 and 88.

@@mikegulliver4885 only partially correct. The injuries to many of their starters in 87 and 88 is the primary reason why they couldn't match their previous success

@@leebrandt33 true, but it was a domino effect. The starters got burned out, worn out, injured, and ultimately played hurt mainly because what was left of the bench was so weak. KC overused the starters because he didn't trust the bench and had no other options. They cycled through guys like Fred Roberts, Mark Acres, Darren Daye, Dirk Minniefield...for a couple of years it seemed like every week there was a new CBA guy up and the drop off from the starters was their Achilles heel and downfall.

And this like like only one of roughly five such instances I've seen in various Bird highlights videos. It seems like he was doing this almost nightly.

No, it was 3 "home" games a year, not 12 and even at that it was total, absolute bullshit. Taking away 3 games in the Boston Garden every year from the Celtics will forever remain a black eye on this league. Imagine moving three games from the fucking Lakers from the Forum to Arizona and see how the shit would've hit the fan from the Lakers idiot fans and their ownership. How Boston ownership ever allowed 3 home games per year to be STOLEN from them is unbelievable.

@@taroobsingh2158 It was Hartford game that broke their home winning streak the following season.

There are 5 things that a team needs to stay on top: 1. Age, 2. Health/fatigue/injuries, 3. Desire/Hunger, 4. Leadership from the coach and top players and 5. Chemistry. The 1984 Sixers lost the desire/hunger and were a little fatigued. The 1986 Lakers lost the chemistry. Lucas was a BAD fit. The 1987 Celtics were injured and fatigued. The 1989 Lakers were old, injured and losing interest in pat Riley's methods. The 2015 Cavs had no respect for Blatt. The 1968 Sixers lost the desire and were injured. The 2014 Spurs put it all together but in some years before were missing some of these elements. They were OLD in 2016. These are just a few examples.

George Wagner Very well said. The Celtics certainly had all those "elements" going on for them in 1986, everything clicking... Peak Larry Bird (arguably a top5 GOAT peak) to lead them; a prime Kevin McHale; Parish had insane longevity and was still doing his thing; DJ was older and considerably less athletic but developed into a good, very cerebral point-guard, still a great defensive player, always clutch; Ainge was at the beginning of his prime; Walton was able to remain healthy for one last season, contributing plenty, still showing some flashes of what made him great; the rest of the bench was pretty solid with former All-Star/All-Defensive team selection Scott Wedman in his last year, and Jerry Sichting, a quick and feisty little PG who was absolutely money from mid-range. Their chemistry was amazing, their overall passing game was unreal, they had terrific understanding of the game. Most of them stayed healthy for the most part. Coach KC Jones was great at managing egos and at running the team. They had inside AND outside scoring, they rebounded extremely well and showed hustled on the court, they had some very good individual defenders and the team played just great team D. I'll most likely say that they're the best team of all-time, if anyone asks me... They started to fall apart in 1986-87 though, and they were never as good before.

Good analysis.

True.

It wouldn't even go to 7. Parish would eat Longley for breakfast. Rodman, as great as he was, could not stop McHale. Pippen, as great as he was, could not stop Bird. Ainge gets the slight edge over Harper. MJ is the only position they have the edge. Walton, Wedman (former All star), Sichting, and Kite over Kukoc, Kerr and an old Salley.

No flopping, no favoring superstar multi millionaires, no traveling, no double dribbling, no palming/carrying, no wussies, no ejections, no shorts down past the knees, no bright orange sneakers, no tatoos, no annoying interviews on the sidelines, no annoying music, no t shirts, no chest pounding after a wide open dunk when your team is down by 20, no pointing to the sky after you score the first basket of the game, no hand shaking at the free throw line and no hugging the opponents before and after games. REAL MEN used to play this game.

+George Wagner now that is real basketball. loved every word you just typed. I hate when they celebrate after every basket.

Thanks. It's become a kids game.

67 wins. If only they didn't lose that one home game against the Blazers.

They also lost one game to Philly, where Bird missed two free throws with a few seconds remaining, and Dr. J hits a three at the buzzer. Only time I saw Bird choke at the free throw line.

acorn sucks I remember somebody claiming that it actually happened twice to Bird that same season. The other being an earlier game against the Kings. Not sure if it's true though.

acorn sucks Those were the days, weren't they? Dr. J, Larry Bird, Magic, Kareem... The '80s were so loaded with talent, it's hard to grasp just how far the league has fallen from that decade.

I have to agree that the 86 Celtics were the best NBA team ever. When they drafted Len Bias, the 87 team was set to be even better. I do believe they would have won a few more championships with him coming off the bench. Bias was a 6'9" Michael Jordan. He was that good!! I so miss watching the 80s NBA style of play. IMO the NBA today is not near as good.

So many people don't understand how much losing Wedman affected the Celtics. I think its because the Celtics went on to win the title even after his injury but its one thing to play a series without a key player but an entire season is something completely different.

It's Sichting,Jerry Sichting.

@@seanmontgomery801 Thanks for pointing that out.

@@wmden1 You're very welcome.

Larry got robbed of the 87 MVP when the media started hyping "Magic for MVP" in the first preseason game, the beginning of political correctness in this country where white males became the target of any and all criticism. Bird in 87 was probably better than his MVP years of 84, 85 and 86, carrying a totally banged up and jinxed team to the NBA Finals. He actually should've won it 5 times in a row, again in 88 but the Jordan bullshit hype took off in full fashion that year. Jordan only excelled after Bird got old, Magic fucked himself into HIV and the Pistons also got old. And Magic's MVP's? He deserved maybe one of them at best.

My brother went to a game at the Garden back in the day, and he said during warmups Bird and Wedman had a shooting contest from half court. He said they both were at about 50% shots made.

@@hermit6208 Wedman was always an underrated player on that team...I mean, he was obviously on the downside of his career...but when he went to Boston I think he was averaging 17 or 18 for the team he was playing for (Cleveland?). He willingly took a smaller role on a winning team to get himself some championship rings.

@@hermit6208 Wedman let Bird rest. When he had his career ending injury in the Buck series it greatly affected Bird because he was more fatigued.

+Historical Perspective yea jordan dominated the 90's but he and the bulls struggled in the 80's

90s era was weak. The competition level was much lower than the 80s. People forget that the 91 Lakers, James Worthy re-aggravated his injury, which shifted the series, where Pippen can play on Magic and Jordan on Scott who also got injured later in that series.

More importantly, the 1991 Lakers did NOT have Kareem, Rambis, Cooper or Riley! Magic still took them to the finals (w/ a terrible coach in Dunleavy). If MJ did not have Pippen, Grant, Cartwright and Jackson what would he do? Well, the answer is nothing. He literally did not win a playoff series without those guys (FACT). That's the difference between him and Magic. MJ never made anybody better. Look at Pippen and Grant's stats in 1994, they got better without MJ.

More importantly, in game 3 the Celtics held MJ to 19 points IN CHICAGO. He scored 5 points in the second half! Nobody talks about this because "the rep of MJ" is protected by many. The Celts got mad after game 2 because they won and all the media talked about was MJ. They decided to double team, trap and collapse on him and they blew the Bulls out . This was MJ's chance to win a game AT HOME and stave off elimination. Why didn't he do it? He scored 63 in the previous game. Ask McHale, he has gone on record with this comment:. Because, the Celts played him "straight up in the first 2 games knowing HE WOULDN'T PASS". The bad boys took a similar approach 2 years later. Watch game 3 on youtube it shows how all teams SHOULD have played MJ, until David Stern and billion dollar Corporations started shoving him down our throats and protecting him.

@@archiveprotector That's the greatest and most truthful comment ever regarding BallHog Jordan. Thank you for having the balls to say it.

You can talk passing and fundamentals all you want but if you don't have the hand eye coordination for it, it can't be done. Bird had the best hand eye coordination off the dribble and 2nd best with the dribble with Magic being the best.

Davan Mani Although I mostly agree with you, I think we should include John Stockton in the conversation. Absolutely stunning fundamentals and, of course, one of the greatest passers of the dribble.

Hans Meijer to play with Stockton, you had to be in top condition as Greg Ostertag found out. Whereas Bird could make him look good without coming down a level.

Bird made guys like Ed Pinckney, Jerry Sichting, Rick Robey, Kevin Gamble, Connor Henry, Brad Lohaus, and Dee Brown. These guys weren't good on other teams without Bird. His passing helped them stay in the league.

Agreed and thank you for saying so. Your 87 Lakers were second only to Boston's 86 team. Lefraud couldn't take either team to 6 games and any Jordan led team would've lost too.

jjs777fzr bird with mullet and stache was best ever !

YES!!!

28 inch vertical, same as Karl Malone.

The most athletic brain

BIrd Magic. Bob Cousy is the best ever at those.

a little closer to 3/4😉

Thank you! LeBron is a good passer but almost all of his passes go to wide open guys behind the 3 pt arc. He drives and kicks it out and they act like he's friggin Bob Cousy. Bird could make any kind of pass (Left handed, feed the post, bounce pass, behind back, behind head, baseball pass, TOUCH PASS OMG, passes from sitting on the court, two handed, chest pass, while on the move/off the dribble, while the other playing is moving, from a stand still, lead the break, IN BOUNDS PASSING OMG!) If he wanted to, and shot less, he could have led the NBA in assists.

@@archiveprotector Anyone who compares Bird to Lefraud knows jack shit. Aside from dunking, there's not one aspect of basketball The Queen is better at than Larry Bird. Except for losing so many times in the Finals of course. 3-6 and absolutely should be 1-8 if not for some abject bullshit officiating.

Good info. Thanks. The chemistry on the 1986 Celtics was the best i've ever seen. McHale got into the act that year and became, finally, a good passer.

George Wagner Welcome. I have to agree. Via satellite I saw every Celtics game for all 3 of Birds MVP seasons, 83/84 thru 85/86. It started with Larry, then all the other guys became infected with his style of play. And as you say, even McHale got in on it. Walton was an awesome passer as well. And it was so simple and basic for this team. They would eat other teams alive using the pick n roll. Nobody could really stop it. And they would all pound the boards. They didnt care who got the stats as long as the team got the WIN. During this time the highlight for me was on 3/12/85. I was in attendance when Bird torched Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks with 60 points. This was Bird's best scoring game and still the Celtics single game scoring record. This game was 9 days after McHale had set the team scoring record with 56 against Detroit. You can see highlights of both games on KZfaq. Enjoy!

Watched em both. Great games. The best thing about the 60 point game is watching the reactions of the Hawks players!

George Wagner I agree...PRICELESS!

Just some fun info: Auerbach and Wooden have both said that BB is about shooting, rebounding and passing (NOBODY knows more than those 2 guys). Bird is the ONLY player in NBA history to avg 20ppg, 10 rpg and 6 apg for an entire career.

No

@@cindyknudson2715 He once threw one in beyond half court as a pass but it went in during Game 1 of the 1986 ECF vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. But yeah, he sucked ass at 3 pointers.

Nick's Old School Basketball 2:08 you mean

@@357twilson Yeah, my bad.

I'm a Bulls fan too, but stfu dude

Matt Grothendieck "I'm a Bulls fan too, but stfu dude"

Matt Grothendieck Same here. The fundamentals from this 86 team was just off the wall. Combine that with size and height. Especially at how healthy they were. Rodman helped by making the opponents make mental mistakes and getting into their heads. That didn't happen with the Celtics. 86 Celtics by a notable margin, then a closer call between the 87 lakers and 96 Bulls. My gut tells me the 87 Lakers prevail. Just the Lakers and Celtics team of the 80s had absolutely amazing fundamentals. And Bulls wouldn't have an answer for a really consistent big Man in Kareem even at that age. Even Hakeem in that run would have been trouble. But then again, that 96 Bulls team really was a team of destiny and riding that wave. Bird and Magic, as great as they were, didn't have that singular sociopathic focus as MJ had and the effect on its teammates. Either way, glad to see that 86 Celtics, 87 Lakers and 96 Bulls are jumbled together. All the other teams are rightfully below in the modern era (post Russell Celtics, and that 72 Lakers team). The only other team that comes close post MJ modern era was last years Spurs. One of those driven teams. But they wouldn't be without that loss the year before. More offensive minded rules today makes it easier to pass like that. I find it hard to believe as talented as Duncan is, the more physical era would have made it harder for him.

Larry Legend 1 And yet this team could BARELY contain a young Jordan on an inferior team in the playoffs. (And they only won that 63pt game because MJ tired out.) How would they stand a chance against a seasoned MJ, PiP, Rodman a deep bench AND Phil Jacksons Triangle offense?? (And Jordan was still scoring in the 40's and 50's during the 2nd 3-peat.) And as far as mismatches go: Pip can't shut down Bird but he would definitely give him problems (ask Magic Johnson about the 91 finals) Same with Rodman and Mchale. Ron Harper is better offensively than DJ (He used to be a SCORER early in his career) and almost as good defensively AND he's bigger. And as far as Parish and Walton: both great players but SO WHAT? The Bulls had to go thru EWING AND SHAQ just to get out of the EAST. But at the end of the day The Big Three are awesome but not unstoppable. (couldn't repeat. WHY??) Jordan was DAMN NEAR unstoppable so the big question is: Who's gonna stop Jordan?? WHO?? DANNY AINGE???

Larry Legend 1 Sorry i took so long i'm in the middle of a discussion on another video on how fisting porn is vastly superior to incest porn. I'll make this quick: 72-10 and you have to account for Jordan in his prime. Nice uploads though. Good day sir.

Larry Legend 1 The thing about incest porn is that while VISUALLY it's not as brutal as fisting porn, psychologically it can be damaging. You need no further example of this than the Jacob Glass case from 2006...wait..DAMMIT i'm back on THIS video again! Sorry Larry, please disregard everything i just typed in this paragraph. Except for one thing: JORDAN FACTOR. Have a nice day.

1.I'm talking about the 96 Bulls not the 88,89 or 1990 edition. 2. 86 celts and the badboys have different styles of play. 3. As far as the "private plane" comment: EXCUSES, EXCUSES. They didn't win 72 games, they didn't even REPEAT as champs. My point: Whether it's the 1980s or 90s; BASKETBALL is BASKETBALL. You still have to suit up, you still have to bang, you still have to WIN. 4. JORDAN, JORDAN, JORDAN 5. FISTING, FISTING, FISTING

More Excuses. And YOU still haven't answered MY question about how they would stop MJ on the 96 Bulls. How do you stop the greatest one-on-one player of all time AND deal with Pip and Rodman. Neither Bird nor Mchale were known as defensive stoppers in their PRIME. They would get FISTED. (See how i tied it to the porn discussion?)