@@ruckman8834 I like Westbrook's energy, but part of having a killer instinct is improving your weak links and making them strengths. MJ + Kobe exemplified this perfectly. I've ceased being a fan of Westbrook, because he never seems to work on his weaknesses, LIKE his shooting.
Magic was just as effective with putting points on the board though. Bird put the ball in the basket himself, Magic just opened up his teammates so they always had a good look. Just different roles. And it’s damn near impossible to find a better jump shot than Bird’s, but Magic was a career 85% free throw shooter which gets overlooked by people a lot when they talk about Magic’s shooting. If Magic’s role for the Lake show would have involved getting to the foul line more often, Magic would be a couple of spots higher on the all time scoring list.
I feel like there should be accomplishments on this and rate those on importance such as MVP championship finals MVP All NBA team but I can see how that gives an advantage to players who played longer careers
They've actually told me I'm biased from actually watching Bird as a kid and think they know better than me despite not even being born until a few decades later.
@@braddlesharris3577 Who knows, maybe bird started out that way but he inspired his teammates better. MJ kept scolding every one but it did pay off later, 6 rings. But I'll say this, Michael was already several years in the league when Bird was in there. Had his chance to prove, but didn't happen.
Bird gets the edge. I think you underrated his passing & his clutch aspect. Most every opponent he had would tell you that Larry was the player teams feared the most because he singlehandedly changed games outcomes time after time. THE most clutch player EVER..
Based on statistics and the eye test, the most clutch player ever is Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson is right there ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
@@munir9527 Magic HIMSELF says Larry is the best. And the link I provided gives 21 of Larry’s clutch shots, 18 of which were game winners. MJ could NEVER. As for eye test, Larry has that sewn up too. Just give it up already.
@@irishgrl I believe it was Larry Bird who said that Magic was the best he'd ever seen after Magic hit the clutch baby hook in Game 4 of the 1987 Finals. Check out one minute and thirteen seconds into this video. ruclips.net/video/PqUCum1y8Kg/видео.html
When bird joined the Celtics he carried them to the ecf and bird was a much better defender and a offensive player then magic and if you take a look at the help magic and bird had Was that bird had parish and Mchale and bill walton Danny ainge cowens in his career while magic and Kareem were both a duo and magic had the best defender cooper and also had Wilkes and Nixon bird was a much better player than magic even the compettion that magic faced were weak the 80s west was not great during his playing years I think it was the 84 season his team was the only 50 win team
@qmmouche 7 he is a better passer no debating that but you don't even talk about defense Lebron got robbed from defensive player of the year back in 2013 also I'm still saying LeBron's a better rebounder because there wasn't as many 7 footers back then
Magic the better business man and leader bird the better player played the game harder he was tougher had harder teams to face in eastern conference playoffs magic had cake walks like Lebron did in East only reason anyone would say magic is 5 rings you can’t blame them tho hard to argue 3 better then 5
I could see why you'd make that assumption, but Bird was consistently rated as the top 1 or 2 players in the league for most of a decade, which was most of the time he played. Explain why Magic and Kareem were rated similarly or below during Bird's prime yet Magic and Kareem are often rated in the top 5 still today while Bird is now often rated towards the bottom of the top 10. Some have even questioned if he belongs in the top 10, which is truly outrageous. What changed was LeBron entered the league and played the same position. The sports media is always going to promote the current superstar they are covering regularly. It's in their financial interest to do so. Suddenly Bird drops towards the bottom of the top 10. Unless he had a secret comeback I didn't know about and played horribly for a few seasons, he should still be rated similar to Magic and Kareem just as he was for a couple of decades until LeBron appeared when Bird conspicuously was dropped noticeably below Magic and Kareem. Hell, even LeBron had Bird in his OWN top 3 when he was younger.
Bird had Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish Bill Walton was past his prime, but still a valuable contributor off of the bench
@@munir9527 Walton was only fairly good for one season with the Celtics, when he averaged 7.6 pts and 6.8 rebs per game off the bench playing less than 20 min/game in 85-86. Bird's teammates were never as good as Kareem, Worthy, Byron Scott, A.C. Green, GOAT defender Michael Cooper, #1 overall pick Mychael Thompson, Hall of Famer and former league MVP Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis, etc.
Thanks for sharing your video and this is a good look at a variety of skills and leadership qualities. For those that do not know the East was without question the stronger conference. See Dave Heeren's "Basketball Abstract - The Beast of the East" where he took all teams and all games East vs West head to head and found that the East dominated the West for every single year for all 10 years of the 80's. Also of note is for the 13 years of both careers, the East all stars beat the West all stars 9 games to 4 when the all star game was actually competitive. My point is LA had an easier path to the Finals. During Magic's career the Lakers played 51 games in the Finals vs the East and LA won 24 and lost 27 games. LA had the best team of the 80's but no way LA would have made 9 Finals if they played in the Eastern conference. Many people miss this important point. One other point regarding the strength of teams is Magic actually got to play with 4 other teammates that were the number 1 pick in the draft in Kareem, Worthy, Bob McAdoo and Mychael Thompson. The only #1 pick Bird ever played with was Walton and Walton really only had 1 full good year ( 1986) before foot injuries. I am sharing all this so that those with the 5 rings are greater than 3 rings mentality can look at the individual skills of each player and realize Bird was the more talented and better player. Magic was more popular with fans.
The real question is why do people think Lebron is better then bird? They put him past him after one chip but Lebron couldn’t get it done so he went to Miami now all a sudden because a dude superteams he’s number two all time now that’s not how it works bird also played in toughest era and toughest conf in 80s while Lebron has cake walks and teams built around him imagine bird in 2021 with these rules
I pre-assessed he was going to choose Bird within the first "minute" of listening! Moreover, seeing his points accrued aspects, and surmising that in the category of "passing", where Magic was -if he'd been 100% truthful to himself- "Vastly Superior", to have Bird only "one" notch under Magic was grossly incomprehensible! It too, unequivocally displayed his "bias" in Larry's favor. So with continuing to the video's conclusion, I(personally) find I couldn't place faith nor stock- in that his appraisals wouldn't be usable references- wherefore any tendencies of "Biases", "Preferences", or "Favoritisms" causes any works of "Evaluations" tainted; notwithstanding, to a researcher's chagrin, more importantly ..."INACCURATE"!!
These guys are both max points in basketball IQ. I get you're trying to rate one higher than the other comparing their skills, but there is no way either is less than max points BBIQ.
Magic wasn't the leading scorer or rebounder for the season on the Michigan State 1979 Title Team. Greg Kessler, who went #4 overall in the 1979 NBA Draft, averaged more points and rebounds than Magic. Kessler was by far and away better than any of Bird's Indiana State teammates.
Great analysis thinking out of the box and not just going along iwth the mainsstream Laker fanboys narrative! Bird winning 3 straight MVPs proves he was the most dominant player of the 80s. And the Western Conference was much like the Eastern Conference today, when the Lakers had a cake walk to the finals like how Garnett's Celtics and Lebron's superteams did. While the East was a hellish gauntlet during that time.
The question is who is the better player, not who played for the better team. Rings measure who played for the better team. Magic played with the greatest center of all time (indeed, Kareem was far above Parish and McHale in quality) and two of the greatest forwards of all time (Worthy and Wilkes).
@Jake Taman Magic vs Bird is certainly up there but their rivalry was comparatively short-lived. Bird was never the same after 88. So that gives us around 8-9 years of high octane rivalry. Messi and Ronaldo however have been at each other's throats since 2007 and are still the two best players in the world with no sign of slowing down. So that gives us 13,14,15 years of this insane rivalry.
@Jake Taman Also, there was KAJ in the early 80s and MJ in the later 80s who had a claim to being the best in the world. Since 2008, no player other than Messi and Ronaldo had any claim to being the best in the world. Celtics vs Lakers is a legendary rivalry. But Barcelona vs Real Madrid is the greatest rivalry in the history of sports!!!
Larry is as good as, or arguably even a better passer than Magic. I actually see them both as equally other wordly. And shooting? You undercut Bird neglecting him a perfect score. IQ? Bird had it better. Clutch? No human better than Bird. Magic's role was bringing the ball up the court and was the greatest General, and did better than Bird due to physical agility. They were both equal in leadership in their own unique way. Magic outwardly taunted you, while Bird took your soul with whispers.
Rings matter and with magic having more he's got to be above bird, especially beating him more in the finals. If LeBron or Kobe had 7 rings right now everybody would place them ahead of Jordan. Magic was in the same era as bird and beat him in college and NBA heads up more than bird beat him. With both teams being stacked this shouldn't even be a debate. Magic has this. Bird is a good passer, but you can't compare him to the greatest passer ever, which is magic. Magic is as far ahead of bird in passing as bird is ahead of him in shooting.
@@brandennieto6934 nah Bird's team owned Mike's team but individually Mike was giving to Bird aswell that's Bird said he was God disguised as Michael Jordan
here is the thing .. as far as passing...you simply are going with magic as a pg... assists isnt the same as passing... and bird was never the primary ball handler... as far as actual passing ability..larry had a bigger variety.... but bird made his teams the best passing teams. he turned the whole team into a passing team..often leading the league as well as having 4 or 5 players averaging 5 pg .. so he literally created an aura of passing while magic controlled all the assists and never encouraged sharing the assists.... and cut the bs with iq and leadership lol. you are just trying to keep them close... larry was the leader on day one... magic had kareem for several yrs.... they are both great players and are linked... but bird was absolutely the better player...he literally dominated the league their first 9 yrs before bird got hurt .. the re writing of history is amazing to me as bird in 88 right before his injury was by far the better player...
You need to consider championships. You play as a team not for individual stats. Magic did what it took to win more so than Bird. Even head to head, Magic beat Bird since college. They were both amazing, and I couldn't put one over the other.
And that arguably top 5 all-time teammate on Magic's team wasn't a factor? Magic just did it all? BTW, Magic and Kareem both said Bird, their nemesis, was the best opponent they ever played against.
Magic beat Bird in the NCAA championships and twice in the NBA Finals. Bird beat Magic once. No matter what anybody says, Magic is better than Bird in the only category that counts.
By your logic, Bird is better than Jordan because Bird was undefeated in the Playoffs against Jordan (in your words, "the only thing that matters") and had a 23-11 career head-to-head regular season + record against Jordan. Magic had better teammates around him in college and every year in the pros than Bird. Magic had Kareem--who won 5 league MVPs, a Finals MVP, and championship before Magic was even drafted. And Kareem won league MVP Magic's rookie year. No one Bird had was even close to Kareem--a Top 5 All-Time Player by any measure. Magic didn't even lead that 1979 Michigan State title team in scoring or rebounding. Greg Kessler (#4 overall pick in 1979) averaged more points and rebounds per game than Magic. Bird led ISU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks--and Bird didn't have any ISU teammate close to as good as Greg Kessler (which Magic has pointed out MANY times). Bird finished ahead of Magic in the MVP voting 8 of their first 9 seasons before he missed all but six games in 88-89 due to broken back vertebrae and double Achilles' surgeries. And Bird was never right--or prime--again. Again, by your logic, every one of Magic's teammates--even the 12th man on one championship team--is better than Karl Malone, Barkley, Dominique, Stockton, and every other All-Time Great without a ring because Magic's teammates won rings in that era and are "better in the only thing that counts". I respectfully disagree with your logic--which fails to take into consideration that Bird joined a team that only won 29 games the previous season while Magic joined a team lead by a 5-time league MVP and champion.
@@justinbrewer2003 Someone got triggered. Lol! Did you read my post? I said Magic is better than Bird in the only category that counts, winning championships. So let's break down your reply. By my logic, Bird is worse than Jordan because Jordan has 6 championships to Bird's 3. I never said anything in my post above about Magic and Bird's head-to-head record (although Magic does indeed have the edge). Let's look at the NCAA legacy. Bird was by far the best player on ISU, a Missouri Valley Conference team. Magic led a Big 10 school. The fact that he didn't lead the team in scoring or rebounding is kind of irrelevant since Magic was not the prime scorer or rebounder for the team (he was a point guard, after all). He did lead the team in assists. He probably led the NCAA, too, but the NCAA didn't count assist leaders until 1985. Bird did have Carl Nicks on the ISU squad. Nicks averaged 19.3 points in the 1978-1979 season and then averaged 26.8 the year after, resulting in him being drafted 23rd overall by the Nuggets in the 80-81 season. Bird had a pretty good teammate in the 78-79 year who essentially put up Bird-like numbers once Bird left. Additionally, ISU played powerhouses like West Texas A & M and Southern Illinois (I am being sarcastic). Magic's MSU squad played 6 ranked teams during the regular season that year, including UNC (ranked 13th), Illinois (ranked 4th), Ohio State (ranked 7th) and Purdue (ranked 18th). You are correct in the MVP voting. I personally would contend that fact is due to East Coast bias. If you look at the MVP voting in all of those years, other than Magic, Hakeem and sometimes Alex English or Karl Malone, most MVP candidates came from Eastern Conference teams. Magic won his first during Bird's prime and beat out Jordan for his next 2 MVP's. So it's not like Magic beat out some slouch of a player. Aditionally, when Bird came back in the 89-90 season (after back and foot surgeries) he still averaged over 24 ppg, 7.5 apg and 9.5 rpg while leading the league in free throw percentage. Not too shabby for a player you deemed "not right." As far as bench players being better than 'Nique or Barkley or whatever...that's a lame argument. No one on earth, for example, is going to say Robert Horry is better than Jordan because Horry won 7 championships. Magic and Bird weren't role players. They were the major focus of their respective teams. Therefore, by that logic I would 100% say that Bird and Magic are better than Barkley, Malone, Stockton, etc. Barkley, Malone, et al. are certainly all-time greats. No one is denying that. They just couldn't lead their teams to a ring. I think that maybe you were getting all riled up when you thought of that argument. But that's ok. Bird famously turned the C's around in his rookie year. But did you know that the year before, in the 78-79 season, Boston had 4 Hall of Famers on the squad (Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo [he led the team with 20 ppg], Tiny Archibald and JoJo White)? Don't know what their deal was, but the C's had the talent in 78-79. In Larry's rookie year, he played with Cowens, Pete Maravich and Archibald. In fact, Larry played with multiple HoF'ers for the majority of his career (DJ, McHale, Parish and Walton come to mind). He played alongside more HOF players than Magic did (Mag had McAdoo, Wilkes, Kareem, Worthy and Vlade Divac). So I don't understand this narrative that Bird did it all by himself. It's just not true. The Lakers were 47-35 the year before Magic and were 60-22 with him. So even with Kareem, Magic brought 13 more wins to the table (and a championship). At the end of the day, players like Magic and Bird play to win. Magic won more. I truly believe that Magic and Bird are neck-and-neck in the pantheon of all-time greatness. But if I, personally me, had to pick between the 2 players, I would pick Magic. I think he was better at getting more out of his teammates which translated to more championships.
@@christopherbanuelos2147 🤣🤣🤣 I’d say you’re triggered, too. I respectfully disagree. You’re really comparing Carl Nicks, the #23 (last) pick of the 1980 draft’s first round to Greg Kessler, the #4 overall pick in 1979? You’re really using that to say Bird had an equal #2 at ISU? You’re really comparing Carl’s 26.8 pts, 4.2 rbs, and 2.7 apg on a 16-11 team against weak competition that didn’t make the NCAA tournament to Bird’s 28.6, 14.4, 5.5 with 2.5 steals on a 33-1 team that made the NCAA Finals? You claim Carl Nicks made up for Larry Bird’s absence… like they didn’t skip a beat and made it back to the NCAA Championship Game and went 33-1 without Bird led by Carl Nicks! 🤣🤣🤣 By that rationale, Kiki Vandewegh should have won league MVP over Bird in 1984. Who cares about his 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and 38 team wins. He scored as many points as Bird…. so that makes him (like Carl Nicks!) basically Bird’s equivalent in every respect. Hell, I’m wondering if you’re going to put Carl in the TOP 10 All-Time NBA Players 😂 And you’re really going to ignore that Magic’s MSU team had Jay Vincent as their #3 guy, who averaged over 22 ppg the next two seasons at MSU (against Big Ten competition) then averaged 21.4 points and 7 rebounds a game as a rookie in the NBA? Greg Kessler and Jay Vincent were both FAR better than Carl Nicks could ever DREAM of being. As Magic has repeatedly said, his MSU team had FAR more talent than Bird’s team. It’s not debatable. No offense to you, but I trust Magic’s opinion on the matter more than yours (or mine). No one except you would ever even argue that Carl Hicks is comparable to Greg Kessler and would completely ignore Jay Vincent. Magic clearly had better teammates at MSU than Bird did at ISU… and it wasn’t even CLOSE! Bird had to do so much more by leading ISU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, FG%, and FT%. As a lifelong Celtics fan, I am aware of their aging 1978-79 team that won 29 games. JoJo White was only averaging 12 points and was traded mid season. Cowens didn’t make the All-Star team for the first time in seven seasons. Tiny had missed the whole previous year with a torn Achilles and was still not himself (only 11 ppg in limited minutes). McAdoo could always score, but he came from the Knicks mid season, only played about 20 games for the C’s, and didn’t mesh. It wasn’t McAdoo’s fault. The team was beaten up, dysfunctional (kind of like the Lakers are now with 3 former perennial ALL-NBA players-2 with MVPs) and waiting for their savior (Bird had already been drafted). They were 29-53 because they weren’t a good team. But Bird joined them, Cowens (for one last year) and Tiny regained their All-Star form, and they improved to 61-21. As much as I love Pistol Pete, he was done by the time he got to the C’s-and Bird knew it. Pete only played 26 games (4 starts) and about 17 minutes a game, even less in the playoffs, before he retired that season. His knees were shot; he couldn’t D up. As for the East Coast bias being the reason Bird finished ahead of Magic in MVP voting 8 of their first 9 years, that’s a new one on me. I’d say it’s more because Magic played alongside Kareem, who won 6 MVPs (as many as Bird and Magic-combined) and was clearly better than anyone Bird had on his team. No disrespect to McHale, but Kareem is a 6x League MVP with 6 rings. McHale has zero MVPs and 3 rings. By your logic, Kareem is clearly better than Bird’s #2… and it’s not even close. But also by your logic, Kareem has 6 rings to Magic’s 5. Kareem won a ring and Finals MVP without Magic… not to mention 5 League MVPs without Magic… and three national championships… and three college player of the year awards… without Magic. Since winning is the “only thing that matters”according to you, then Kareem is clearly better than Magic… and since winning a championship is all that matters… Magic never won any rings after Kareem retired. To many, Kareem was Batman… and Magic was Robin for the first half of Magic’s career. Magic won one game in the 1980 Finals without Kareem. One. Kareem won the league MVP in 1980. Kareem made All-NBA for five of Magic‘s first six seasons, including 1st Team 3 times. Magic didn’t even make an All-NBA team until his 3rd season, when he made 2nd team, behind Seattle’s Gus Williams and San Antonio’s George Gervin in the guard positions. Was that East Coast bias, too? Because Seattle and San Antonio are definitely not on the East Coast. And to imply that Bill Walton-who played one relatively healthy season with the Celtics in which he chipped in 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists as a sixth man-contributed to the Celtics in a way that was remotely on par with perennial All-Star James Worthy, Byron Scott, A.C. Green, Michael Cooper (arguably the greatest perimeter defender of All-Time), Jamaal Wilkes, or Kurt Rambis is a distortion of reality. In his second and final season with the Celtics, Walton played 10 games. He averaged 2.8 points per game. In the five games he played in the 1987 Finals, he averaged 1.2 points. Yes, BIG contribution. HUGE help to Bird in those Finals-especially since McHale played the entire playoffs on a broken foot. Walton was broken down when he came to the Celtics. His contributions to the Celtics weren’t even comparable to HOF’er Bob McAdoo’s four Lakers’ years as a 10-15 point scorer in less than 20 minutes per game off the bench. Or even former #1 overall pick Mychael Thompson’s first four years in the purple and gold. Without question, Magic had better teammates. And the great Len Bias died. RIP. He would have changed the rivalry. Teammates matter. Bird had some great ones, but none as great as Kareem… or as athletic as prime Worthy. Len Bias was that Worthy type…possibly even better. McHale’s broken foot, Walton’s broken body, and the death of Len Bias… to me, that’s the difference between the Celtics winning 5 or 6 instead of 3. But since you consider the death of Len Bias and all the rest irrelevant and believe that Bird’s teammates in college and the pros were equal or greater than Magic’s, I’m just going to go back to your “winning is all that matters” argument. Magic has 5 rings. Russell has 11 rings, 5 MVPs, and the Finals MVP Award Is NAMED after him, so you must believe Russell is better than Magic. Pippen has 6 rings-and beat Magic head-to-head in the Finals-so you must believe Pippen is better than Magic. Perennial All-Star and All-NBA 1st Teamer Hondo has 8 rings. Ten-time All-NBA 1st Teamer and League MVP Bob Cousy has 6 rings… so they’re better than Magic (5 rings), right? Of course not! Magic was better than them (with the possible exception of Russell). And Bird’s better than them, too. Magic and Bird were two of the greatest ever. I appreciate the video creator’s work but I don’t agree with the scoring in it (where Bird wins decisively). Bird and Magic, to me, are two sides of the same coin, so comparable in size, skills, leadership, B-ball IQ that deciding between them is like finding a point on a razor’s edge. And in that equation, it comes down to a quote from Magic’s coach Pat Riley, after Bird and Magic had retired. When Riley was coaching the Knicks and asked about who he would want shooting the ball in the clutch, he replied: “If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird.” I respect your opinion because I think Magic was incredible. But like Riley, with my life on the line, I’d want Bird shooting. That’s why I’d take Bird.
One stat that is missing from your metric, dude, is championships. Magic is better. Magic also is the all time playoff assists leader by a huge margin. But yeah, Magic won more.
@@MrOunce3 show me a championship ring that only had two players going 1 on 1 and then i'll value rings for individuals more. until then Teams win rings in my book, so I prefer separating individual success from team success when trying to figure out who is better than who.
@@thetrib1 Well every player ever has said 💍 are most important. They say it in post game interviews all the time Even when they win awards. I never heard 1 say anything about "individual success. Westbrook led the league in triple doubles, and won a scoring tittle( individual awards) while missing the playoffs. He said those numbers dont mean shit! Im saying the same thing. Aint no individual success! Thats some made up shit. The best player is THE PLAYER THAT MASTERS THE TEAM GAME. Thats the reason people name their top 10 players. Not their top 10 teams. Thats the reason your top 10 players teamates usually dont have the same amount of 💍. So tell that "individual success" story to somebody else. Idiotic?? SMH....
@@thetrib1 All the players in the league that win awards, scoring tittles, and make allstars teams but cant win with their team are pissed off because AINT NO INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS. If you score 100 pts in a game and you are losing coach calls time out. Your doing something wrong. So dont ask me about some 1 on 1 when your the 1 talking about "individual success."
Yes, I saw them both play. Magic was better which is why they make a show Winning Time about Lakers not Celtics. Magic had 5 rings and beat Bird 2 out of three. Of course, supporting cast helps. Magic could take over a came, control it, Bird controlled a game by his shooting, not by pace. LeBrown is better than both, Kobe was better than Bird too.
Magic also had a top 5 all-time player on his team and was in the consistently weaker Western conference, which made it much easier to get to the Finals without getting too worn down. I noticed you didn't mention the difference in difficulty.
I always say that if Bird had LeBron’s body, he’d have unequivocally been the GOAT. Can’t say the same if LeBron had Bird’s body.
No he would still be a worse lebron
If Westbrook encompassed Steph's shooting ability, he would be the greatest.
Westbrook always had a killer instinct
Well Lebron worked his whole life to have his body, that’s like taking away Jordan’s midrange game
@@ruckman8834 I like Westbrook's energy, but part of having a killer instinct is improving your weak links and making them strengths. MJ + Kobe exemplified this perfectly. I've ceased being a fan of Westbrook, because he never seems to work on his weaknesses, LIKE his shooting.
Both are top 6 All time but I give the slight edge to Bird because he was the better scorer/shooter.
i think bird is a slightly better player but magic is more accomplished so i have magic 1 spot ahead of bird but i think they both better than lebron
Magic was just as effective with putting points on the board though. Bird put the ball in the basket himself, Magic just opened up his teammates so they always had a good look. Just different roles. And it’s damn near impossible to find a better jump shot than Bird’s, but Magic was a career 85% free throw shooter which gets overlooked by people a lot when they talk about Magic’s shooting. If Magic’s role for the Lake show would have involved getting to the foul line more often, Magic would be a couple of spots higher on the all time scoring list.
same but thats not why
Magic beat bird in both his final losses and also beat him in college he also won more championships
And the same amount of mvps
I feel like there should be accomplishments on this and rate those on importance such as MVP championship finals MVP All NBA team but I can see how that gives an advantage to players who played longer careers
Even though you add those accolades Bird still wins
Ruck Man yeah I know I still think Bird wins it’s just I feel like accolades should be acknowledged
@@ruckman8834 magic has 5 rings with with 3 final mvp while bird has 3 rings with 3 final mvp, amvp
Indeed. I think magic has a better career, but at their best, I'll choose larry
@@edwardtimothy3581 The thing is peope go for higher scoring. It's like someone would choose to score 30 5 4 rather than 20 14 5
If kids these days put MJ below LBJ, they have no idea how good Bird was but they argue as if they know better
i love Bird he is in my top 5 and MJ is fo sure the goat
They've actually told me I'm biased from actually watching Bird as a kid and think they know better than me despite not even being born until a few decades later.
Great analysis! I'm glad you rated Larry Bird higher than Magic. He's my second all time favourite player behind MJ!
Those are my 2 favorite too.
He's ahead of MJ dude. MJ never beat him in playoffs.
@@thedarkyellowpages4016 cause MJ was by himself with a very average team around him wasn't till scottie got older they started winning.
@@braddlesharris3577 Who knows, maybe bird started out that way but he inspired his teammates better. MJ kept scolding every one but it did pay off later, 6 rings. But I'll say this, Michael was already several years in the league when Bird was in there. Had his chance to prove, but didn't happen.
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
Bird gets the edge. I think you underrated his passing & his clutch aspect. Most every opponent he had would tell you that Larry was the player teams feared the most because he singlehandedly changed games outcomes time after time. THE most clutch player EVER..
Based on statistics and the eye test, the most clutch player ever is Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson is right there
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
@@munir9527
Wrong.
ruclips.net/video/Bij799ce6pM/видео.html
@@munir9527
Magic HIMSELF says Larry is the best. And the link I provided gives 21 of Larry’s clutch shots, 18 of which were game winners. MJ could NEVER.
As for eye test, Larry has that sewn up too. Just give it up already.
@@irishgrl I believe it was Larry Bird who said that Magic was the best he'd ever seen after Magic hit the clutch baby hook in Game 4 of the 1987 Finals. Check out one minute and thirteen seconds into this video. ruclips.net/video/PqUCum1y8Kg/видео.html
Bro rebounding is underrated not overrated
"Who was better, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson?" That's an easy question to answer. The answer is yes!
real ones knows bird is better
true
Nah
Nope
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
FOREAL
💯
When bird joined the Celtics he carried them to the ecf and bird was a much better defender and a offensive player then magic and if you take a look at the help magic and bird had
Was that bird had parish and Mchale and bill walton Danny ainge cowens in his career while magic and Kareem were both a duo and magic had the best defender cooper and also had Wilkes and Nixon bird was a much better player than magic even the compettion that magic faced were weak the 80s west was not great during his playing years I think it was the 84 season his team was the only 50 win team
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
Bird with no injuries is better than Bron all time.
YJL cuz of the media. He doesn’t belong in them and he’s not top 5
Stephen A Smiths burner he’s better than him already all time
facts
How is he better? Bron shoots a better fg% from 2 and 3 bron is a better rebounder and better passer and at brons peak he was a great defender
@qmmouche 7 he is a better passer no debating that but you don't even talk about defense Lebron got robbed from defensive player of the year back in 2013 also I'm still saying LeBron's a better rebounder because there wasn't as many 7 footers back then
Magic the better business man and leader bird the better player played the game harder he was tougher had harder teams to face in eastern conference playoffs magic had cake walks like Lebron did in East only reason anyone would say magic is 5 rings you can’t blame them tho hard to argue 3 better then 5
BIRD TO ANYONE WHO CAN EVEN HEAR....NO EYES NEEDED..
You accidentally gave Magic a 30 percent from free throw 7:01
I think Bird had one of the greatest peak careers ever, but because his career wasn’t as long because of injury, he gets underrated in top ten lists.
LARRY TOP 3 TO ANYONE WITH A BRAIN..
I could see why you'd make that assumption, but Bird was consistently rated as the top 1 or 2 players in the league for most of a decade, which was most of the time he played. Explain why Magic and Kareem were rated similarly or below during Bird's prime yet Magic and Kareem are often rated in the top 5 still today while Bird is now often rated towards the bottom of the top 10. Some have even questioned if he belongs in the top 10, which is truly outrageous. What changed was LeBron entered the league and played the same position. The sports media is always going to promote the current superstar they are covering regularly. It's in their financial interest to do so.
Suddenly Bird drops towards the bottom of the top 10. Unless he had a secret comeback I didn't know about and played horribly for a few seasons, he should still be rated similar to Magic and Kareem just as he was for a couple of decades until LeBron appeared when Bird conspicuously was dropped noticeably below Magic and Kareem. Hell, even LeBron had Bird in his OWN top 3 when he was younger.
Magic had Kareem which are both top 7 players probably, bird had himself
Nah bird had 4 hall of famers on his team in 84, Larry bird had plenty of help
Bird had Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish
Bill Walton was past his prime, but still a valuable contributor off of the bench
@@munir9527 Walton was only fairly good for one season with the Celtics, when he averaged 7.6 pts and 6.8 rebs per game off the bench playing less than 20 min/game in 85-86. Bird's teammates were never as good as Kareem, Worthy, Byron Scott, A.C. Green, GOAT defender Michael Cooper, #1 overall pick Mychael Thompson, Hall of Famer and former league MVP Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis, etc.
The first 5 seconds are priceless! Bird and Magic having fun.
bird is the better trash talker i think that adds to his game as it does to Michael's and Kobe's
Thanks for sharing your video and this is a good look at a variety of skills and leadership qualities. For those that do not know the East was without question the stronger conference. See Dave Heeren's "Basketball Abstract - The Beast of the East" where he took all teams and all games East vs West head to head and found that the East dominated the West for every single year for all 10 years of the 80's. Also of note is for the 13 years of both careers, the East all stars beat the West all stars 9 games to 4 when the all star game was actually competitive. My point is LA had an easier path to the Finals. During Magic's career the Lakers played 51 games in the Finals vs the East and LA won 24 and lost 27 games. LA had the best team of the 80's but no way LA would have made 9 Finals if they played in the Eastern conference. Many people miss this important point. One other point regarding the strength of teams is Magic actually got to play with 4 other teammates that were the number 1 pick in the draft in Kareem, Worthy, Bob McAdoo and Mychael Thompson. The only #1 pick Bird ever played with was Walton and Walton really only had 1 full good year ( 1986) before foot injuries. I am sharing all this so that those with the 5 rings are greater than 3 rings mentality can look at the individual skills of each player and realize Bird was the more talented and better player. Magic was more popular with fans.
Bird
The real question is why do people think Lebron is better then bird? They put him past him after one chip but Lebron couldn’t get it done so he went to Miami now all a sudden because a dude superteams he’s number two all time now that’s not how it works bird also played in toughest era and toughest conf in 80s while Lebron has cake walks and teams built around him imagine bird in 2021 with these rules
Lebron is better
It's very easy to see, and it's not close either
Bird was a better shooter, that's it
@@munir9527 what are you in the 6th grade shut up dude
@@munir9527 Bird was a better shooter, better passer, better rebounder, more clutch, better leader...and that's probably not it.
@@AKSBSU not a better passer or leader
@@jasonmoukala8909 yes, Bird is a better passer and leader.
I pre-assessed he was going to choose Bird within the first "minute" of listening! Moreover, seeing his points accrued aspects, and surmising that in the category of "passing", where Magic was -if he'd been 100% truthful to himself- "Vastly Superior", to have Bird only "one" notch under Magic was grossly incomprehensible! It too, unequivocally displayed his "bias" in Larry's favor.
So with continuing to the video's conclusion, I(personally) find I couldn't place faith nor stock- in that his appraisals wouldn't be usable references- wherefore any tendencies of "Biases", "Preferences", or "Favoritisms" causes any works of "Evaluations" tainted; notwithstanding, to a researcher's chagrin, more importantly
..."INACCURATE"!!
who do you think is better?
If you think bird is better why did you have magic 4 and Larry 6 on your all time list?
i think its because magic has more rings and all that... (i might be wrong about that tho) but bird is the better player
Magic is a better player
@@damienhernandez4036 ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
These guys are both max points in basketball IQ. I get you're trying to rate one higher than the other comparing their skills, but there is no way either is less than max points BBIQ.
💯
Magic had showtime and played with legends so he Did not have to score All the time check out magic in college
Larry took a nobody college team all the way to NCAA. Magic had the better team in college too.
exactly, he played with arguably the greatest scorer of all time, his role was not supposed to be the top scorer. He was a point guard
Magic wasn't the leading scorer or rebounder for the season on the Michigan State 1979 Title Team. Greg Kessler, who went #4 overall in the 1979 NBA Draft, averaged more points and rebounds than Magic. Kessler was by far and away better than any of Bird's Indiana State teammates.
Had bird not been injured we wouldn’t talk about mj or lebron
Great analysis thinking out of the box and not just going along iwth the mainsstream Laker fanboys narrative! Bird winning 3 straight MVPs proves he was the most dominant player of the 80s. And the Western Conference was much like the Eastern Conference today, when the Lakers had a cake walk to the finals like how Garnett's Celtics and Lebron's superteams did. While the East was a hellish gauntlet during that time.
MVP is a regular season award
Magic was the best player of the 80s
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
Lebron is so likeable nice 👍
this is crazy because arguably larry wins every category
So you changed your mind and have bird higher than magic all time now? If so who’s your second best player ever now?
Defense wins championships. It should be worth the most points.
The question is who is the better player, not who played for the better team. Rings measure who played for the better team. Magic played with the greatest center of all time (indeed, Kareem was far above Parish and McHale in quality) and two of the greatest forwards of all time (Worthy and Wilkes).
"Greatest individual rivalry in sports history"
Messi and Ronaldo be like🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
no one here actually cares about soccer
Facts
@@Steve-mw2dk wait?! No one?! Soccer literally is the most popular sport in human history...
btw i love basketball more than soccer..
@Jake Taman Magic vs Bird is certainly up there but their rivalry was comparatively short-lived. Bird was never the same after 88. So that gives us around 8-9 years of high octane rivalry.
Messi and Ronaldo however have been at each other's throats since 2007 and are still the two best players in the world with no sign of slowing down. So that gives us 13,14,15 years of this insane rivalry.
@Jake Taman Also, there was KAJ in the early 80s and MJ in the later 80s who had a claim to being the best in the world.
Since 2008, no player other than Messi and Ronaldo had any claim to being the best in the world.
Celtics vs Lakers is a legendary rivalry. But Barcelona vs Real Madrid is the greatest rivalry in the history of sports!!!
THE 2nd TRIPLE DOUBLE MONSTER IN THE NBA GETS SUBPAR REBOUNDING HAHAHA
Triple double doesn't mean better rebounder, or better player.........
i'd be happy with either one
I'd be happy to get jordan
Who beat who 2 times out of 3, and has the most rings overall?
Larry is as good as, or arguably even a better passer than Magic. I actually see them both as equally other wordly. And shooting? You undercut Bird neglecting him a perfect score. IQ? Bird had it better. Clutch? No human better than Bird. Magic's role was bringing the ball up the court and was the greatest General, and did better than Bird due to physical agility. They were both equal in leadership in their own unique way. Magic outwardly taunted you, while Bird took your soul with whispers.
Bird was a fantastic passer, no doubt. But better than Magic!? No way.
Also, by all accounts, Bird was quite vocal with his taunting. Just ask Dr. J or Xavier McDaniels. A whisper is going a bit far. Lol!
Bird was a very good passer, but he is not even in the same conversation as magic
Very true: Bird was a better passer because he was a more creative and versatile passer.
Rings matter and with magic having more he's got to be above bird, especially beating him more in the finals. If LeBron or Kobe had 7 rings right now everybody would place them ahead of Jordan. Magic was in the same era as bird and beat him in college and NBA heads up more than bird beat him. With both teams being stacked this shouldn't even be a debate. Magic has this. Bird is a good passer, but you can't compare him to the greatest passer ever, which is magic. Magic is as far ahead of bird in passing as bird is ahead of him in shooting.
In College, Magic had a far better team when he beat Bird.
Rings are a great sign of a champion, but that didn’t make Kurt Rambis with 4 better than Kevin McHale who had only 3.
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
Magic or bird
Bird
Bird and Magic are close to equal, but neither of them (I’m talking to the people in the comments) are the GOAT
Bird uses to give it to Jordan. Don’t play dumb. The GOAT couldn’t guard him to save his life
@@brandennieto6934 You're gonna hurt the media narrative with your facts. Nobody beat Jordan as much as Bird did.
@@chrisb8655 lol that’s fine. I know Mike was great but Bird owned him
@@brandennieto6934 nah Bird's team owned Mike's team but individually Mike was giving to Bird aswell that's Bird said he was God disguised as Michael Jordan
@@chrisb8655 Bird had the best team
Jordan was the best player
Bird was a more creative and versatile passer than Magic.
here is the thing .. as far as passing...you simply are going with magic as a pg... assists isnt the same as passing... and bird was never the primary ball handler... as far as actual passing ability..larry had a bigger variety.... but bird made his teams the best passing teams. he turned the whole team into a passing team..often leading the league as well as having 4 or 5 players averaging 5 pg .. so he literally created an aura of passing while magic controlled all the assists and never encouraged sharing the assists.... and cut the bs with iq and leadership lol. you are just trying to keep them close... larry was the leader on day one... magic had kareem for several yrs.... they are both great players and are linked... but bird was absolutely the better player...he literally dominated the league their first 9 yrs before bird got hurt .. the re writing of history is amazing to me as bird in 88 right before his injury was by far the better player...
Magic was the better passer. Bird was the better player.
You need to consider championships. You play as a team not for individual stats. Magic did what it took to win more so than Bird. Even head to head, Magic beat Bird since college. They were both amazing, and I couldn't put one over the other.
And that arguably top 5 all-time teammate on Magic's team wasn't a factor? Magic just did it all? BTW, Magic and Kareem both said Bird, their nemesis, was the best opponent they ever played against.
Magic always had the better team, but Bird was the better player--in college and in their first nine NBA seasons.
Bird had the much higher IQ
Bird>LeBron and MJ
LOL okay now you lying to yourself
LOL LEBRON CANT SHOOT
For me Bird is 4 Jabbar comes 3
@@hydrabeast4834 Lebron's hit like the most game winning 3s in NBA Playoff history
better than jordan, thats fasho
Mad Bway it’s just his opinion bias Jordan fan
LMAOOOOOOOOO
I kinda favor Magic. He had better footwork and passing abilities. But i dont know. You can make the argument for Bird too.
LOL .
@@mariorodriguez2862 what?
Love ur work .. bird is better .. if magic played again other 69 pg he wouldnt be that great ..bird played ppl his size & taller
What if they were on the same team? Hmmmm
Simmons and Embiid 2.0
Magic
You gotta give it to Magic he beat Larry twice and won more
jessie urena Then Bird went 23-11 against Micheal Jordan , 6-0 in the Playoffs
Susan Bloodgood, Jordan had no teammates. Bird, meanwhile had a stacked to the gills team.
Yea I would give magic the edge
THATA NOT THE QUESTION
And I guess having Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his team wasn't a factor?
Larry Joe Bird
How old are you ?
Bird duh!
Bird = Better prime
Magic = Better career
AND THE REFS ON THE TEAM PLAYED FOR.
Magic had the better team
Bird was the better player
Magic beat Bird in the NCAA championships and twice in the NBA Finals. Bird beat Magic once. No matter what anybody says, Magic is better than Bird in the only category that counts.
LOL U SLOW
By your logic, Bird is better than Jordan because Bird was undefeated in the Playoffs against Jordan (in your words, "the only thing that matters") and had a 23-11 career head-to-head regular season + record against Jordan. Magic had better teammates around him in college and every year in the pros than Bird. Magic had Kareem--who won 5 league MVPs, a Finals MVP, and championship before Magic was even drafted. And Kareem won league MVP Magic's rookie year. No one Bird had was even close to Kareem--a Top 5 All-Time Player by any measure. Magic didn't even lead that 1979 Michigan State title team in scoring or rebounding. Greg Kessler (#4 overall pick in 1979) averaged more points and rebounds per game than Magic. Bird led ISU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocks--and Bird didn't have any ISU teammate close to as good as Greg Kessler (which Magic has pointed out MANY times). Bird finished ahead of Magic in the MVP voting 8 of their first 9 seasons before he missed all but six games in 88-89 due to broken back vertebrae and double Achilles' surgeries. And Bird was never right--or prime--again. Again, by your logic, every one of Magic's teammates--even the 12th man on one championship team--is better than Karl Malone, Barkley, Dominique, Stockton, and every other All-Time Great without a ring because Magic's teammates won rings in that era and are "better in the only thing that counts". I respectfully disagree with your logic--which fails to take into consideration that Bird joined a team that only won 29 games the previous season while Magic joined a team lead by a 5-time league MVP and champion.
@@mariorodriguez2862 5 NBA championships + 1 NCAA championship > 3 NBA championships + 0 NCAA championships.
@@justinbrewer2003 Someone got triggered. Lol! Did you read my post? I said Magic is better than Bird in the only category that counts, winning championships. So let's break down your reply. By my logic, Bird is worse than Jordan because Jordan has 6 championships to Bird's 3. I never said anything in my post above about Magic and Bird's head-to-head record (although Magic does indeed have the edge). Let's look at the NCAA legacy. Bird was by far the best player on ISU, a Missouri Valley Conference team. Magic led a Big 10 school. The fact that he didn't lead the team in scoring or rebounding is kind of irrelevant since Magic was not the prime scorer or rebounder for the team (he was a point guard, after all). He did lead the team in assists. He probably led the NCAA, too, but the NCAA didn't count assist leaders until 1985. Bird did have Carl Nicks on the ISU squad. Nicks averaged 19.3 points in the 1978-1979 season and then averaged 26.8 the year after, resulting in him being drafted 23rd overall by the Nuggets in the 80-81 season. Bird had a pretty good teammate in the 78-79 year who essentially put up Bird-like numbers once Bird left. Additionally, ISU played powerhouses like West Texas A & M and Southern Illinois (I am being sarcastic). Magic's MSU squad played 6 ranked teams during the regular season that year, including UNC (ranked 13th), Illinois (ranked 4th), Ohio State (ranked 7th) and Purdue (ranked 18th). You are correct in the MVP voting. I personally would contend that fact is due to East Coast bias. If you look at the MVP voting in all of those years, other than Magic, Hakeem and sometimes Alex English or Karl Malone, most MVP candidates came from Eastern Conference teams. Magic won his first during Bird's prime and beat out Jordan for his next 2 MVP's. So it's not like Magic beat out some slouch of a player. Aditionally, when Bird came back in the 89-90 season (after back and foot surgeries) he still averaged over 24 ppg, 7.5 apg and 9.5 rpg while leading the league in free throw percentage. Not too shabby for a player you deemed "not right." As far as bench players being better than 'Nique or Barkley or whatever...that's a lame argument. No one on earth, for example, is going to say Robert Horry is better than Jordan because Horry won 7 championships. Magic and Bird weren't role players. They were the major focus of their respective teams. Therefore, by that logic I would 100% say that Bird and Magic are better than Barkley, Malone, Stockton, etc. Barkley, Malone, et al. are certainly all-time greats. No one is denying that. They just couldn't lead their teams to a ring. I think that maybe you were getting all riled up when you thought of that argument. But that's ok. Bird famously turned the C's around in his rookie year. But did you know that the year before, in the 78-79 season, Boston had 4 Hall of Famers on the squad (Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo [he led the team with 20 ppg], Tiny Archibald and JoJo White)? Don't know what their deal was, but the C's had the talent in 78-79. In Larry's rookie year, he played with Cowens, Pete Maravich and Archibald. In fact, Larry played with multiple HoF'ers for the majority of his career (DJ, McHale, Parish and Walton come to mind). He played alongside more HOF players than Magic did (Mag had McAdoo, Wilkes, Kareem, Worthy and Vlade Divac). So I don't understand this narrative that Bird did it all by himself. It's just not true. The Lakers were 47-35 the year before Magic and were 60-22 with him. So even with Kareem, Magic brought 13 more wins to the table (and a championship). At the end of the day, players like Magic and Bird play to win. Magic won more. I truly believe that Magic and Bird are neck-and-neck in the pantheon of all-time greatness. But if I, personally me, had to pick between the 2 players, I would pick Magic. I think he was better at getting more out of his teammates which translated to more championships.
@@christopherbanuelos2147 🤣🤣🤣 I’d say you’re triggered, too. I respectfully disagree. You’re really comparing Carl Nicks, the #23 (last) pick of the 1980 draft’s first round to Greg Kessler, the #4 overall pick in 1979? You’re really using that to say Bird had an equal #2 at ISU? You’re really comparing Carl’s 26.8 pts, 4.2 rbs, and 2.7 apg on a 16-11 team against weak competition that didn’t make the NCAA tournament to Bird’s 28.6, 14.4, 5.5 with 2.5 steals on a 33-1 team that made the NCAA Finals? You claim Carl Nicks made up for Larry Bird’s absence… like they didn’t skip a beat and made it back to the NCAA Championship Game and went 33-1 without Bird led by Carl Nicks! 🤣🤣🤣 By that rationale, Kiki Vandewegh should have won league MVP over Bird in 1984. Who cares about his 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game and 38 team wins. He scored as many points as Bird…. so that makes him (like Carl Nicks!) basically Bird’s equivalent in every respect. Hell, I’m wondering if you’re going to put Carl in the TOP 10 All-Time NBA Players 😂 And you’re really going to ignore that Magic’s MSU team had Jay Vincent as their #3 guy, who averaged over 22 ppg the next two seasons at MSU (against Big Ten competition) then averaged 21.4 points and 7 rebounds a game as a rookie in the NBA? Greg Kessler and Jay Vincent were both FAR better than Carl Nicks could ever DREAM of being. As Magic has repeatedly said, his MSU team had FAR more talent than Bird’s team. It’s not debatable. No offense to you, but I trust Magic’s opinion on the matter more than yours (or mine). No one except you would ever even argue that Carl Hicks is comparable to Greg Kessler and would completely ignore Jay Vincent. Magic clearly had better teammates at MSU than Bird did at ISU… and it wasn’t even CLOSE! Bird had to do so much more by leading ISU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, FG%, and FT%. As a lifelong Celtics fan, I am aware of their aging 1978-79 team that won 29 games. JoJo White was only averaging 12 points and was traded mid season. Cowens didn’t make the All-Star team for the first time in seven seasons. Tiny had missed the whole previous year with a torn Achilles and was still not himself (only 11 ppg in limited minutes). McAdoo could always score, but he came from the Knicks mid season, only played about 20 games for the C’s, and didn’t mesh. It wasn’t McAdoo’s fault. The team was beaten up, dysfunctional (kind of like the Lakers are now with 3 former perennial ALL-NBA players-2 with MVPs) and waiting for their savior (Bird had already been drafted). They were 29-53 because they weren’t a good team. But Bird joined them, Cowens (for one last year) and Tiny regained their All-Star form, and they improved to 61-21. As much as I love Pistol Pete, he was done by the time he got to the C’s-and Bird knew it. Pete only played 26 games (4 starts) and about 17 minutes a game, even less in the playoffs, before he retired that season. His knees were shot; he couldn’t D up. As for the East Coast bias being the reason Bird finished ahead of Magic in MVP voting 8 of their first 9 years, that’s a new one on me. I’d say it’s more because Magic played alongside Kareem, who won 6 MVPs (as many as Bird and Magic-combined) and was clearly better than anyone Bird had on his team. No disrespect to McHale, but Kareem is a 6x League MVP with 6 rings. McHale has zero MVPs and 3 rings. By your logic, Kareem is clearly better than Bird’s #2… and it’s not even close. But also by your logic, Kareem has 6 rings to Magic’s 5. Kareem won a ring and Finals MVP without Magic… not to mention 5 League MVPs without Magic… and three national championships… and three college player of the year awards… without Magic. Since winning is the “only thing that matters”according to you, then Kareem is clearly better than Magic… and since winning a championship is all that matters… Magic never won any rings after Kareem retired. To many, Kareem was Batman… and Magic was Robin for the first half of Magic’s career. Magic won one game in the 1980 Finals without Kareem. One. Kareem won the league MVP in 1980. Kareem made All-NBA for five of Magic‘s first six seasons, including 1st Team 3 times. Magic didn’t even make an All-NBA team until his 3rd season, when he made 2nd team, behind Seattle’s Gus Williams and San Antonio’s George Gervin in the guard positions. Was that East Coast bias, too? Because Seattle and San Antonio are definitely not on the East Coast. And to imply that Bill Walton-who played one relatively healthy season with the Celtics in which he chipped in 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists as a sixth man-contributed to the Celtics in a way that was remotely on par with perennial All-Star James Worthy, Byron Scott, A.C. Green, Michael Cooper (arguably the greatest perimeter defender of All-Time), Jamaal Wilkes, or Kurt Rambis is a distortion of reality. In his second and final season with the Celtics, Walton played 10 games. He averaged 2.8 points per game. In the five games he played in the 1987 Finals, he averaged 1.2 points. Yes, BIG contribution. HUGE help to Bird in those Finals-especially since McHale played the entire playoffs on a broken foot. Walton was broken down when he came to the Celtics. His contributions to the Celtics weren’t even comparable to HOF’er Bob McAdoo’s four Lakers’ years as a 10-15 point scorer in less than 20 minutes per game off the bench. Or even former #1 overall pick Mychael Thompson’s first four years in the purple and gold. Without question, Magic had better teammates. And the great Len Bias died. RIP. He would have changed the rivalry. Teammates matter. Bird had some great ones, but none as great as Kareem… or as athletic as prime Worthy. Len Bias was that Worthy type…possibly even better. McHale’s broken foot, Walton’s broken body, and the death of Len Bias… to me, that’s the difference between the Celtics winning 5 or 6 instead of 3. But since you consider the death of Len Bias and all the rest irrelevant and believe that Bird’s teammates in college and the pros were equal or greater than Magic’s, I’m just going to go back to your “winning is all that matters” argument. Magic has 5 rings. Russell has 11 rings, 5 MVPs, and the Finals MVP Award Is NAMED after him, so you must believe Russell is better than Magic. Pippen has 6 rings-and beat Magic head-to-head in the Finals-so you must believe Pippen is better than Magic. Perennial All-Star and All-NBA 1st Teamer Hondo has 8 rings. Ten-time All-NBA 1st Teamer and League MVP Bob Cousy has 6 rings… so they’re better than Magic (5 rings), right? Of course not! Magic was better than them (with the possible exception of Russell). And Bird’s better than them, too. Magic and Bird were two of the greatest ever. I appreciate the video creator’s work but I don’t agree with the scoring in it (where Bird wins decisively). Bird and Magic, to me, are two sides of the same coin, so comparable in size, skills, leadership, B-ball IQ that deciding between them is like finding a point on a razor’s edge. And in that equation, it comes down to a quote from Magic’s coach Pat Riley, after Bird and Magic had retired. When Riley was coaching the Knicks and asked about who he would want shooting the ball in the clutch, he replied: “If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game, I’d choose Michael Jordan. If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life, I’d take Larry Bird.” I respect your opinion because I think Magic was incredible. But like Riley, with my life on the line, I’d want Bird shooting. That’s why I’d take Bird.
I root for LeBron to win he is so likeable
One stat that is missing from your metric, dude, is championships. Magic is better. Magic also is the all time playoff assists leader by a huge margin. But yeah, Magic won more.
ruclips.net/video/FoFbi-w-eeY/видео.html
@@munir9527 Unbelievable. I don't know what to say. :)
Magic is better. Thats why he got 5 rings. He beat Bird in the NBA and with a diff team in college.
5 rings being the answer is idiotic, but sure magic can be better.
Its not idiotic. How could it be when 💍 is the goal? Show me a player that says rings aint the goal then we can talk.
@@MrOunce3 show me a championship ring that only had two players going 1 on 1 and then i'll value rings for individuals more. until then Teams win rings in my book, so I prefer separating individual success from team success when trying to figure out who is better than who.
@@thetrib1 Well every player ever has said 💍 are most important. They say it in post game interviews all the time
Even when they win awards. I never heard 1 say anything about "individual success. Westbrook led the league in triple doubles, and won a scoring tittle( individual awards) while missing the playoffs. He said those numbers dont mean shit! Im saying the same thing. Aint no individual success! Thats some made up shit. The best player is THE PLAYER THAT MASTERS THE TEAM GAME. Thats the reason people name their top 10 players. Not their top 10 teams. Thats the reason your top 10 players teamates usually dont have the same amount of 💍. So tell that "individual success" story to somebody else. Idiotic?? SMH....
@@thetrib1 All the players in the league that win awards, scoring tittles, and make allstars teams but cant win with their team are pissed off because AINT NO INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS. If you score 100 pts in a game and you are losing coach calls time out. Your doing something wrong. So dont ask me about some 1 on 1 when your the 1 talking about "individual success."
This is totally bogus..so bird was better magic... absolutely not
Yes, I saw them both play. Magic was better which is why they make a show Winning Time about Lakers not Celtics. Magic had 5 rings and beat Bird 2 out of three. Of course, supporting cast helps. Magic could take over a came, control it, Bird controlled a game by his shooting, not by pace. LeBrown is better than both, Kobe was better than Bird too.
Magic also had a top 5 all-time player on his team and was in the consistently weaker Western conference, which made it much easier to get to the Finals without getting too worn down. I noticed you didn't mention the difference in difficulty.
Its bird
Lebron is so likeable nice 👍
Bird
Bird