That’s a great way to describe it. I will say, beyond his basketball IQ,(or at least equal to) was his heart, competitiveness, tenacity; whatever you want to call it.
Larry Bird, as a little kid, learned to play basketball in French Lick, Indiana, from a group of black guys who were coming off their shifts at the local hotel and were playing basketball at a nearby court. He'd watch them play and they'd invite him to play with them, so he started learning that way. He talks about it in the documentary Courtship of Rivals, which is an amazing documentary going through both his and Magic's careers.
He gets rid of the ball so quickly. I remember watching games and all of sudden the ball would be some place else and I literally couldn't figure what happened or how the ball got there.
@@busterkeaton1001 That is one of the things that sets him apart from most of the other elite passers. Many of the other greatest passers had the ball in their hands 80% of the time on the offensive end and had most of the shot clock to plan and set things up. Larry would often get similar results from tipping a lose ball or rebound. Sometimes it's questionable if you could even say he actually had possession of the ball because he just tipped it to someone else in a better position for an easy score. That's a very rare skill to be such an adept passer with split second timing and no time to plan or set up anything.
Celtics fan here. Had a seat behind the Celtics bench. The whole city and most of New England nearly shut down when the Lakers came, because we hated the Lakers ( just like how LA hated the Celtics! 🤬), and that it was going to the the best show you could ever get a ticket for. Simply incredible game between two of the best teams ever.
My uncle played pickup ball with Bird in French Lick Indiana when Larry was in high school. He said even then you knew Larry was going to be something special. There was a large group of black workers who'd come up from Louisville and work in the French Lick resort hotel in the summer. Once they saw what Larry was about they took him under their wing and let him play basketball with them. Bird loved the competition and learned a lot from them.
That's awesome. Was your uncle one of those guys from Louisville? The most awesome Larry Bird story I know is before he played a SINGLE game in college he was scrimmaging at Indiana State with a couple of ABA players who used to play for the IU coach, both of these guys are now in the Hall of Fame and they said coach that's the best basketball player I've ever played against. These were guys playing against prime DR J!
@@busterkeaton1001Maybe one was Roger Brown. But at the time Bird was not the best they played against. Maybe Bernard King or Gervin was better in 1976.
@@glennfromel5711 it was Mel Daniels and Roger Brown. They were giving their opinion. Mel Daniels said "Coach, That’s the best damn player I’ve ever played against.” And Roger Brown agreed. Obviously they saw something.
Too bad NBA Execs looked at Bird differently. Bird was picked 6th Overall in the Draft. Roger Brown was a nice guy. That talk obviously was exaggerated. They could have said Bird has chance to become NBA Legend etc. Of course Bird out of High School put him about bottom level NBA. If Larry was best at the time then he did not improve much. GF
One thing that isn’t mentioned often enough about Bird was his phenomenal work ethic. During the season every day before practice he would stretch for 20 minutes, run 5k, shoot 500 jump shots from all over the court, shoot 100 consecutive free throws (if he missed he started over), run the bleachers, go to practice, play a game and after the game would run another 5k, lift weights, do hundreds of core or plyometrics exercises and shoot another 500 jump shots and 100 consecutive free throws and call it a day. In the off season he would still do his shooting drills and stretching/core/plyometrics and was known to ride around 300 miles/week on his road bike and run a 5k twice a day. As a result Larry had some extraordinary physiological athletic markers. His VO2 Max was around 68, which is on the lower end of elite but exceptional for a man his size, his resting heart rate was around 28 (elite) and his lactate threshold was around 90% of his VO2 max (very elite). The last number is extraordinary as it means he could play at 90% of his peak physical ability for significant amount of time without fatiguing (like an hour at 90% of his max effort). That means though Larry was far from the fastest guy on the court he could still run you into the ground. MJ is the only basketball I know of who had these kind of numbers. Wilt probably did to but played before this kind of testing was common.
Magic & Larry, resurrected the game of basketball......My dad loved basketball, but stopped watching, until the competition between Johnson & Bird was highlighted......What my Dad used to say, about Larry's game, is that it reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, baseball, football, soccer, & strategic chess, all at the same time, and was what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
Bird's passing was so extraordinary because he had the uncanny ability of knowing exactly where everyone was on the court at any given time. You're absolutely right, next level stuff.
This guy from French Lick Idiana: had a basketball IQ that was pure Genius. He played with Broken bones (even his Back). He won the 3 point contest 3 times, He even competed without taking off his jacket. He wasnt the most physically gifted, but his intuition and sheer hustle and grit put him at the top. He flat humiliated opponents, not only with his play but verbally as well. He even played games where He decided to only shoot left handed all game, just because he could. He is one of only 3 players to win MVP 3 consecutive years, Bill Russell, Chamberlain and Bird. He is in the Hall of Fame not only as a player, but as a Coach as well. during his Retirement Ceremony Magic Declared Bird as the Goat. Bird play at a time when Basketball was 100 times tougher than it is today. So, to sum it all up, Bird IS the GOAT!
@@BDUBZ49 People made the chess/checkers analogy about both of them. And since it was clearly not true in Trump’s case, the validity of the metaphor is thus called into question.
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers Using that same logic, should Larry Bird also go to prison just because the same thing was said about him? There's nothing wrong with the analogy itself. And it can still be applied to both of them regardless of the end result. Making the comparison is quite a reach.
Fun Fact- Larry's retirement ceremony was NOT a game night!! It was an off night and the place still sold out in minutes!!...that's 100% love and respect!!! Also, magic had a boston shirt on under his warm ups. Larry pulled on the top a bit but irving opened the top to show the fans and they gave magic a stand ovation!!
@@glockensig sometimes i go with hakeem. i was too young to see Wilt play so I typically wont include anyone prior to the 80s on my list plus Kareem got more rings. i'll take wilt off the bench tho.. or maybe as my starting center.. but Jordan, Bird and Magic are non negotiable for me.
Bird was MVP 3 years in a row 84.85,86. He also won the 3 point contest the first 3 years they had it then retired from it. Pat Riley famously said he if he needed a player to make the last shot to win the game he'd take Michael Jordan. If he needed a player to make a shot to save his life it would be Larry Bird.
Loved your reaction. Please react to more "Larry Legend" and you will continue to be amazed. Yes, he was as tough as they came and played through many injuries that would have sidelined others for many games or maybe even forever......mangled trigger finger on his shooting hand, double achilles surgery, fractured orbital socket, fractured cheek bone, and most importantly a broken back.
That era of basketball was so much fun. Whether your favorite team was on t.v. or not there was always a great game to watch with at least a couple of phenomenal players playing. For about 10 years I watched a game on t.v. almost every night and the squeaking of the basketball shoes on the court drove my wife up the wall.
@@stephanetrembley6180 It does suck getting old. But I think you and I as old farts will agree. We lived through and experienced a lot of cool things in our lives that the younger generations will never get the chance to.
BIRD was founder of 50/40/90 club, 3 time consecutive MVP and the only player to average 24+ pts 10+ reb 6+ asst for an entire career. Only player ever... You haven't seen enough BIRD to know it yet, but he is the GOAT.
The 3 consecutive MVP is a bit of a tree that hides the forest. The 3 consecutive MVP is great, but another huge thing is that for 8 consecutive years, Bird was either 1st or 2nd in that MVP race. Not a single off season for 8 years...
Larry Bird is from French Lick, IN. Look it up. As of the 2010 census it was 1807 people. My SW Indiana hometown (Mt. Vernon) was about 3.5 times that. I attended ISU from 1981-1985, after Bird graduated. When I walked to the ball games from my dorm the last block was Larry Bird Blvd.
magic and larry weren't just rivals. they were the best of friends. they bonded while shooting a nike commercial at his mother's house in his hometown of french lick, indiana. after magic retired due to his HIV, damn near everyone abandoned. the only people who stuck with him was aresino hall and larry. so when magic said "a friend forever", that wasn't just him being nice. they are like brothers.
Not 100% true. Magic did have some other support around the league, most famously Rony Seikaly, who was playing with the Heat at the time. But Bird was one of the first people to speak to Magic on the night it was announced. Some high-profile players (Karl Malone, I think, was one) did either believe or say some derogatory things about Magic at the time.
Karl Malone was against Magic playing on the dream team. but he was hurt mostly by Thomas who was supposed to be his friend but made comments about him must being gay@@SteveGellerMusic
In his peak 5 years there has never been anyone better. Led the league in defensive win shares 4 times. 3 mvp's in a row, sandwiched between 3 runners up.
Larry bird got skills for days. He got tricks in every category from psychological warfare against entire teams to trick shots/passes that use to make even MJ shocked. Bird was the type of person who could turn a good team into a great team. You are just beginning to look down a rabbit hole full of some of the greatest tricks of all time.
One thing that is missed is that back then, every team had a heart, whether it was Larry, Magic, Thomas, Doctor J, MJ etc. It didn't matter if they had an off night shooting, they all managed to beat you another way. There is one clip and shot that stands out in Bird's career. Last shot against the Lakers. Larry takes the shot and he misses. Everyone who saw that game and shot was like it's over. That's the sign of greatness. The ability to get and take the last shot and miss. That is the fear he put in the opposition and hope for others. Even to this day you see that clip and you know he misses it, but you still think it is going in.
Larry is the only guy to win Rookie of the Year, League MVP, Finals MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. I dont think that will ever be topped.
Larry was born in French Lick Indiana. He grew up playing with the people who worked in the hotels. He said he liked playing with them they were black and they were the best at that time
Short story long; some guy had tickets left for him at the tennis club i played at. The guy never showed up so myself and the head tennis pro grabbed them and we headed to the Old Garden an hour or so before the start of the game, around 1983 opening game for the season. We pulled up to the Garden and there was a free street level parking spot right in front. So we go in show our tickets and we were directed to lower level seating. Ends up our seats were basically where the Bruins bench was located. All the aerial camerawork you can see the passing lanes. At court level two things stood out: 1) how big the players really are 2) the passing lanes at court level appear non-existent, there wingspan was huge. It was truely eye opening how great these players are
He was from Indiana ! His basketball IQ was off the charts ! He’s definitely top five of all time. A lot of people don’t like to say it, but you can’t hide from the truth he played almost his whole career injured. !
@user-fk2is1bf3e the back injury was midpoint of his career when he installed the driveway at his mom's home in the off season. The broken finger was in a baseball/softball game with one of his brothers in college right after Boston drafted him his junior year.
I remember my parents would host parties when it was a bird vs. magic night. It was such an exciting time. Those two really made basketball fun to watch.
Those Celtics vs Lakers battles back in the mid 80's were intense. Must watch TV from coast to coast. Keep in mind, there was no air conditioning in the old Boston Garden and those Celtics vs Lakers games occurred in late June. It was ridiculously hot in that building.
When you're one of the only White dudes playing a game dominated by brothers, you HAVE to be able to talk sh*t and stand your ground. Otherwise you get eaten alive.
He sought out the best players in town to play with and against, and that was the guys working at the hotel laundry. Older guys, while he was still in high school.
#HOG in the house. Love your Tom reactions. There is a crazy vid that just shows Birds passes. There is a time where he literally either gets a rebound or after a made shot of him throwing full court passes like he is Tom Brady. Hits them in stride, sometimes with players right there. One is a 2/3 court bounce pass between 2 defenders. Larry Bird was the original last second shot to win the game assassin. He took the team with the worst record the year before he arrived, with the same exact team, went to the playoffs with the biggest turnaround win wise at that time. The 80's were not only a time with the most talented players, the ABA had fallen and 4-6 teams were taken in by the NBA, but the talent was off the charts. Every tea, had practically 2 legit all stars, because they had not expanded to far yet. But the 80's and early 90's were basically no blood...no foul street ball. The altercations and fights were crazy. Because Bird would dive after balls, it really shortened his career. He was league MVP three years in a row just before his back gave out. there seemed to be a Larry Bird highlight on Sports Center most nights. Pat riley said one time....if i needed a last minute shot to wn the game, Michael Jordan is my guy. But if i needed a last minute shot to save my life, Larry is my man. He was an all around player, and killed you with whatever was required of him in that game. If it was assists, if it was rebounds, if it was defense, his steal numbers and blocks are impressive.and at times his shot seemed to never miss. The bigger the game, the biggerthe erformance.
“If I needed a player to make a shot to save a game, I’d choose Jordon. If I needed a player to make a shot to save my life, I’d choose Bird” Pat Riley.😎
Great reaction. Thanks! Bird was the best small forward ever. I watched him from the beginning all the way until his bad back made him retire. The night before a big game Bird could be found at a local bar drinking everyone under the table and getting into fist fights. Only 3 players in NBA history ever won 3 MVP's in a row - Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Larry Bird. Two Pat Riley quotes about Bird: 1) "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." 2) "He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!"
In a Sports Illustrated interview, he got asked his greatest moment in basketball. He said he got home to his house in Indiana, and there was a deflated ball under one of the baskets on his home court. He picked it up and threw it full court swish. Then he walked down and picked it up, and threw it all the way back swish. That was what he loved. Just the game, nothing else.
4:10 "it's like he's the best player on the court".... he was the best player in the nba from 1981-88 (8 season stretch where he received 67% of all mvp votes cast, and finished 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2 for mvp in that stretch). 1st team all nba in his first 9 seasons (80-88). 1980 ROY, 4th in mvp. Overall talent, in every aspect of the game combined, I've never seen anyone better in my 51 yrs AFTER achilles surgery on both feet caused him to miss the entire 88-89 season (after playing 6 games and realizing he couldn't), he came back with a 2nd team all nba in 89-90 with 24.3/9.5/7.5, 1.4 steals in 75 games on 47% FG and 93% FT. (and he had already been playing with a bad back since 86) 9:35 playing hurt was common in those days.... not to the extent that he did. Check out 4 (or5) times Larry was hurt and refused to quit (can't remember if it's 4 or 5 on that video). He was tougher than anyone at playing hurt. It's the type of injuries he played through... in the intance you saw here, it was fractured cheek, possible concussion, and double vision. His head smacking the floor had actually knocked him unconscious for a second or two
Prime Bird was unstoppable; the year he won his Third 3 Pt Title; the year he won with his warm up on, actually scared MJ a bit; Bird was the mold of themodern Small Forward, yet NONE that have come since have his complete game.... some have aspects His left handed game, he ended up with a 40+ point Triple Double; He was not medically cleared to return when he broke his face. He was seeing double, yet came back out and dominated, WITH A BROKEN FACE; look atthe look on his face at 10:28 and 10:31.. He was staring DAGGERS
Loved your reaction!! You stopped the video to speak and more importantly you listened to everything. New follower here..now onto bird he was born and raised dirt poor in french lick Indiana he worked at a hotel and played basketball with the kitchen staff he was the only white boy and they upped his skills even though he already played his coworkers showed him street ball he incorporated into his already excellent game.
Larry wasn't just an amazing player, his impact on the game can't even be measured. The number of kids who started playing because of him is ridiculous, and his rivalry with Magic Johnson literally saved the NBA. There's been books written, TV shows, and documentaries made about it. The Celtics & The Lakers were the perfect match of style and geography. Grit vs Flash. East vs West. Boston vs L.A. And Larry & Magic were at the center of it all, propelling the NBA to ratings it had never seen. I'm 50, so this was happening through my teenage years, and I've never seen a rivalry quite like it. And as far as Bird, They were calling him Larry Legend when he was still playing.
Great reaction video. I appreciate how you watched the entire video without talking over many of the highlights like others do. You really do a great job! I was lucky enough to watch Bird and Magic in their primes. They were both on free TV all the time and I watched them a lot. Bird really was that good. Every night he could play at that level of intensity the entire game. And every game he did something special. Magic was great too! They became good friends. A couple things on this clip. The first person commenting was Dr. J. One of the first dunks he made was over Ralph Sampson who was 7'4". He won the first 3 3 point contests which were the only ones he entered. He was from a small town in Indiana. His dad committed suicide right before he got really special and did so because he could not feed the family and thought they would be better off with his small life insurance money. Very sad to lose your dad while in college. I have played and watched basketball my entire life. In my opinion the best player ever is Jordan! Curry and Bird are the best shooters ever! Kareem was the best who never gets much conversation but he was also amazing. He used to be Lew Alcindor! The best player talent wise was possibly Shaun Kemp but he could not play at a high level for long periods of time. When he went on a rampage he was unstoppable but he did not learn how to harness his game like Bird or Jordan!
Larry Bird's biggest advantage was his brain power. He was playing chess on the court while the rest of the league was learning how to play checkers. He knew exactly what he was going to do and it didn't matter if he told the opposing player exactly what he was going to do and where he was going to do it, and they couldn't stop him. Everyone looks at him as a tall skinny guy who wasn't fast. Except he was a legitimate 6'10" and was solid and could be fast when he needed to be. When the Dream Team was getting ready for the Olympics, a squad of 8 selected college players were brought in to scrimmage with them, including Bobby Hurley, Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers. Some of the college players were going to their hotel rooms and ran into Bird in the hallway. The first thing was that he was BIG, not skinny. They said hello and Bird told them "we're going to wear you guys out !". But the first scrimmage went the way of the college guys because the pros were not as sharp as they should have been. Chuck Daly was so pissed he shut down the scoreboard because the media was coming in. At the next scrimmage Rodney Rogers, a great player, yelled at Bird, "Hey Larry, you haven't hit a jumper since '84 !". Magic heard this and stared Rogers down, and then proceeded to feed Larry the ball 8 or 9 times in a row. Rogers was guarding Bird, so every time he came down the court Bird told Rogers exactly what he was going to and where he was going to do it, and scored 8 or 9 times in a row. There are clips of this story all over YT. When Red Auerbach said Bird played hurt, he wasn't fooling around. In either 1984 or 85, he injured his back building a driveway for his mom and he played the rest of his career in extreme back pain. He had to have his back adjusted before every game. He couldn't sit on the team flights, he had to lay in the aisle. Towards the end he couldn't even sit on the bench and laid down courtside. When he went to the doctor after the Olympics, the doctor was stunned at the condition of his back. He had several fractures and discs were all out of place up and down his spine and had to have extensive surgery to out it back together with screws and plates. He also lost another whole year because of bone spurs in both feet, and he had the surgery down on both feet at the same time. He was extremely tough in an era when toughness was necessary as the game was a lot rougher than it is now, lol. The thought of him playing an injury-free career is absolutely scary. I saw him play several times at Madison Square Garden and to say he was impressive is a massive understatement. If he was playing in his prime today, he would dominate, with his artistic trash talking he would get into the heads of pretty much every player, as maturity isn't a strong suit in today's NBA. And he did something in basketball that will never be done again. During his career he won Rookie of the Year, League MVP (3 times in a row), All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP (three championships). After he retired he won Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year for the Indiana Pacers, which he was a part owner of. No one will ever match those accomplishments.
When Bird was around 12 years old, he would go to this hotel and would play basketball with the employees there. All the employees were adults but they let him play anyway and he would get destroyed but he kept playing and kept getting better. His hometown is French Lick, Indiana.
I'm sure I'm not the first to recommend it, but the HBO documentary on Magic-Bird (A Courtship of Rivals) is one of the finest sports documentaries you'll see. And it tells the story of two men who were mirror images of one another on the court and in their thirst for victory. It really show cases where they came from and what molded their games. It's wonderful.
Yes, he's the greatest passer of all time. As a young kid, I witnessed him grab a rebound in traffic, turn around, off balance and throw a 75 ft, left handed laser pass, to a sprinting Danny Ainge. The pass had prime Brady like accuracy. No player in his era, or now, could throw a pass like that using their week hand so accurately, let alone even have the balls enough to try it. 😊
@@jaredbracci3529 I saw one where he was taking the ball in from out of bounds directly under the basket and launched a laser side armed pass the length of the court to one of his streaking teammates.
Those great Celtic teams had four great players in order: Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson and Kevin Mchale. There was a special chemistry between all of them.
That opening event was just for his retirement--there was no game that night. There are a ton of videos about his play. Check out his passing video, too. 'A Courtship of Rivals' is actually the best about Bird and Magic. The 'Dream Team' documentary is fine, as well. There are also a fair amount of clips about the physical side. He never back down from a fight--on or off the court. In that Pacer game, he broke his cheek bone and had a concussion. He was seeing double vision the whole back end of that game. Not a few minutes.
Watched that man hit some of the best off balance shots with hands in his face. Something else. And you are exactly right about how they played defense back then…..that’s what made MJ so special flying through 3 guys at the rim and taking elbows to the face….play on.
Larry Bird not only came back out in the 3rd quarter with a fractured cheek and blurred vision, but wore no protective gear, no face mask AND took over the game winning it for Boston. Not only did I grew up in Boston in the 80's, but we have the same last name (no relation unfortunately). My favorite player of all time. I remember being at the gym on Feb 4th, watching his retirement on tv, EVERYONE there was, and there wasn't a dry eye to be found anywhere, that's how much he meant to the city, and most of New England. Larry Bird is a legend for a reason. It's not just a nickname or moniker... through blood, sweat and tears he EARNED that title! I never tire of watching his highlights and stories. Larry Bird boasts a 23-11 record against Jordan over his career, with a dominant undefeated 6-0 record in the playoffs. It is important to note that Bird dominated against Jordan in the playoffs in a time when the Jordan was still young in his career and Bird was toward the end of his while suffering with chronic back injuries. A young and healthy Jordan vs Bird in his prime and healthy; it almost wouldn't be fair.
I mean the teams were super stack in Bird's favor, Jordan literally had no All-Star level teammate while Bird was on a team with FIVE hall-of-famers. Not to mention Jordan's teammates were literally crackheads doing drugs in between games at the earliest part of his career.
This was almost 7 years after he literally broke his back (summer of ‘85) shoveling gravel at his mother’s house. Played the rest of his career damaged. What if???
@@newerafrican I have another what if for you. If i remember correctly Bird was supposed to go play for Indiana Hoosiers. But before he graduated high school, he hurt his shooting hand badly. He had to retool his mechanics just to play again, but of course by this time Indiana had already pulled the offer. So he ended up with Indiana State Sycamores. So with how awesome he was, and all the amazing things he could do, what if he never hurt his hand ? ( if i remember him saying that he never felt the ball in that hand properly again )
It’s even better than that, Nadja! Bird injured his hand playing summer baseball AFTER he graduated from ISU in 1979. He had already been drafted by the Celtics and was in jeopardy of blowing a multi-million dollar rookie contract! His right index finger bore a permanent bend from that injury for the rest of his life. He also severely and permanently injured his back in the summer of 1985, causing him pain and limited movement for the last the last 7 years of his career. He’s an amazingly tenacious and talented man. @@nadjasunflower1387
@@nadjasunflower1387 Indiana University did not pull their offer. Bird enrolled in school and attended classes for the first month. He quit school and came home on his own accord. He quit due to feelings of being lost in the crowd and homesickness. The student body at IU is 10 times the population of his hometown of French Lick and he had never spent more than a few days away from home in his life.
One thing no highlight clip can convey about Larry Legend is how night in and night out he was the best ever in the clutch. If you needed a bucket to win a game he was the guy. No one ever did that better than Larry.
If you love basketball, a must see is the 1992 Dream Team documentary. Epic. Everyone was glued to their tvs whenever they played. 11 future Hall of Famers on one team. It was a surreal time 😊 I still watch it almost every day and still get chills watching them play. And the players who came in together and saved the NBA, this was the last time that they played
People who LOVE Hoop and know the game know LB is a top 5 player all time, and one of the greatest winner's of all time. People who do not have LBJ above him. Watch making the case for Larry Bird as the goat, it will give you some perspective at how amazing he was. Killed it as a coach AND Gm as well
when Larry was young in very poor. and white French Lick Indiana, he would go to the courts after school and watch the waiters and busboys at the hotel, who were mostly black, play ball. They let him join and taught him his "style." He was always grateful to these guys and often says it in interviews. So yeah, ALOT of street ball and trash talk.
Larry and Magic had actually become good friends. They were once doing a commercial together and when it was time for lunch Magic headed for his trailor. Larry stopped him and asked him to come home with him as mama Bird had prepared their lunch. Larry's mom asked Larry, "did you tell him?" and Larry laughed and said to Magic, "you are my mom's favorite player!". When Magic first became ill, Larry called him to see how he was doing. Magic related this story and began to cry remembering how much it had meant to him. Both are really good men!
I remember that last story, in the documentary about their rivalry. Because, a lot of people at that point had basically abandoned Magic. But not Larry. What is in that shirt, about being friends forever, is the absolute truth. like you said, really good men.
I was fortunate to have seen Larry Legend play live at b the Boston Gardens. what a treat. it's often not known, but the old Boston Gardens (where I saw him play.) had no air conditioning. so post season season games were played in Boston summer heat with no a/c in that building also, Larry is also an Olympic gold medalist too.
Not only was Bird the third player (and the only forward) to make MVP 3 times in a row but In a 9-year run from 1980 to 1989, Larry Bird got 67% of all MVP votes that were cast. All other players combined only received 33% of the votes. in an era that included the players who eventually made up the dream team and a large list of HOF-ers
Larry used his brain way better than anyone else out there. Jordan made you look slow, but Larry made you look stupid.
That’s a great way to describe it. I will say, beyond his basketball IQ,(or at least equal to) was his heart, competitiveness, tenacity; whatever you want to call it.
Jamea Worthy
That’s aJames Worthy quote
They both made ppl look stupid. They did it effortlessly
Larry was playing Chess Jordan was playing checkers
There was no game the night of Bird's retirement. All those people were there for one man... Larry Legend.
Yes Sir, cause I was there that night... 2/4/1993...
Sold out by the way 👍🏻
@@English_MoFo only season ticket holders could go and picked from a lottery too.... packed house for sure.
If I remember correctly scalpers were selling tickets for 500 bucks
Larry Bird, as a little kid, learned to play basketball in French Lick, Indiana, from a group of black guys who were coming off their shifts at the local hotel and were playing basketball at a nearby court. He'd watch them play and they'd invite him to play with them, so he started learning that way.
He talks about it in the documentary Courtship of Rivals, which is an amazing documentary going through both his and Magic's careers.
hell yea
And he is still grateful to them for allowing him to play with them.
I can only imagine how proud of Larry the players are 😊
That was written about in his book. The book “Drive” is a must read if you want to know about Bird..Very difficult childhood….
Larry was incredible. He could not be intimidated. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said he was the best he played against.
Bird is still the only person inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame as a player, a coach, and an executive...
Dream team 92 hall of fame too
Bird was the most intuitive basketball player I've ever seen, especially with his passing. It's fun to see him getting his due from this generation.
He gets rid of the ball so quickly. I remember watching games and all of sudden the ball would be some place else and I literally couldn't figure what happened or how the ball got there.
@@busterkeaton1001 That is one of the things that sets him apart from most of the other elite passers. Many of the other greatest passers had the ball in their hands 80% of the time on the offensive end and had most of the shot clock to plan and set things up. Larry would often get similar results from tipping a lose ball or rebound. Sometimes it's questionable if you could even say he actually had possession of the ball because he just tipped it to someone else in a better position for an easy score. That's a very rare skill to be such an adept passer with split second timing and no time to plan or set up anything.
Caitlin Clark has Bird's IQ gift. Seems to know where players and ball will be at any given time.
LARRY LEGEND IS A UNICORN AND THE TRUE GOAT!!! 🐐 ☘️
I can attest to Bird's greatness because I was a Lakers fan, and he was the only opponent that gave me a stomach ache BEFORE the games. 😂
Celtics fan you have to admit we waited all year for the Lakers never disappoint everyone of them great games
Its like going up against Orr or Gretzky, going to be a long night, haha.
I'm 57 and spent my teens watching bird. Magic johnson gave me stomach aches whenever the celtics played the lakers.
As a Knick fan... I hear ya..He was a killer on the court. Also DJ was one of the most underrated players ever.
Celtics fan here. Had a seat behind the Celtics bench. The whole city and most of New England nearly shut down when the Lakers came, because we hated the Lakers ( just like how LA hated the Celtics! 🤬), and that it was going to the the best show you could ever get a ticket for. Simply incredible game between two of the best teams ever.
My uncle played pickup ball with Bird in French Lick Indiana when Larry was in high school. He said even then you knew Larry was going to be something special.
There was a large group of black workers who'd come up from Louisville and work in the French Lick resort hotel in the summer. Once they saw what Larry was about they took him under their wing and let him play basketball with them. Bird loved the competition and learned a lot from them.
That's awesome. Was your uncle one of those guys from Louisville?
The most awesome Larry Bird story I know is before he played a SINGLE game in college he was scrimmaging at Indiana State with a couple of ABA players who used to play for the IU coach, both of these guys are now in the Hall of Fame and they said coach that's the best basketball player I've ever played against. These were guys playing against prime DR J!
Hey, so great to see you outside your channel, and with a great corrolating sorry! Love your videos btw!
@@busterkeaton1001Maybe one was Roger Brown. But at the time Bird was not the best they played against. Maybe Bernard King or Gervin was better in 1976.
@@glennfromel5711 it was Mel Daniels and Roger Brown. They were giving their opinion. Mel Daniels said
"Coach, That’s the best damn player I’ve ever played against.”
And Roger Brown agreed.
Obviously they saw something.
Too bad NBA Execs looked at Bird differently. Bird was picked 6th Overall in the Draft. Roger Brown was a nice guy. That talk obviously was exaggerated. They could have said Bird has chance to become NBA Legend etc. Of course Bird out of High School put him about bottom level NBA. If Larry was best at the time then he did not improve much. GF
he dominated the nba from the moment he entered the league until he retired. the true goat, Larry Legend!
amen.
Larry Bird got some skills is an understatement.
One thing that isn’t mentioned often enough about Bird was his phenomenal work ethic. During the season every day before practice he would stretch for 20 minutes, run 5k, shoot 500 jump shots from all over the court, shoot 100 consecutive free throws (if he missed he started over), run the bleachers, go to practice, play a game and after the game would run another 5k, lift weights, do hundreds of core or plyometrics exercises and shoot another 500 jump shots and 100 consecutive free throws and call it a day.
In the off season he would still do his shooting drills and stretching/core/plyometrics and was known to ride around 300 miles/week on his road bike and run a 5k twice a day.
As a result Larry had some extraordinary physiological athletic markers. His VO2 Max was around 68, which is on the lower end of elite but exceptional for a man his size, his resting heart rate was around 28 (elite) and his lactate threshold was around 90% of his VO2 max (very elite). The last number is extraordinary as it means he could play at 90% of his peak physical ability for significant amount of time without fatiguing (like an hour at 90% of his max effort). That means though Larry was far from the fastest guy on the court he could still run you into the ground. MJ is the only basketball I know of who had these kind of numbers. Wilt probably did to but played before this kind of testing was common.
Yeah, I have no idea why people keep calling him "unathletic."
"There are many G.O.A.T.s but only ONE Legend". YT commenter that describes him PERFECTLY!
I was NO Celtics fan! But damn! Bird was the MAN! Personally I say he's the best ever!
The BIRD MAN, talked the talk and walked the walk. JUST THE FACTS.
Magic & Larry, resurrected the game of basketball......My dad loved basketball, but stopped watching, until the competition between Johnson & Bird was highlighted......What my Dad used to say, about Larry's game, is that it reminded him of someone, who was not only playing basketball, but also, volleyball, dodgeball, baseball, football, soccer, & strategic chess, all at the same time, and was what made him so great 😊He certainly was one of the most unique and gifted players, I have ever watched!
Bird's passing was so extraordinary because he had the uncanny ability of knowing exactly where everyone was on the court at any given time. You're absolutely right, next level stuff.
And he had an uncanny ability of figuring out how to get it to the right guy in a second.
A great player "in the zone" also knows where every player is *going to be*. 😎
Always fun to see someone become aware of Larry Bird
This guy from French Lick Idiana: had a basketball IQ that was pure Genius. He played with Broken bones (even his Back). He won the 3 point contest 3 times, He even competed without taking off his jacket. He wasnt the most physically gifted, but his intuition and sheer hustle and grit put him at the top. He flat humiliated opponents, not only with his play but verbally as well. He even played games where He decided to only shoot left handed all game, just because he could. He is one of only 3 players to win MVP 3 consecutive years, Bill Russell, Chamberlain and Bird. He is in the Hall of Fame not only as a player, but as a Coach as well. during his Retirement Ceremony Magic Declared Bird as the Goat. Bird play at a time when Basketball was 100 times tougher than it is today. So, to sum it all up, Bird IS the GOAT!
Larry played chess while everybody else was playing checkers. Without a doubt, the most fundamentally sound player in the game.
Ya but to be fair, people did say that chess/checkers thing about Donald Trump too, and now he’s going to prison.
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers That's because the people who say that don't realize that trump is too dumb to play checkers...
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers What does that have to do with Larry Bird?
@@BDUBZ49 People made the chess/checkers analogy about both of them. And since it was clearly not true in Trump’s case, the validity of the metaphor is thus called into question.
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers Using that same logic, should Larry Bird also go to prison just because the same thing was said about him?
There's nothing wrong with the analogy itself. And it can still be applied to both of them regardless of the end result. Making the comparison is quite a reach.
Fun Fact- Larry's retirement ceremony was NOT a game night!! It was an off night and the place still sold out in minutes!!...that's 100% love and respect!!! Also, magic had a boston shirt on under his warm ups. Larry pulled on the top a bit but irving opened the top to show the fans and they gave magic a stand ovation!!
The greatest all
around player in
NBA history ! 🐐
his stats PROVE it. I'd pick jordan1, then Bird. then Magic. Kareem.. and the 5th spot is always changing for me
The only person who ALWAYS beat M.J.
Wilt, Bird, Doctor, Magic and Pistol.....mj and Kareem off the bench
@@glockensig sometimes i go with hakeem. i was too young to see Wilt play so I typically wont include anyone prior to the 80s on my list plus Kareem got more rings. i'll take wilt off the bench tho.. or maybe as my starting center.. but Jordan, Bird and Magic are non negotiable for me.
@@soramirez5473 my team beats yours easily...
Who else would come back into a game with a fractured cheek, double vision and a concussion and take over and win the game. LEGENDARY.
It definitely wouldn't happen with the current players nowadays...
He was so street it scared people. Best hand eye skills of a big man ever. Best 2 minute player ever. And scared the living crap out of teams
That’s the real GOAT right there and it’s not that close
Bird was MVP 3 years in a row 84.85,86. He also won the 3 point contest the first 3 years they had it then retired from it. Pat Riley famously said he if he needed a player to make the last shot to win the game he'd take Michael Jordan. If he needed a player to make a shot to save his life it would be Larry Bird.
I grew up watching Larry and he is the best player i ever saw. An assassin of the highest order who had ice water running thru his veins.
Loved your reaction. Please react to more "Larry Legend" and you will continue to be amazed. Yes, he was as tough as they came and played through many injuries that would have sidelined others for many games or maybe even forever......mangled trigger finger on his shooting hand, double achilles surgery, fractured orbital socket, fractured cheek bone, and most importantly a broken back.
Plus the bone spurs that kept him,out for a season.
That era of basketball was so much fun. Whether your favorite team was on t.v. or not there was always a great game to watch with at least a couple of phenomenal players playing.
For about 10 years I watched a game on t.v. almost every night and the squeaking of the basketball shoes on the court drove my wife up the wall.
As an old man I can tell that not only basketball was better, music was better, movies were better and life was a lot cheaper. Just a fact.
@@stephanetrembley6180 It does suck getting old. But I think you and I as old farts will agree. We lived through and experienced a lot of cool things in our lives that the younger generations will never get the chance to.
It sucks even more if you are a Vikings fan like me! 50 years of misery and more to come...@@Al-rs2rr
The modern era of the nba is by far the best era and most fun to watch.
BIRD was founder of 50/40/90 club, 3 time consecutive MVP and the only player to average 24+ pts 10+ reb 6+ asst for an entire career. Only player ever... You haven't seen enough BIRD to know it yet, but he is the GOAT.
The 3 consecutive MVP is a bit of a tree that hides the forest. The 3 consecutive MVP is great, but another huge thing is that for 8 consecutive years, Bird was either 1st or 2nd in that MVP race. Not a single off season for 8 years...
Larry Bird is from French Lick, IN. Look it up. As of the 2010 census it was 1807 people. My SW Indiana hometown (Mt. Vernon) was about 3.5 times that. I attended ISU from 1981-1985, after Bird graduated. When I walked to the ball games from my dorm the last block was Larry Bird Blvd.
magic and larry weren't just rivals. they were the best of friends. they bonded while shooting a nike commercial at his mother's house in his hometown of french lick, indiana. after magic retired due to his HIV, damn near everyone abandoned. the only people who stuck with him was aresino hall and larry.
so when magic said "a friend forever", that wasn't just him being nice. they are like brothers.
Converse commercial, not Nike. But the point stands.
Not 100% true. Magic did have some other support around the league, most famously Rony Seikaly, who was playing with the Heat at the time. But Bird was one of the first people to speak to Magic on the night it was announced. Some high-profile players (Karl Malone, I think, was one) did either believe or say some derogatory things about Magic at the time.
Yes! Converse Shoes were Limousines for the Feet!@@imweakfordeaky
Karl Malone was against Magic playing on the dream team. but he was hurt mostly by Thomas who was supposed to be his friend but made comments about him must being gay@@SteveGellerMusic
In his peak 5 years there has never been anyone better. Led the league in defensive win shares 4 times. 3 mvp's in a row, sandwiched between 3 runners up.
The retirement ceremony was not on a game night. That's crazy, they packed the gardens for no game.
Best small forward ever possibly the greatest team
Player ever
Larry bird got skills for days. He got tricks in every category from psychological warfare against entire teams to trick shots/passes that use to make even MJ shocked. Bird was the type of person who could turn a good team into a great team. You are just beginning to look down a rabbit hole full of some of the greatest tricks of all time.
One thing that is missed is that back then, every team had a heart, whether it was Larry, Magic, Thomas, Doctor J, MJ etc. It didn't matter if they had an off night shooting, they all managed to beat you another way. There is one clip and shot that stands out in Bird's career. Last shot against the Lakers. Larry takes the shot and he misses. Everyone who saw that game and shot was like it's over. That's the sign of greatness. The ability to get and take the last shot and miss. That is the fear he put in the opposition and hope for others. Even to this day you see that clip and you know he misses it, but you still think it is going in.
Larry is the only guy to win Rookie of the Year, League MVP, Finals MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. I dont think that will ever be topped.
I was hoping he'd win as a coach and executive too
Also was National Player of the Year in college.
Comes back out with a fractured cheek and leads the comeback to take his team to victory. Just unreal.
I think the only player Bird ever shook hands with before a game is Magic but it took a long long time .
I remember him shaking hands with David Robinson pre-game at least once. 1991 vaguely sticks in my head, but I don't remember well enough.
I have a tee with them passing each other on the court and fist bumping. Its my second one, wore the first out.
Bird was the coldest, most skilled player in history. React to his Greatest Passer re-edit version, or any of his legendary games. Subbed!!!
Larry was born in French Lick Indiana. He grew up playing with the people who worked in the hotels. He said he liked playing with them they were black and they were the best at that time
1980s to the late 90s were THE Golden age of the NBA. I miss those years.
I was introduced to basketball thru Bird and Johnson!
Short story long; some guy had tickets left for him at the tennis club i played at. The guy never showed up so myself and the head tennis pro grabbed them and we headed to the Old Garden an hour or so before the start of the game, around 1983 opening game for the season. We pulled up to the Garden and there was a free street level parking spot right in front. So we go in show our tickets and we were directed to lower level seating. Ends up our seats were basically where the Bruins bench was located. All the aerial camerawork you can see the passing lanes. At court level two things stood out:
1) how big the players really are
2) the passing lanes at court level appear non-existent, there wingspan was huge.
It was truely eye opening how great these players are
He was from Indiana ! His basketball IQ was off the charts ! He’s definitely top five of all time. A lot of people don’t like to say it, but you can’t hide from the truth he played almost his whole career injured. !
He broke his hand before he ever played a pro game. He said it affected how he shot and that he was an even better shooter before the broken hand.
@@mmbs3191 He couldn’t even sit on the bench he had to lay on stomach because of his back !
@user-fk2is1bf3e the back injury was midpoint of his career when he installed the driveway at his mom's home in the off season. The broken finger was in a baseball/softball game with one of his brothers in college right after Boston drafted him his junior year.
I remember my parents would host parties when it was a bird vs. magic night. It was such an exciting time. Those two really made basketball fun to watch.
Those Celtics vs Lakers battles back in the mid 80's were intense. Must watch TV from coast to coast. Keep in mind, there was no air conditioning in the old Boston Garden and those Celtics vs Lakers games occurred in late June. It was ridiculously hot in that building.
Everyone else was playing checkers -- Larry was playing chess...& I watched him play in person @ BG. I am so grateful for that experience.
His coaches taught him the fundamentals in school. Black players taught him the swag in the park.
When you're one of the only White dudes playing a game dominated by brothers, you HAVE to be able to talk sh*t and stand your ground.
Otherwise you get eaten alive.
Yeah, when he was still in high school he played with the hotel workers in French Lick. They were grown men. Was the best training ground.
He sought out the best players in town to play with and against, and that was the guys working at the hotel laundry. Older guys, while he was still in high school.
Not the park, out back of the hotel in French Lick. They were the guys that worked in the hotel or on the grounds and they taught him toughness
@@jamesshepherd9415 You are fake news. In reality, a lot of the black guys he played with worked at the hotel and went to the park to play after work.
The Garden was sold out with people still outside for Larry Legend’s retirement ceremony…and there wasn’t even a game scheduled that night.😎
The game where he fractured his cheek he was seeing double vision. Two goals. Two everything.
#HOG in the house. Love your Tom reactions. There is a crazy vid that just shows Birds passes. There is a time where he literally either gets a rebound or after a made shot of him throwing full court passes like he is Tom Brady. Hits them in stride, sometimes with players right there. One is a 2/3 court bounce pass between 2 defenders. Larry Bird was the original last second shot to win the game assassin. He took the team with the worst record the year before he arrived, with the same exact team, went to the playoffs with the biggest turnaround win wise at that time. The 80's were not only a time with the most talented players, the ABA had fallen and 4-6 teams were taken in by the NBA, but the talent was off the charts. Every tea, had practically 2 legit all stars, because they had not expanded to far yet. But the 80's and early 90's were basically no blood...no foul street ball. The altercations and fights were crazy. Because Bird would dive after balls, it really shortened his career. He was league MVP three years in a row just before his back gave out. there seemed to be a Larry Bird highlight on Sports Center most nights. Pat riley said one time....if i needed a last minute shot to wn the game, Michael Jordan is my guy. But if i needed a last minute shot to save my life, Larry is my man. He was an all around player, and killed you with whatever was required of him in that game. If it was assists, if it was rebounds, if it was defense, his steal numbers and blocks are impressive.and at times his shot seemed to never miss. The bigger the game, the biggerthe erformance.
#33 is my favorite player even though he was before my time. He's amazing.
“If I needed a player to make a shot to save a game, I’d choose Jordon. If I needed a player to make a shot to save my life, I’d choose Bird” Pat Riley.😎
Larry is the king of distrespectful but you gotta respect it
he made moves and passes not because he practiced them, but because they occurred to him at the time
Yes, absolutely 👍
He had the fastest thinking 'basketball brain' in the league.
That's not true at all. Basketball skills take alot of time and practice.
He practiced more than anyone. Wtf are you talking about
My goat! He was 5 steps ahead of everyone else. He knew what had to be done and he did it!!!!
Great reaction. Thanks! Bird was the best small forward ever. I watched him from the beginning all the way until his bad back made him retire. The night before a big game Bird could be found at a local bar drinking everyone under the table and getting into fist fights. Only 3 players in NBA history ever won 3 MVP's in a row - Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Larry Bird.
Two Pat Riley quotes about Bird:
1) "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."
2) "He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!"
It’s a joy to watch others enjoy Larry Bird highlights. Thanks for sharing.
In a Sports Illustrated interview, he got asked his greatest moment in basketball. He said he got home to his house in Indiana, and there was a deflated ball under one of the baskets on his home court. He picked it up and threw it full court swish. Then he walked down and picked it up, and threw it all the way back swish. That was what he loved. Just the game, nothing else.
He said he would have played for free if they wanted him to.
4:10 "it's like he's the best player on the court".... he was the best player in the nba from 1981-88 (8 season stretch where he received 67% of all mvp votes cast, and finished 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 2 for mvp in that stretch). 1st team all nba in his first 9 seasons (80-88).
1980 ROY, 4th in mvp.
Overall talent, in every aspect of the game combined, I've never seen anyone better in my 51 yrs
AFTER achilles surgery on both feet caused him to miss the entire 88-89 season (after playing 6 games and realizing he couldn't), he came back with a 2nd team all nba in 89-90 with 24.3/9.5/7.5, 1.4 steals in 75 games on 47% FG and 93% FT. (and he had already been playing with a bad back since 86)
9:35 playing hurt was common in those days.... not to the extent that he did. Check out 4 (or5) times Larry was hurt and refused to quit (can't remember if it's 4 or 5 on that video). He was tougher than anyone at playing hurt. It's the type of injuries he played through... in the intance you saw here, it was fractured cheek, possible concussion, and double vision. His head smacking the floor had actually knocked him unconscious for a second or two
Saying Larry Bird has some skills is an understatement!
Prime Bird was unstoppable; the year he won his Third 3 Pt Title; the year he won with his warm up on, actually scared MJ a bit; Bird was the mold of themodern Small Forward, yet NONE that have come since have his complete game.... some have aspects His left handed game, he ended up with a 40+ point Triple Double; He was not medically cleared to return when he broke his face. He was seeing double, yet came back out and dominated, WITH A BROKEN FACE; look atthe look on his face at 10:28 and 10:31.. He was staring DAGGERS
Loved your reaction!! You stopped the video to speak and more importantly you listened to everything. New follower here..now onto bird he was born and raised dirt poor in french lick Indiana he worked at a hotel and played basketball with the kitchen staff he was the only white boy and they upped his skills even though he already played his coworkers showed him street ball he incorporated into his already excellent game.
Larry wasn't just an amazing player, his impact on the game can't even be measured. The number of kids who started playing because of him is ridiculous, and his rivalry with Magic Johnson literally saved the NBA. There's been books written, TV shows, and documentaries made about it. The Celtics & The Lakers were the perfect match of style and geography. Grit vs Flash. East vs West. Boston vs L.A. And Larry & Magic were at the center of it all, propelling the NBA to ratings it had never seen. I'm 50, so this was happening through my teenage years, and I've never seen a rivalry quite like it.
And as far as Bird, They were calling him Larry Legend when he was still playing.
There are many players that are in the Goat conversation but there is only one Legend…….
Great reaction video. I appreciate how you watched the entire video without talking over many of the highlights like others do. You really do a great job! I was lucky enough to watch Bird and Magic in their primes. They were both on free TV all the time and I watched them a lot. Bird really was that good. Every night he could play at that level of intensity the entire game. And every game he did something special. Magic was great too! They became good friends. A couple things on this clip. The first person commenting was Dr. J. One of the first dunks he made was over Ralph Sampson who was 7'4". He won the first 3 3 point contests which were the only ones he entered. He was from a small town in Indiana. His dad committed suicide right before he got really special and did so because he could not feed the family and thought they would be better off with his small life insurance money. Very sad to lose your dad while in college. I have played and watched basketball my entire life. In my opinion the best player ever is Jordan! Curry and Bird are the best shooters ever! Kareem was the best who never gets much conversation but he was also amazing. He used to be Lew Alcindor! The best player talent wise was possibly Shaun Kemp but he could not play at a high level for long periods of time. When he went on a rampage he was unstoppable but he did not learn how to harness his game like Bird or Jordan!
You just opened
a can of Larry Bird !
You haven’t seen
nothin yet ! And ,
your right , Bird
was always the best
player on the court !
Larry Bird's biggest advantage was his brain power. He was playing chess on the court while the rest of the league was learning how to play checkers. He knew exactly what he was going to do and it didn't matter if he told the opposing player exactly what he was going to do and where he was going to do it, and they couldn't stop him. Everyone looks at him as a tall skinny guy who wasn't fast. Except he was a legitimate 6'10" and was solid and could be fast when he needed to be. When the Dream Team was getting ready for the Olympics, a squad of 8 selected college players were brought in to scrimmage with them, including Bobby Hurley, Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers. Some of the college players were going to their hotel rooms and ran into Bird in the hallway. The first thing was that he was BIG, not skinny. They said hello and Bird told them "we're going to wear you guys out !". But the first scrimmage went the way of the college guys because the pros were not as sharp as they should have been. Chuck Daly was so pissed he shut down the scoreboard because the media was coming in. At the next scrimmage Rodney Rogers, a great player, yelled at Bird, "Hey Larry, you haven't hit a jumper since '84 !". Magic heard this and stared Rogers down, and then proceeded to feed Larry the ball 8 or 9 times in a row. Rogers was guarding Bird, so every time he came down the court Bird told Rogers exactly what he was going to and where he was going to do it, and scored 8 or 9 times in a row. There are clips of this story all over YT.
When Red Auerbach said Bird played hurt, he wasn't fooling around. In either 1984 or 85, he injured his back building a driveway for his mom and he played the rest of his career in extreme back pain. He had to have his back adjusted before every game. He couldn't sit on the team flights, he had to lay in the aisle. Towards the end he couldn't even sit on the bench and laid down courtside. When he went to the doctor after the Olympics, the doctor was stunned at the condition of his back. He had several fractures and discs were all out of place up and down his spine and had to have extensive surgery to out it back together with screws and plates. He also lost another whole year because of bone spurs in both feet, and he had the surgery down on both feet at the same time. He was extremely tough in an era when toughness was necessary as the game was a lot rougher than it is now, lol. The thought of him playing an injury-free career is absolutely scary. I saw him play several times at Madison Square Garden and to say he was impressive is a massive understatement. If he was playing in his prime today, he would dominate, with his artistic trash talking he would get into the heads of pretty much every player, as maturity isn't a strong suit in today's NBA. And he did something in basketball that will never be done again. During his career he won Rookie of the Year, League MVP (3 times in a row), All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP (three championships). After he retired he won Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year for the Indiana Pacers, which he was a part owner of. No one will ever match those accomplishments.
I've seen a lot of Bird reactions. Yours is excellent! Great job.
Take note Larry won that 3 Point Competition without taking off his warm-up jacket. Thats a bad man.
Hustle and Heart. He played so hard!
That hook shot that Magic made... he was playing Center that game, because Kareem had gotten hurt.
Larry learned his skills in southern Indiana in French Lick. There were black employees of a resort near him where he played pickup games
When Bird was around 12 years old, he would go to this hotel and would play basketball with the employees there. All the employees were adults but they let him play anyway and he would get destroyed but he kept playing and kept getting better. His hometown is French Lick, Indiana.
Please do more Bird reactions!
3 consecutive MVP awards, first 50/40/90 guy, 3 Time World Champion, Olympic Gold Medal, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year
I'm sure I'm not the first to recommend it, but the HBO documentary on Magic-Bird (A Courtship of Rivals) is one of the finest sports documentaries you'll see. And it tells the story of two men who were mirror images of one another on the court and in their thirst for victory. It really show cases where they came from and what molded their games. It's wonderful.
Agreed!
Seconded.
There is a great Bird video of all his best passes.
If you want the full story of Larry Legend, watch the Documentary: Magic vs Bird, A Courtship of Rivals.
I think you'd like the mixtape on his passes. He hurled them across the court so many times!
Yes, he's the greatest passer of all time. As a young kid, I witnessed him grab a rebound in traffic, turn around, off balance and throw a 75 ft, left handed laser pass, to a sprinting Danny Ainge. The pass had prime Brady like accuracy. No player in his era, or now, could throw a pass like that using their week hand so accurately, let alone even have the balls enough to try it. 😊
@@jaredbracci3529 I saw one where he was taking the ball in from out of bounds directly under the basket and launched a laser side armed pass the length of the court to one of his streaking teammates.
That last part with Magic
They were more than friends
They were brothers
Basketball in the late 70's and 80's was the best!
Those great Celtic teams had four great players in order: Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson and Kevin Mchale. There was a special chemistry between all of them.
Also Danny Ainge was a solid player and they had Bill Walton as 6th man off the bench.
Larry Legend had probably the best fundamentals of any player ever. Plus he probably had the best basketball IQ of all-time!
That opening event was just for his retirement--there was no game that night. There are a ton of videos about his play. Check out his passing video, too. 'A Courtship of Rivals' is actually the best about Bird and Magic. The 'Dream Team' documentary is fine, as well. There are also a fair amount of clips about the physical side. He never back down from a fight--on or off the court. In that Pacer game, he broke his cheek bone and had a concussion. He was seeing double vision the whole back end of that game. Not a few minutes.
Watched that man hit some of the best off balance shots with hands in his face. Something else.
And you are exactly right about how they played defense back then…..that’s what made MJ so special flying through 3 guys at the rim and taking elbows to the face….play on.
Larry Bird not only came back out in the 3rd quarter with a fractured cheek and blurred vision, but wore no protective gear, no face mask AND took over the game winning it for Boston. Not only did I grew up in Boston in the 80's, but we have the same last name (no relation unfortunately). My favorite player of all time. I remember being at the gym on Feb 4th, watching his retirement on tv, EVERYONE there was, and there wasn't a dry eye to be found anywhere, that's how much he meant to the city, and most of New England. Larry Bird is a legend for a reason. It's not just a nickname or moniker... through blood, sweat and tears he EARNED that title!
I never tire of watching his highlights and stories. Larry Bird boasts a 23-11 record against Jordan over his career, with a dominant undefeated 6-0 record in the playoffs. It is important to note that Bird dominated against Jordan in the playoffs in a time when the Jordan was still young in his career and Bird was toward the end of his while suffering with chronic back injuries. A young and healthy Jordan vs Bird in his prime and healthy; it almost wouldn't be fair.
I mean the teams were super stack in Bird's favor, Jordan literally had no All-Star level teammate while Bird was on a team with FIVE hall-of-famers. Not to mention Jordan's teammates were literally crackheads doing drugs in between games at the earliest part of his career.
This was almost 7 years after he literally broke his back (summer of ‘85) shoveling gravel at his mother’s house. Played the rest of his career damaged. What if???
@@newerafrican I have another what if for you. If i remember correctly Bird was supposed to go play for Indiana Hoosiers. But before he graduated high school, he hurt his shooting hand badly. He had to retool his mechanics just to play again, but of course by this time Indiana had already pulled the offer. So he ended up with Indiana State Sycamores. So with how awesome he was, and all the amazing things he could do, what if he never hurt his hand ? ( if i remember him saying that he never felt the ball in that hand properly again )
It’s even better than that, Nadja! Bird injured his hand playing summer baseball AFTER he graduated from ISU in 1979. He had already been drafted by the Celtics and was in jeopardy of blowing a multi-million dollar rookie contract! His right index finger bore a permanent bend from that injury for the rest of his life. He also severely and permanently injured his back in the summer of 1985, causing him pain and limited movement for the last the last 7 years of his career. He’s an amazingly tenacious and talented man. @@nadjasunflower1387
@@nadjasunflower1387 Indiana University did not pull their offer. Bird enrolled in school and attended classes for the first month. He quit school and came home on his own accord. He quit due to feelings of being lost in the crowd and homesickness. The student body at IU is 10 times the population of his hometown of French Lick and he had never spent more than a few days away from home in his life.
One thing no highlight clip can convey about Larry Legend is how night in and night out he was the best ever in the clutch. If you needed a bucket to win a game he was the guy. No one ever did that better than Larry.
James Worthy had probably the best quote about Bird..."Jordan made you look slow. Bird made you look stupid."
In my opinion, Larry is the greatest all around basketball player in the history of the game. Nearly a perfect player...no flaws in his game.
If you love basketball, a must see is the 1992 Dream Team documentary. Epic. Everyone was glued to their tvs whenever they played. 11 future Hall of Famers on one team. It was a surreal time 😊 I still watch it almost every day and still get chills watching them play. And the players who came in together and saved the NBA, this was the last time that they played
Rookie of the Year, multi-time All-Star, Olympic Gold Medalist, Coach of the Year his first and only year as a coach, Team Executive of the Year.
he and magin johnson saved the nba man really saved it
People who LOVE Hoop and know the game know LB is a top 5 player all time, and one of the greatest winner's of all time. People who do not have LBJ above him. Watch making the case for Larry Bird as the goat, it will give you some perspective at how amazing he was. Killed it as a coach AND Gm as well
when Larry was young in very poor. and white French Lick Indiana, he would go to the courts after school and watch the waiters and busboys at the hotel, who were mostly black, play ball. They let him join and taught him his "style." He was always grateful to these guys and often says it in interviews. So yeah, ALOT of street ball and trash talk.
He also won nba coach of the year AND nba executive of the year. No one else has ever done that.
Larry and Magic had actually become good friends. They were once doing a commercial together and when it was time for lunch Magic headed for his trailor. Larry stopped him and asked him to come home with him as mama Bird had prepared their lunch. Larry's mom asked Larry, "did you tell him?" and Larry laughed and said to Magic, "you are my mom's favorite player!". When Magic first became ill, Larry called him to see how he was doing. Magic related this story and began to cry remembering how much it had meant to him. Both are really good men!
I remember that last story, in the documentary about their rivalry. Because, a lot of people at that point had basically abandoned Magic. But not Larry. What is in that shirt, about being friends forever, is the absolute truth. like you said, really good men.
I was fortunate to have seen Larry Legend play live at b the Boston Gardens. what a treat.
it's often not known, but the old Boston Gardens (where I saw him play.) had no air conditioning.
so post season season games were played in Boston summer heat with no a/c in that building
also, Larry is also an Olympic gold medalist too.
Not only was Bird the third player (and the only forward) to make MVP 3 times in a row but In a 9-year run from 1980 to 1989, Larry Bird got 67% of all MVP votes that were cast. All other players combined only received 33% of the votes. in an era that included the players who eventually made up the dream team and a large list of HOF-ers