Some of the best games I've ever watched was Lakers v Celtics when Magic was still playing. Not to take anything away from the whole Lakers team, but when Magic and Bird were on the court at the same time, you knew you were going to see a game full of highlights.

This is eeeery… I have a bunch of Laker fan friends who have said almost word for word what you just admitted. Probably 5 or so in the last few months.

Does the Lakers organization pay you to be so loyal? Matter of fact you pay them to be a fan of their team.

Between Magic and Bird there have never been better passers.

If Magic can appreciate Bird's greatness, so can you! 💪

😂😂

Every black man story...

Savage

jesus christ 😂

That is a fucked up joke 🤣🤣🤣 ☠️

Had he not been playing in those canvas shoes who knows. Maybe he could’ve played longer.

@@c7lee The canvas shoes weren't the problem. Bird injured himself doing chores for his mom back home (I can't remember if it was chopping wood or shoveling snow).

He got that dawg in him

​@@Durwood71 Gravel.

@@Durwood71 He does have a point just 🤔 think if Larry played all them yrs with Good shoes like nowadays id bet he'd a played alot longer EVEN THO HE INJURED His back shoveling rocks to make his mom a new Driveway that one summer if he'd had Good shoes on from the age of 10 on I Think Possibly Larry avoids 90% them Back problems your Feet are extremely important but who knows...meaning who knows maybe he doesn't injur his back that day shoveling perhaps his back wouldn't of been on the edge of destruction like it was..

You ain't never lying.

Athletically and skill wise modern players on another level. Certainly the game isn’t as physical as it used to be, as the rules have changed, so I get it that some people miss that.

@@hanaf1231 The NBA today is a League of effeminate.

@@capitanfuturo594 maybe men not acting macho or tough over a game is a good thing. Fighting a fire, raising a kid, developing a vaccine, those things are truly tough.

@Capitan Futuro You’re sus…”not that there’s anything wrong with that”

I agree. Rodman did well against the GOAT. The only and real GOAT in NBA History that made every single player on his Team better because of his Superior passing skills and a Team first mentality!!!

Rodman was one of the hardest workers out there. Bird worked harder.

@@YiannisAndreou He may have even made his opponent Rodman, a better defender!!

@@darykinnaman2319 Rodman had a ton to prove. Bird was a genius, sort of the hoops version of Messi. Alien understanding of things.

Bird: not bad for a white boy from French Lick who couldn’t jump and was slow…but all he did was WIN!!!

He wasn’t called Larry Legend for nothing

IR, Larry is ambidextrous. Like most athletes, he had to choose his dominant hand/shot. Regardless, that left hand is dangerous.

So true Doug! Well said...!

true

Magic was the best

Michael Jorden learned about the mental aspect of the game through Bird the moment they first met. Byrd was savage even to Jordan didn't care how young they were.

@@michaelmichaelagnew8503 90% of everything blacks know came from whites

You’re right, Tom. Right hand or left hand - it didn’t matter for Bird. He was fun to watch.

He would often even tell the opposing team where he would be when he took the shot.

He got stopped badly by Detroit in the playoffs the year of this video. If he had the athletic bility to beat athletic guys consistently 1 on 1 off the dribble then he'd have been truly unstoppable. He had everything else.

50-40-90 2 times

yeah Dennis held his own

@@tdb4763 not actually

@@robertgoldsmith4198 yeah actually. Are you high? Or stupid? Or both?

Great era. The Detroit Bad Boys vs the Celtics. Awesome!

@@robertgoldsmith4198 Have you ever seen Rodman guard Shaq?

Perfectly said!

Seems like luka took a page from LB

Timing always beats speed

No

Once Larry got to his spots it didn’t matter who was guarding him. KD is really the modern day 2.0 version of Bird the way he scores.

Same 😂

Same

He might be right. Of course, that means Rodman wouldn't make it in the NBA either... But the way I see it, if Bird didn't have to dribble and could travel like Lebron, he would have been even greater.

I think most of these teams would dominate in todays nba. I mean the amount of air balls and missed layups is unreal in todays game. Running and Gunning to the 3 point line to chuck up long bricks is wild. The only major difference I see in todays game, besides guys looking bigger with the weight lifting and steroids, is that Centers now can be 3 point shooters which was unheard of in birds day. THe Centers of today are in a different world than even 15 years ago. Also the refs literally call a foul anytime someone hits the floor now which was also unheard of. But that is something Larry could of easily adapted to. The difference with Isaiah and the pistons, or Magic and the lakers or Larry and the Celtics, is that they only cared about the W. Not stats to get money as a free agent or in a trade. Its why Jordan and Pippen could never beat any of those teams in the playoffs, ever, no matter how many points Jordan scored lol. Larry would literally make todays teams look dumb as hell.

Uh, no. Jesus ...@@ohger1

Too fragile, t Mac avg better numbers with a fucked up back

3 championships, 3 mvps, 12x all-star, 10x all-nba, took a bunch of no names to 33-0 and the NCAA championship game v. McGrady.. You're just trolling

@@osas5211 too fragile?? The game was so much more physical back then. He would not have had those injuries in today’s soft ass NBA

@@derrickbird9676 33-0? not accurate the team was 3rd in their conference going through injury bug and rebuilding

@@tylerasweet Not really, Durant tore his acl in this soft league. Bird will still get injured and not be the same, not every player is John Stockton with great genes for healing and quick recovery. Fun fact shoveling snow at his mom's house fucked up his back lmaooo basketball was the cherry on top

So many icons in the same time!

That was the nba and how it should have always been. Nowadays is like a videogame set in arcade mode with maxed out players to hit 3s. So boring.

Well damnn, if the darned Microprocessor and super highriZe Skyscrapers and Condos were out of commission we'd have a stronger league to digest.

You'll really have to settle for a 150 pound Bench Press DIKEM ........Be/

gotta stop livin' in the past, man, - 4 reel

@@yehor_ivanov Give him a break bro. He was reminiscing about a great time in his life.

@@yehor_ivanov u bum

Larry Bird's back injury was not from basketball it was from shoveling a bunch of gravel. He redid his mom's driveway.

well he's better than luka, so...i have him maybe 3rd greatest all time behind MJ and curry

@@rmleiderlmfao I wish to never be this stupid

​@@rmleidercurry isn't top 10

Bird is the GOAT.

I, too, think that Larry Bird was-and is-the greatest player in NBA history.

No MJ is.@@JesusChristISTHEONETRUEGOD

@@oldtimer794 I'm a bulls fan and I love MJ but the more I see of Bird...

1. Wilt 2. Bird. 3. MJ

He also could do a vertical jump standing still and hit his head on an 8 foot ceiling. I went to the oc fair with him in 2004. It was funny to see the reactions of people. They loved him or hated him . I'm glad I dont have to sign autographs everywhere I go it gets old real fast.

Bird's feet were giving out on him at this point.

And only 1 of the 3 fouls was a foul...

SuperSwede...good point..dennis was a very intelligent player..he knew the basic fundamentals to the game..peace

Rodman is one hell of an athlete, and went on to get inside a few opponents heads, during his long career. Bird is in a league of his own when it comes to mind games, on every player on the opposing team, and probably the coaches too.

right the only thing that stopped Larry Legend was injuries

Bird, Gretzky and Montana. In that order.

mmmm ok .... i'm reasonably certain Bird read the defence before, during and after he received the ball .... crikey ... ...but I do get what you're trying to say i think, and yes he did always play aggressive and take it to the defence.... but what many people make the mistake of thinking is that the greatest didn't bother about the fundamentals of the game - they all did, in fact they cared for the fundamentals more, and by executing them quicker and better than the next guy they became great ...

Beautifully illustrated. It's how a team like Indiana State made it all the way to the title game. I should add...you've also basically described Steph Curry and his pressure and how on top of things every second of play that the defensive team has to be when facing him. Even when he's not the shooter, he creates havoc.

@@aussiesurfer805 You got the point, he knew where the D was already. Larry's ability to be aware of where every other player was on the court at any time was the beauty of his game.

Agreed. I am not saying that modern day NBA players couldn't play in the era of Bird, Magic, and the like. What I will say is they couldn't do it playing like they do now. They would have to step it up.

Half the guys on the court here wouldn’t make the G-League of today’s NBA

You described Nikola Jokic. Obviously you do not miss NBA, ...you are not watching

@@lazarduke6596 You are comparing Larry Bird with...who?

@@VenancioPineda 2x MVP you bum

@@MakaveliDior Larry Bird: As player: Olympic Gold medallist Barcelona (1992) 3× NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) 2× NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) 12× NBA All-Star (1980-1988, 1990-1992) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982) 9× All-NBA First Team (1980-1988) All-NBA Second Team (1990) 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982-1984) NBA Rookie of the Year (1980) NBA All-Rookie Team (1980) 3× NBA Three-Point Contest champion (1986-1988) 2× 50-40-90 club (1987, 1988) AP Athlete of the Year (1986) NBA Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th) No. 33 retired by Boston Celtics National college player of the year (1979) 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1978, 1979) Third-team All-American - NABC, UPI (1977) 2× MVC Player of the Year (1978, 1979) No. 33 retired by Indiana State Sycamores As coach: NBA Coach of the Year (1998) NBA All-Star Game head coach (1998) As executive: NBA Executive of the Year (2012)

@@VenancioPineda facts but we have to wait for Jokic's career to be over first. He is good and also got his first championship and first finals MVP.

Kobe got bird in top greatness

@@chriswalls5831 Who cares?

@@MakaveliDior some of us do Kobe gottem in top 5 gotta be legend

@@chriswalls5831 Bird better than him it's clear that nobody gives a fuck what Kobe thinks

@@chriswalls5831 I loved the Mamba cos of his ruthless and take over mentality, but Bird was a much more efficient scorer than he ever was.. Kobe needed to take a ton of shots to get his, not Larry Legend, he never needed to shoot the ball 30x's in a game to get his...

Larry was an actress.

IF SO @@tomhearns143 then LeCon James & The Beard Guy are easily Oscar & Golden Globe winners for being the best actresses to have ever acted on hardwood floors, eh?

@@thekongstocks The Beard Guy is the worst basketball player to ever be considered a superstar and given an MVP. Really poor percentage shooter and one of the worst defenders ever. If refs weren't so dumb to give him free throws for non-fouls and not calling his traveling and carries, he wouldn't even start a high school game.

@@joelwillems4081 A lot of what you said could apply to LeBron as well.

I think Shaq said Rodman is pound 4 pound the strongest player if ever went up against.

I agree, he definitely is mental.

And Isiah Thomas.

Saw MJ in the mid 90s, I'm so jealous

Yeah, but, sometimes back then Rodman would, out of the blue, and at times in very important games, hoist up his version of a 3-point attempt. Ouch! Magical perfection it was not.

Yes the 80s was the NBA's best decade and for those who want to bring up Jordan in the 90s, Jordan was also in the 80s and was a big part of what made the 80s so great.

@@chrisoakley5830 Michael Jordan became the face of basketball.

Wilt Chamberlain is the best defender of all time and would crush Rodman at both ends of the floor

@@Charon58 true. But i prefer rodman

Rodman played defense ONLY....pretty easy to save your energy for 1 side of the ball. Not close to top defender. NO WAY Putin

@@putin2918 Man, you waved the white flag pretty quick on that one!

@@scooter2163 can't tell man to like what i like, coz i like a fat booty they like flat, fat or flat, booty is a booty.

Yup, what a clown

Rodman’s my fav player but that’s nonsense for sure. Look at slower white players dominating the nba like luka and jokic. Bird would be destroying in the nba right now

Rodman was quite young in this game, it's possible he learned some of his mind games from Bird himself.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar praised Bird for having a tough mind, and being able to get into others' minds... exactly like Rodman.

Note: This was a very young Rodman. Nowhere near the guy he’d be in the mid 90s. People are assessing this ‘89 season as if Rodman was an established defensive stopper.

@@m.williams4971 Bird would still beat him.

@@m.williams4971 he was an established defensive stopper at this point. He became the elite rebounder later on. You need to go back to NBA history school.

You nailed it !!! 👍👍👍👍👍🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Bird with the ball had the initiative, and Rodman had to react. Like trying to dance with a partner for the first time.

@@johnschuh8616That’s true of all defensive play. The comparison to be made is how Rodman defends OVERALL. OVERALL, he is debatably the best defensive specialist ever to play. I’ve seen Rodman face less trouble against Michael Jordan than paired up against Bird.

nor a second three peat

Honestly I think Horace Grant overall was a better player than Rodman. He could actually score and could hit an open 15-17 footer and was a decent ft shooter. Was maybe slightly below Rodman in defense and rebounding but only slightly. Both by this time were a bit past their prime though.

@@gregrowe1168 Shaq was OWNING that Bulls team in the playoffs...until they put Rodman on him. There was NO WAY the Bulls would have won without Rodman. He was the only player in the world who could "guard" Shaq.

You weren't paying close attention if you didn't see the politics.

@@matthewroberts6833 - What does attention mean Maffhew?

@@drdubberruckie2346 Basketball in the eighties was ridiculously political and marketed off of race politics, market conglomeration and pricing out poorer fans by glamorizing the sport. I was a kid back then so I didn't see it either but looking back at it and seeing how the Celtics-Lakers/Pistons rivalry was presented and how pricing jumped up to such a huge degree it is a hell of a model for creating wealth disparity and glamorizing athletes over folks who get paid far less for doing far more valuable work.

Doesn’t get better than this.

Thanks, recognized the voice but forgot the name

Steve 'Snapper' Jones, classic 1990s NBA voice. Thanks!

My dad was a coach. He would have us practicing free throws until we were ready to drop. When we bitched about it, all he would say is “games are won or lost on the free throw line, you guy better know how to make them.” When I see NBA players failing to make them, I scream my dads words at the TV. There is no excuse for a million dollar pro not making them. If they need to learn, watch Seth Curry’s drills.

@@garytorresani8846 Many players would be able to improve their free throw shooting if they seriously practiced and studied how to make them. And it's strange that so many are willing to tolerate a weakness in this area, when making them can mean scholarships, rings, and more. But I think that some players simply cannot learn how to make more of them, pretty much no matter what. Rodman, Wilt, Shaq... There's something inherent in their makeup or approach to the game that limits them to around 60% max. Fortunately, they have other valuable gifts that make up for this often frustrating deficiency, and that's why they reach the pros.

At a high school where I taught, no player on the team was over six feet,and no one was a real gunner, but they won because they could run the other team into the ground and because they didn’t miss free throws.

No one does that......🤪

"Someone better 'D' me up quick"

"Look at all those muscles! They are not going to help you today."

Agree, that was great defense, he was working his tail off and playing perfectly. Bird was just too good on this day

You're right about what they were booing, but it wasn't much of a push. Bird wanted a freebee on that! Anyway, I'm not sure the Pistons cared much about this one game given that they beat the Celtics in 6 to get to the finals that year.

I was saying, Boo-urns.

@@scott1564 - What is a push for you then?

@@Lvatopesado I didn't say it wasn't a push, I said it wasn't "much" of one. Bird was almost directly underneath the basket, especially when he was hunched over waiting for the ball to come down. That isn't a great place relative to others in rebounding position. He was a smart player -- probably the smartest in the league at the time if not all time and wasn't going to get short changed on calls, especially at home. Bird knew he was out of position and at the slightest hint of the contact, played it out. The official saw and, like me, thought, "no, not enough there." You can disagree but don't misrepresent what I said.

Bet it lights up your day just to think about that moment.

@@johnschuh8616 I like to tell the story because a lot of people talk a lot of bad things about him.

No problem

Rodman was a special, special player. A great athlete, and a guy who didn't care about scoring. Maybe the only guy who didn't care about points in the NBA. All he cared about is defense and rebounding. He was great at both.

Lebron James...

@@flexcity9624 🤢

Agreed. Took me a while to accept Rodman the player and Rodman the person. Thx for the memories.

Legend.

If Bird wanted to he could've scored 50 maybe 60pts many nights but would only score enough to win because he involved himself in every aspect of the game; rebounding, assists, diving for lose balls, starting and finishing breaks etc,.. probably the best all around players ever, definitely top 5.

The only weakness is not even on his game, it's his god damn back!

At least he'd still be playing.

In today's NBA players run the court at 20-25% faster pace then they did when Bird played. Could Bird play the game at that pace?

​​@@damosuzuki4125You're confusing speed with talent and accuracy. When Larry turns his back on you and decides to "slow ball" the play, things gonna get ugly real soon.

He’s a nut

This is a rookie Rodman that’s jus learning the game

@@osas5211 Actually, it's Rodman in his 2nd year. Also, even peak Rodman in 1991 couldn't do anything against a 34 year old Larry Bird.

I don't know that I could find anyone in today's game that could effectively defend Bird in his day. They just don't play defense like that anymore.....

@@osas5211 WhatEVER

@@handlebucket6285 bruh he didn’t play much in his first year silly, Adrian Dantley ( man who avg 30pts on 56% fg for 5 years in Utah was starting ). Chuck started trusting Rodman more the second year after Adrian had a season ending injury and in 1991 Celtics lost despite Larry having Mchale, Parish and Reggie Lewis a pretty stacked team but your daddy Larry avg 17pts shot 6/15 40% from the field and 14% from 3 lmaoo Larry had not avg 17 pts since his first playoff in 81

You might be one of the few who loves Bird as much as me.. I've seen you comment on multiple Bird videos. Respect lol

McHale was so slinky, it seemed like he always managed to find a way to get around a defender when it didn’t look like there was room. Giannis now seems a lot like him though a lot more explosive and athletic. McHale could make his fts though.

Plus 5 of those 11 boards were on the offensive glass, and they are so much more valuable.

No one better in the paint. Kevin was an excellent player. Crazy footwork. The Black Hole once he received the ball.

Bad boys pistons were stacked with great players. They will go down in history for playing rough but they were one of the best teams of all time I think

No he was toasting 89-88 he was still very good

@@Alphasports576 Larry Bird hurt his back in 1985.

@@FBIforreal152 yea but he was still best player in league till 88 go look at his stats from 88 they were great

@@Alphasports576 yeah....as I said, even with an injured back he was still torching the league....

And he wad having problems with his heels.

Exactly! Now we just have a bunch of flop actors trying to win an Academy Award.

Damn we were close, I got Magic, Jordan, Bird, Duncan and Shaq as my starting five on nba 2k22 lol Kidd, Kobe, Pippen, K Malone and Chamberlain are the second string! I have them all playing for the Knicks lol

@@Bangbangbigelow Prime Shaq was so dominant! I can understand why you chose him! I don’t have Shaq on my team is for the same reason why I don’t have Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell on the team! Free throw percentage!!! All three shot just above 50% for their career! That’s unacceptable for this all time roster! It seems somewhat sacrilegious to leave all three out, but that’s what I have! All Time Basketball Team Starting 5: C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7'2" PF: Tim Duncan 6'11" SF: Larry Bird 6'9" SG: Michael Jordan 6'6" PG: Magic Johnson 6'9" Bench: C/PF: Hakeem Olajuwan 7'0" PF: Kevin Garnett 6'11" SF: Lebron James 6'8" SG: Kobe Bryant 6'6" SG/PG: Jerry West 6'2" SF: James Worthy 6'9" PG: Stephen Curry 6'3" ☮️🖖🏽

@@ralphfurley123 Good point on the free throw % and good rotation! 🔥

@@ralphfurley123 Except you can keep Lebron though 😂 I’ll take the Greek freak instead, definitely a future hof

Nostalgia 🫧

He was a shell of his younger self, yet still dominated! With today's medicine and training he would have dominated for another ten years!

Bird, Maravich, and Walton, all great in their prime, all slowed by injuries later. You wonder if Durant is going down that path also

This was a young Rodman. If Rodman was in his prime he would shut down Bird AND get 26 rebounds.

@@davidpatton2296 And you call MY opinion embarrassing!!!

@@dannysullivan8929 Yup, very embarrassing.

I agree with you