Who would not take 5 million because he didn’t want to take the money if he couldn’t play . That shows Larry legends integrity and honor which no other basketball player has these days .

I was the only child of a sports FANATIC. As a kid, I spent a lot of time watching ALL sports with my Dad. He was a die hard Celtics/Larry Bird fan. He was in awe of the talent Larry Bird had. My Dad is gone now, and I have grown to appreciate how special Larry Bird was. I should have known all along. . . My Dad was never wrong about anything.

Larry and Magic should be in the top 10. They saved basketball, and the players today should thank them every time they walk on the court. Magic and Bird are the reasons these guys today are multi-millionaires.

Bird V. Magic NBA finals. Are you kidding? You would plan your entire week around that Sunday afternoon game. Invite only the people who appreciated it, beer, food, polish up the TV screen. Make sure the am radio was getting a clear signal for Johnny Most. Never missed a minute. It was magical.

If this don’t get to you, you need a new ❤️, followed him all the way, I’m 72 and I’m still looking at all the good stuff that’s on KZfaq, the games, the interviews with magic, Larry, Kevin, chief, Dennis, big red, Jerry, K.C. Leprechaun, fitch, Cedric,m.l Carr, Danny, I just hate time is passing too fast because I don’t won’t to turn loose of these basketball memories, I love basketball, would love to meet Larry and these guys🙏🙏☝️😇

Larry Bird is truly a great American story and anyone Black, White, Hispanic, etc. can identify with if you are someone who came from nothing and overcame the odds.

I am so lucky to have grown up watching Larry versus Magic. Can’t believe he hurt his back working on his driveway.

Larry transcended basketball, as Ruth did baseball and Messi does soccer. Legend.

Damn ! My ole man died at 46. Korean War Vet, of emphysema. FUCK! I was raised to be a warrior, like he was. Family trade. Larry dealt with life better than his pops. Larry fought battles and spilled blood. He put his ass on the line. I've earned 2 Purple hearts. Pops had three. To each their own. We both loved sports and the athletes who earned their checks. Bird was definitely one of them.

Bird took friggin' Indiana State to the championship game. That's all you need to know.

Larry Bird was one of the best, ever. Not because of scoring or championships but because of the way he scored & won. He made his teammates HOFers. It’s offensive they named him #30. Bogus. Another similar to him is Joe Montana.

Larry the Legend Number 1 Foward of all time

How many times were Bird and D.J. on the scoring end of each others passes? Their basketball telepathy was uncanny; one we'll never see again. Rest In Peace D.J.

Larry Bird “There will never be another Larry Bird” Magic Johnson “ I gotta go with Larry Joe for the win” Reggie Miller

Bill Walton said Bird could do everything by himself but he decided to do it all within the framework of the team unlike Jordan and James who do it the other way around.

I agree with all the comments relating to this show’s ranking system. #30 isn’t good enough, he deserved better.

My favorite athlete ever . He was incredible.

Thank you for posting this version. Because ESPN went to a 60 minute version later that didn't include the open by Dan Patrick and the clip of his HS coach. 1:01 - 1:36 tears me up every time... You can't measure a person's heart...

They will never ever be another Larry Bird

People that say Bird wasn't a good athlete are just not very bright, in denial or both. Every night Bird was defended by the finest "Athletes" in the NBA, teams threw everything including the kitchen sink at him.......he torched them all.

Magic and Worthy both said LB made them lay awake at night.

His way of thinking is so rare. Especially in the NBA. $ left to finish college, practicing more than anyone, doing work himself, family, team player, tough as hell, doesn't see color, etc.. he's a man's man. So much confidence. He was a perfect person to lead a team, a team he stayed with.. to me, loyalty is huge. Make ur team better. Don't leflop to a different 'superteam'

I had a friend who never watched basketball,,l talked him into watching the celtics one nigjt,,after 10 mins he said,,that bird guy is different,he plays with his heart and soul,l like him,,could've said it better myself

Larry Legend. Great trash talker that always backed it up with his play.

Hey guys. Don't take this personally. We all know Bird was the GOAT. He was great in every aspect of the game. Period!

I have one more thing to say. Tell me about any player who was arguably the Best player in his sport who played several years after breaking his back. He had to have traction in a hospital to play the next game and he did. No complaints, no excuses, just top all heart effort. I don't care who you say is better; Larry is THE Legend; not just A Legend to me.

Birds poster was on my wall right next to Reggie Jackson those were the days my friend

That white boy could play. His friendship with Magic is priceless.

BEST FORWARD IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA Not even close Bird>LeBron

As a laker fan I got so much respect for Bird he was a damn assassin he was so fkn tough mentally tough one of the best basketball IQs ever Bird was lethal and scary asf.

I may be a bit biased here, as a Boston native now in my mid 40s, but Larry Bird is #30? Really? The absolute worst number he should've been ranked was #15. But he really should have been some place between 6-10 I'd say. He led, not only the re-birth of the Boston Celtics, but he co-starred in the re-birth of the NBA along with Magic.

Wow, we talk about paying players being paid in college, yet one of the best ever worked his ass through college! What an effing stud!

Larry Bird The Real GOAT!

GOAT=ALL-Round.

What most people these days don't understand is that Magic and Bird literally saved the NBA from disappearing and made it so that all the players who came after were able to make a living playing basketball.

#30 my ass. birdie was the toughest, greatest all around nba player, greatest passer, greatest shooter of all time in my eyes.

Showtime Lakers fan here to testify. I hated Bird when he played, hated all that wore that hideous green uniform. It was years after the fact that I admitted how great Larry Legend was and that admission grew into admiration as the years passed. Bird was more than a player. He was a presence that loomed over every game he was in. He may have been having an off night, but you just knew when it came down to crunch time, it would be him with the dagger to sink it in your heart. Whatever was needed, Larry would provide. Whether it be a rebound, steal, or a clutch bucket, some how the son of a bitch would come up with it. Larry Bird doesn’t have to look up at anybody on the NBA ladder of greatness. He is on the top rung with MJ, Magic and a handful of others.

The man from Frenchlick. And he was the man. Bird was THE best player/team player ever to play in the NBA

A basketball genius A step ahead of everyone else well said Dr J.

#30? No way. No sports star was ever any better than Bird.

The most entertaining athlete of my lifetime

Wilt above Russell on the list? No way. And Bird and Magic should have been right next to each other on the list.

#larrybird 1979 NCAA player of the year ⛹️ 1st round pick by BOSTON in 1978 🥇 Dream Team USA 🇺🇸 3x Champion 🏆🏆🏆 3x League MVP 🏆🏆🏆 2x Finals MVP 🏆🏆 10x All Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1982 All Star MVP ⭐️🏆 2x 50-40-90 seasons 3x 3PT Shooting Contest One of the #50greatestnbaplayers of all time 24 points 10 rebounds and 7 assists in his thirteen year career

Would have been an absolute privilege to watch him at Boston Garden . . .

Younger folks missed out on a great time in NBA history. Celtics and Lakers were loaded. The series always took on a love/hate mutual admiration aspect. You could always carve the tension with a knife. Just no equivalent today.

One night at the end of a Celtic west coast trip on the last game at Portland before going back home to Boston, Larry, who was so great the game of basketball had almosr become boring, decided to make it interesting by playing the first 3 quarters of the game left-handed. At the end of 3 quarters he had 27 pts against a pretty good player in Jerome Kersey. A natural right-handed shooter, he decided to make it more interesting for himself as a challenge to take all his shots left-handed.... The fact that he dominated that game and was the player of the game as many times before should prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Larry Bird is THE GOAT! Hands down!!! Neither Jordan, or Lebron, or Kobe, or Wilt, Magic, any of the greats!!!!! None would ever attempt to play 3 quarters left-handed.... and if they did, they wouldn't hit shot after shot after shot after shot like Larry did. Bird was just a level above those guys to be able to do that. A level he's still on by himself. The Greatest Of All Time

#30? I wouldn't call LB an Athlete in the classical sense, but Greatest Competitor? He's right there with the best.

My greatest player ever!!! He made the Celtics and the future HOF'ers on that team. Every game was worth watching for something that made you say WOW!!! Great in H S but would he survive college. He shined in college but would he make it in the NBA??? It turned out to be easy peasy regardless of the competition. Talent plus heart to win is the incredible combination. It was commitment not solely about the money. Larry is THE Legend.

Magic is a great story teller !

I hope you're all thinking about second place cuz I'm winning this and yes he did

You kidding me..#30 aww shit.he's among the top 5 of all time.

“Larry has a way of making everybody he comes into contact with a better person. A pure American of the highest character as reported in Sports Illustrated: "Bob Woolf, Larry Bird's attorney, brings out a hotel bill dated April 6, 1979. .... Now, the most illuminating thing in this whole saga is that hotel bill from 1979. You see, except for the basic room charge and the tax, there was nothing else on it. No room service, no restaurant charge, no long-distance phone calls, no nothing. Having dealt with many other athletes, Woolf naturally assumed that the kid would charge at will. But that wasn't how Larry Joe Bird was raised back in French Lick, Indiana. ‘Larry has a way of making everybody he comes into contact with a better person,’ Woolf says. ‘If you think the Larry Bird on the court has character and is unselfish-well, off the court he's even more so.’ Among those who know Bird well, the same catalog of qualities is cited again and again: honest, loyal, steadfast, dependable-his existence shaped by the contradictory, almost mystical ability to be the cynosure, yet always to contribute to those around him. Mel Daniels, who was an assistant coach at Indiana State when Bird played there, said it best: ‘It's like a piece of Larry goes to each player by the things he does.’ Tony Clark, a Terre Haute radio executive who grew up with Bird, says, ‘Larry epitomizes the word friend. Do you understand that?’ Yes. ‘Then you really don't have to know anything else about him.’” (Sports Illustrated 1988, Frank Deford, “A Player For The Ages,” Sports Illustrated, Time, Inc., New York, New York, March 21, 1988)

Based on every thing Zi have read and heard, everything he accomplished, he accomplished based on sheer will.

Larry and Magic's connection in 1992 TRANSCENDED BARRIERS!🏀🇺🇲

Larry Bird The Greatest of All Time

Bird was a basketball genius!🏀

I couldn't hold back the goosebumps and tears watching this phenomenal footage!🇺🇲

"you can't measure a person's HEART"""🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💞🐕🙏🙏

I did not watch the video just came to comment how absurd a ranking of #30 is.

It is a joke Bird is rated #30 here. Best forward to ever play the game - period.

James Worthy, a great Laker and UNC teamate of His Airness, said it best,.... "I would much rather guard Michael Jordan than Larry Bird, because with Bird you have to be much more of a thinker"

I am a huge Bird fan. I do not have much of an issue with Bird being #30 on a list of a century of athletes across different sports because it it so hard to compare. I DO have an issue with a list that puts Jordan at #1, Wilt at #13, Magic at #17, Russell at #18, Kareem at #26, and Bird at #30.

I believe Bird and Magic made each other a better player.

I remember watching this Dec 31 1999 starting from 50 all the way to 1 was tripping on a millinium trip stayed up for 39 hours lol and yes I watched the whole thing drinking and smoking buds love from New Zealand

Top NBA career combined stats per game (pts, reb, ast, stl, blk) additional career fg%,tp%,ft% 1. Jordan 44.7 -50-33-84 2. Lebron 44.4 -51-35-73 3. Bird 43.1 -50-38-89 4. Kareem 42.9 -56-06-72 5. Durant 40.8 -50-38-88 A bunch of guys in the 40’s.

When you look up the definition of "Hoosier Hustle", that is Larry Bird's picture as the definition.

Saw. Practically all tge great ones..to me..Larry. joe. Bird. Is thee..GOAT. he could do everything..even sell popcorn At halftime. Thee..GOAT..

I played against Larry in college when I was a senior and he was a freshman. He was good then and you could see where he was going to go, too.

When the Bruins were out of town, and they put the parquet down (there were always loose tiles), Bird would cover the floor and find them. That was where he made many of his steals! He was thorough and did so well! That is greatness!

we are soooo happy to have had Larry and Magick. look to our real heroes. don't start believing they are all fake. it is important to have heroes, but always elevate them for their service to society - not for their rank or power.

that pic with Danny Ainge is hilarious

There was footage that I have never seen...thanks for sharing!

Bird went to National Championship Alone

In my opinion, the two greatest basketball players of all time are from Indiana. Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird ! Nobody else comes close. Of course, that is my opinion.

Larry always hit the shot

Bird is top 5. He and Magic saved the NBA but also his stats speak volumes. Plus all of the greats say Bird was the best.

Brought his lunch box and hard hat to every game. Blue collar work

You know, out of the couple Hundred Larry Bird clips I've seen here on KZfaq, I've never seen footage of Bird running slow. He looks like he's pretty fast to me. I agree he didn't jump high, but he never looked slow.

Should be #1

2:12 Hint, Sports Century. Basketball provides ALL of small town Indiana - and lots of BIG City Indiana as well - with it's cultural pulse. Even Naismith HIMSELF commented on that, many decades ago. "basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport."

11:48 Always surprised to see how tall Larry Bird is-Not quite eye to eye with Kareem, but not too far off

#30 is a HUGE insult!! He IS top 5!!!!!!

G.O.A.T.

#30? I think not, top 5 easy!!!!

#30 are you fucking kidding me.he's among the top 5 of all time.

He should be number 1. He played for everyone, not just himself. He wasn’t self centered.

Wasn’t fast, wasn’t sleek.. how can you watch him with all these highlights, out rebounding, out passing, crossing ppl over in the 80’s, out shooting, doing stepovers to reversing dunks and dunking on 3 ppl. But wasn’t fast or sleek...🤨 WTF

No. 30 is crazy, top 10 hands down. Would white people be still watching the nba if Larry never played?

They must be calling him top 30 of all sports and not just basketball, he's GOT TO BE in the top 10 at least in basketball.

There's the bird and there's the air. Can't have one without the other. No edge better just on different points on the knife. Just the greatest both.

Larry Bird in his prime is STILL the greatest Small Forward to ever live. Had back injuries not derailed his career he'd be much more widely considered the GOAT by many more people. I still take Jordan over Bird but Bird is my #2 all time. Magic comes in at 3.

top5

#30? He is i believe top 1-5 greatest...

The baddest white boy in the floor...my hero.

He was too intimidating, top 5.

Greatness is one Name Larry Bird

Never back down.

Greatest all-around player to ever play the game

Take a look at Larry's hometown. I guess someone forgot to tell them they had "white privilege." There are 100's of towns like Birds, around the Country, and they don't say "why aren't (other) people giving me free stuff.

So the one who saved the NBA is no. 30? Lol people really don't appreciate what bird has done in his short career full of injuries! Well the players that played against and along side him do so the fans of NBA today's view of Larry doesn't really matter that much if not at all!