My favorite Bird moment was in one of his 3-point contest wins... He needed to sink the last ball to win, and when he took that last shot, he turned to accept his trophy without bothering to wait to see if it went in.
@@AskTorin people are very jealous out there. You could have your whole life recorded and they'd still call you a privileged, a fake or whatever else.
Except Bird was in better shape than everyone else on the court. He would consistently run guys up and down the court until they were gassed and he was just getting started. Luka is great but dude was huffing with 4 min to go all finals.
@@calmlittlebuddy3721 well Bird better than Luke for multiple reasons. Also much better on defense. But the OP comparison is good offensively. You don't have to be super athletic to succeed on offense if you have great shooting skills and fundamentals and the confidence to do it.
Tbf Larry might’ve been unatheltic compared to other professional basketball players but he’s still way more of an athlete than anyone else watching this vid lol
@@BentleyOwens-tl6yz same. Never hit my 20ft long jump though. And I still tweak my hamstring after that 3rd degree tear 12 years later. Feels like a damn tennis ball sized knuckle popping in the back of your leg
Bird was way better athlete that people give him credit for. That whole ‘unathletic white boy’ thing was dreamed up by the media at the time to emphasize how much smarter he was than other players and remember, I thought people were tired of race being brought into everything,
Yet they are allowed to make a movie called...White Man can't jump. The World Record in the Triple Jump is held by a WHITE MAN FROM BRITIAN. The only man to jump 60 feet. And what about world record holders....Valery Brumell, Dwight Stones and Patrick Solenburg....all white. And since 1987 only 2 woman have held the World Record in the High Jump....both White. Yet this is not mentioned in the Press.
The NBA was becoming a slam dunk contest. Bird played technical basketball the way it was intended. Hence, he was hugely successful. Today, basketball is just a 3 point shot contest. Few are actually playing technical basketball !
Like Pat Reilly said “ if I could have 1 player take the last shot to save a game. It would be Michael Jordan , but if I had one player to take the shot and save my life … it would be… Larry Bird “ what people forget is that when he made this comment. Pat Reilly was the coach of magic and the showtime lakers !!! That’s pretty significant!!
Bird should have been the MVP in 1987. It was his best season. That year, Ainge, Parish, McHale, and Walton dealt with injuries all season and through the playoffs. Bird single-handedly pulled the Celtics to the NBA Finals again to face the more-talented Lakers. That year it just seemed the NBA felt it was Magic's time to be the MVP. Don't get me wrong: Magic was great. However, Magic was surrounded by a lot of healthy talent in 1987. Bird truly was the most valuable player in '87.
@@bpsactclass2218 Sometimes it happens that way. Bird had what may have been his best season individually..but his team won eight fewer games than in 86 (not Bird's fault, but nonetheless). But Magic definitely had his best season, and his team won 65 games. Jordan's coming in 2nd bothers me a lot more. He may have averaged 37, but his team still had a losing record.
That 1986 Celtics squad was ridiculous. Larry Bird such a beast and great player. One of my favorite players ever, mainly because he always came to play.
@@linusromey561 I thought of responding with the same. I remember when I was a hyper competitive teenager. Nothing out of bounds, just wanted to win, hated to lose. I was told it's not about winning, that this was not cool. I wish I could go back and say, "whatever" and keep on. I let that suppress who I am. Bummer.
18:38 It legitimately looks like Larry says "You guys wanna win the game?" as he looks around at his teammates. I have seen clips of his teammates and KC Jones telling stories about him asking that question and then answering with "Give me the ball and get out of the way." before hitting game winning shots. I have never seen actual footage of it though. Very cool!
You forgot that just a couple months before making his heart breaking exit from the Celtics. He would play with the best in the world and add a gold metal from the 92 Olympics to his accolades !!
Bird had SKILLS. He was "athletic," but in an unorthodox way. He had a "killer instinct" that served him well in the NBA. Not to mention, he was TOUGH as hell. You don't DOMINATE in a sport full of world class athletes without having athletic ability of your OWN. He and Magic Johnson had one of the greatest rivalries in pro sports history. They made the NBA the league it is today. Larry Bird was one of the GREATEST players in basketball history. BOTTOM LINE.
When I think of Bird, it's what he did in the most crucial minutes of a game. A rare switch inside him that lifted him into a super hero that transcended the sport into pure kinetic ballet
As a co-founder of Texas' first 24/7 crisis center, I can say that you're losing your father as such a young age to suicide if something that Larry never got over. People don't get over something like that, but they may work through it. I'm not sure Larry ever worked through it. My heart goes out to him in his family.
Larry was just built differently, physically but most importantly mentally. He was fearless, and he knew was inherently better than every one else. When the skill matched the confidence, you got Larry Legend.
Larry was a tactician. Dude has INSANE instincts. He was almost always three steps ahead, with great strategy. One of his greatest skills though, was getting in the head of his opponents. If you let him in, it was over.
@@tyrnip7868 Google tells me that he had a 28" vertical and that this is the average of the NBA. So these claims are disrespectful and the video seems racist to be honest.
@@christopherstein2024 also that 28” vertical you referenced is a standing vertical not a normal vertical. Average for SF in recent drafts were closer to 33”
@Tolstoy111 Jordan only won one playoff game before Scottie pipen joined him. And he had some really good teammates. I thought he was the greatest player ever. He only won one playoff game. Lebron, and I’m no lebron fan, took a bunch of scrubs to the nba finals. The year before bird played for the Celtics they went 29-53 and didn’t make the playoffs. The following year, birds rookie, they went 61-21 with an identical roster other than bird. They made it to the eastern conference finals losing to the sixers in 5 games. You telling me that the greatest player in nba history only ever won one playoff game, not series, in his entire career without pipen? That was the greatest single season turnaround in nba history until lebron outdid it in his rookie year. Bird orchestrated a 32 game turnaround as a rookie. Jordan is criminally overrated and benefited from expansion and rule changes. His championship wining years also coincided with a Lull in overall talent in the league. I’d take bird or magic any day over Michael Jordan. And it’s not even close.
@@JamesBuddell-fn6bz Those early Jordan teams barely made the playoffs. They were not good. His first year with the Wizards he had them on pace for the best record in the East till he got injured. Expansion affected all teams equally. The 90s NBA was tough and loaded with HOF-ers. Keep in mind that Jordan was a few years younger than Byrd was coming into the league. Only 21 - he took a while to bloom. Pippen was a bench warmer his rookie year. He was not impactful on the Bulls winning anything that year. And btw the Celtics also changed head coaches Byrd’s rookie year. It’s like Phil Jackson taking over for Del Harris on the Lakers. A new energy.
Magic and Bird did save basketball. Those two plus all the talent that came in at the same time. Dominique, Clyde the Glide, Rifleman, Chief, McHale, Johnson, Ainge, Cooper, McAdoo, Wilkes, Jabbar, Worthy, Byron Scott, Rambis, all sorts of talent.
@@A30_TKDah yes dale earnhardt, never heard of him it’s not like he was the face of what was one of the most popular sports in the country, while at its peak.
@@A30_TKD unironically the least obscure reference ever. If you don’t know who Dale Earnhardt is, that’s on you for living under a rock, not anybody else.
Thw 86 Celts were unbelievable, they were like the Globetrotters out there crushing the generals every night with beautiful play and trick passing- in actual NBA competition!
Larry Bird was the best college basketball player ever. He singlehandedly led unheralded Indiana State to the national championship game, where they finally lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. The Spartans had Johnson and a stellar supporting cast, while ISU had Bird and a bunch of stiffs. It's no coincidence that Indiana State has been a CBB non-entity before and since Bird.
It was ridiculous that Bird was not the 1981 NBA Finals MVP. Here were his stats for that series: Game 1 - 18 points, 21 rebounds, 9 assists Game 2 - 19 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists Game 3 - 8 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists Game 4 - 8 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists Game 5 - 12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists Game 6 - 27 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists Back then, the NBA "powers that be" did not comprehend the value of a triple-double and Bird was close to having three in that series.
That is the phrase. "The NBA's Ultimate Competitor"! With my limited exposure to players from b4 the 80's, I can only comment from my opinion. Kobe & MJ were definitely 🔥 on the same page. As far as work ethic, training, etc., I struggle to come up with any other names aside from those 3 men. There are so many categories. For example, in my opinion, Bill Russell was best player to play with the most honor & integrity while winning so much of the time. I don't care that his competition was underrated except for The Stilt. Most exciting with dunking, V. Carter, Blake & a hand full more. But as far as surpassing what the media thought & exceeding your genetics, Mr. Bird 🐦 is close to the top, if not The Top, to exceed his potential! Thank you very much for the content!
I wouldn't use 3-pointers as a metric for someone's shooting ability, at that time. Don't forget, 3-point shots weren't even a thing until 79 or 80. People thought 3-pointers were a gimmick, at first. Hell, look at Magic's 3-point stats, at that time, and I bet his numbers are the same or worse than Bird's. Great video, by the way. Thanks for all the hard work. peace
13:08 I have seen this left-hand-putback so many times from a lot of angles. It is still a mystery to me how he did it... Not only the change of hands in midair, not only the lefty... The angle in this finger-roll!! This is simply impossible!!! One of the most amazing shots of all time in my opinion... Tanks Larry for the great memories!
These two legendary players spurred the beginning of the explosion of worldwide popularity for the NBA. The interesting thing is that we are seeing a similar parallel now in the female counterpart league WNBA...All it takes is a couple of dynamic ultra skilled winning players to spark the explosion 💥
no , magic and bird saved the nba to exists longer than early 80s ... jordan made nba what it becomes now world wide ... im from germany and late 80s the world wide basketball was a different game to nba ;) that is nowadys different because mj inspired millions of teenager wanna be like mike ... even my mom knows who mj is and she wasnt into sports in anyway ;)
Ok, I gotta say this… Larry was awesome “yes” McHale and Parish were awesome “yes” Dennis Johnson was great “yes” But Danny Ainge gets left out of the discussion almost every time - and that’s a crime. - Ainge was a 6’5” guard who could shoot the lights out from the perimeter, and was as scrappy and smart as anyone else in the league. A 3-sport all American in college, and one of the NBA’s best executives after retirement, Danny was one of the league’s best #2 guards of his day.
And by dominated the NBA, we mean being really good, winning 3 rings, making All Star teams, but losing to his #1 rival Magic two out of three times in the Finals, and his rival also won it all five times, two more than he did.
While still an active player, ESPN was calling him "Larry Legend" the last couple years of his career when showing Celtics highlights........still none to this day have acquired such a moniker. Legend indeed!!!!!!!
jordan said that getting his shit wrecked by bird made him a better player and leader. that's just the kind of player bird was. everyone stepped up, either to play with him or against him.
Best description !!!! We never had cable but I had an old black and white TV that could pull in Boston 38 and 56 for Celts, Bruins, Sox. LOL i'm in my 60's, do the math, I never knew there was a New England football team until my 30's.
I used to work for NBA TV way back in the day as a security officer and that's when I first found out about Larry Bird (they had a huge picture of him on one side of the wall) and yeah, this dude was great haha.
Larry Bird was a fine athlete; you couldn't play in the NBA and not be. He just wasn't an innately freakishly good athlete like some of the other GOAT contenders. But give the man his due, he put the work in and could run and jump as hard as he needed to for as long as was required.
People forget how great Bird and Magic were. BOTH WERE ROOKIES. Magic led the Lakers to the finals to eventually win it. Bird was a rookie and led a terrible Celtics team the year before to the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to the 76ers. Look how two rookies that took teams that were mediocre and took them to another level. Brid would win the next year in 1981, but those two REALLY DID save the NBA.
i always thought it was funny his name was Bird and he looked like a Bird. I was a toddler in boston during his peak and thought he was related to big bird frfr lol
He was very quick for 6’10” coming into the league is first 5 to 6 years before back injuries and age got off the phone. Also his vertical leap was a standing 28 inches which was the league average without a run up in the same as the mailman, Karl Malones. His endurance with 1st rate and eye-hand coordination was outstanding.
I don't even ever watch hoops or sports in general, but this was super interesting. I literally watched the whole video sitting uncomfortably on the floor.
Folks seem to get confused w/ athleticism and fitness, especially in Bird’s era, athletes didn’t “work out” they played their chosen sport. Bird was a gamesman, he took the rules of his sport and exploited them to every advantage mixed w/ his natural attributes and that’s that, it ain’t rocket science.
French lick in is small but has couple great golf courses, the Donald ross Hill course very difficult i usually played it once or twice a Year and they now have a great championship course. Bird had it all could score from anywhere shoot over anyone including kareem, Robinson etc, fast hands and physical. He was everywhere because he always was thinking ahead. Im fortunate to live forty minutes from french lick. Good fishing and forests.
I was born into a family that had Lakers season tickets literally since they moved to Los Angeles but I cannot deny that Larry Bird was possibly the greatest ever during his time, and I secretly rooted for him .. when he wasn't playing the Lakers of course. :) I'm 53, so I been very fortunate to live through multiple Lakers dynasties but Larry and the Celtics were the ONLY East team that ever really worried me each season.
I kinda know what you're getting at, and you're not wrong. But in Bird's case he wasn't a superstar yet and had no real promise of ever being one when his Father died. He had left Indiana University and gone back home to somewhat anonymity working the garbage man job. It was only sometime after his Father's death that he went back to basketball and Indiana State.
Your theory doesn't take into account the "superstars" who didn't have a death or other tragedy in the family OR the population that are not "superstars" who do suffer tragedies.
BIRD TALKING TRASH WAS Psychological warfare. Making players THINK too much disrupts the thought process and interrupts the desired effect!! BIRD GOT INTO THEIR HEAD AND CREATED CHAOS AND RUINED THEIR ABILITY TO OVERCOME THAT FACT!! BRILLIANT!!!;
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Subscribe while you're here:)
Why?
Great video man I don't even watch basketball and I watched the whole thing great work.
Its criminal this dude aint got more subs,great vids since the start
Subbed. Fantastic video, please what is the song around 12:00?? I need to know
No bro…
My favorite Bird moment was in one of his 3-point contest wins... He needed to sink the last ball to win, and when he took that last shot, he turned to accept his trophy without bothering to wait to see if it went in.
@Kiddman32
Stuck his finger in the air and turned his back to the shot. He never even removed his warm up jacket. The man was the shit!
Jordan laughed about that when he was watching "he never even bothered to take off his starter jacket".
"i'm looking to see who is coming in second".
Bird and Pistol Pete were phenoms
Lmao
Dude grew up poor and hit with tragedies. Wild people still call him privileged. Brilliant career really.
Those would be racists that claim to be SJW/woke/whatever they call themselves now. People that claim you can't be racist against White people.
It's because he's white isn't he?
Aha yes, that poor privilege.
He had that "Dad killed himself after years of drinking problems" privilege too.
Truly privileged.
@@AskTorin people are very jealous out there. You could have your whole life recorded and they'd still call you a privileged, a fake or whatever else.
@@AskTorin🤡
Hard work. That simple. He was highly skilled and had the confidence needed to execute those skills. Lukas doing the same now
lol what?
@@gedezarx luka is deff 2.0.
you have small brain. Larry had big brain lol
Except Bird was in better shape than everyone else on the court. He would consistently run guys up and down the court until they were gassed and he was just getting started. Luka is great but dude was huffing with 4 min to go all finals.
@@calmlittlebuddy3721 well Bird better than Luke for multiple reasons. Also much better on defense. But the OP comparison is good offensively. You don't have to be super athletic to succeed on offense if you have great shooting skills and fundamentals and the confidence to do it.
Tbf Larry might’ve been unatheltic compared to other professional basketball players but he’s still way more of an athlete than anyone else watching this vid lol
Not to mention he is 6'9 which is tall even for NBA standards (6'6 is the current average)
I ran the 40 yard dash in 11 seconds
@@BentleyOwens-tl6yz same. Never hit my 20ft long jump though. And I still tweak my hamstring after that 3rd degree tear 12 years later. Feels like a damn tennis ball sized knuckle popping in the back of your leg
Not everyone is fat American
I can run a mile in 3 minutes
Bird was way better athlete that people give him credit for. That whole ‘unathletic white boy’ thing was dreamed up by the media at the time to emphasize how much smarter he was than other players and remember, I thought people were tired of race being brought into everything,
Yet they are allowed to make a movie called...White Man can't jump. The World Record in the Triple Jump is held by a WHITE MAN FROM BRITIAN. The only man to jump 60 feet. And what about world record holders....Valery Brumell, Dwight Stones and Patrick Solenburg....all white. And since 1987 only 2 woman have held the World Record in the High Jump....both White. Yet this is not mentioned in the Press.
Brumell....Stones...and Solenburg....all white.
@@danielbrown3461 Solenburg doesn't sound like a white name to me
@@shannon6365 He was a sweedish jumper.
@@shannon6365 Also try Stephen holm.
The NBA was becoming a slam dunk contest.
Bird played technical basketball the way it was intended. Hence, he was hugely successful.
Today, basketball is just a 3 point shot contest. Few are actually playing technical basketball !
And it's boring to watch
@@petergunn3614. It's become moneyball . Very boring.
What about Paul Mokeski?
@@jonhohensee3258
There are always exceptions.
I was just trying to make a general point.
@@randyhuke3773 Do you even know who he is?
Like Pat Reilly said “ if I could have 1 player take the last shot to save a game. It would be Michael Jordan , but if I had one player to take the shot and save my life … it would be… Larry Bird “ what people forget is that when he made this comment. Pat Reilly was the coach of magic and the showtime lakers !!! That’s pretty significant!!
NBA MVP voting in the 1980s
1980 - Kareem, Dr. J, Gervin, Bird (rookie oty)
1981 - Dr. J, Bird
1982 - Moses, Bird
1983 - Moses, Bird
1984 - Bird
1985 - Bird
1986 - Bird
1987 - Magic, Jordan, Bird
1988 - Jordan, Bird
1989 - out due to injury
Bird should have been the MVP in 1987. It was his best season. That year, Ainge, Parish, McHale, and Walton dealt with injuries all season and through the playoffs. Bird single-handedly pulled the Celtics to the NBA Finals again to face the more-talented Lakers. That year it just seemed the NBA felt it was Magic's time to be the MVP. Don't get me wrong: Magic was great. However, Magic was surrounded by a lot of healthy talent in 1987. Bird truly was the most valuable player in '87.
@@bpsactclass2218 - 100%
@@bpsactclass2218 Sometimes it happens that way. Bird had what may have been his best season individually..but his team won eight fewer games than in 86 (not Bird's fault, but nonetheless). But Magic definitely had his best season, and his team won 65 games. Jordan's coming in 2nd bothers me a lot more. He may have averaged 37, but his team still had a losing record.
8 years in a row top 2 player
@@natedg78 Yup. Legend.
That 1986 Celtics squad was ridiculous. Larry Bird such a beast and great player. One of my favorite players ever, mainly because he always came to play.
Incorrect. Larry never came to play, he ALWAYS came to WIN.
@@linusromey561 I thought of responding with the same. I remember when I was a hyper competitive teenager. Nothing out of bounds, just wanted to win, hated to lose. I was told it's not about winning, that this was not cool. I wish I could go back and say, "whatever" and keep on. I let that suppress who I am. Bummer.
"Larry Bird was a problem" - Michael Jordan
18:38 It legitimately looks like Larry says "You guys wanna win the game?" as he looks around at his teammates. I have seen clips of his teammates and KC Jones telling stories about him asking that question and then answering with "Give me the ball and get out of the way." before hitting game winning shots. I have never seen actual footage of it though. Very cool!
You forgot that just a couple months before making his heart breaking exit from the Celtics. He would play with the best in the world and add a gold metal from the 92 Olympics to his accolades !!
Anybody who plays in the NBA is highly athletic compared to the average Joe. There are of course varying degrees of athletic prowess.
This dude was just smarter and had more balls than anyone else. Every other famous basketball player is famous for their athleticism.
@@FirstName-zt2my i think dennis roddman was similar, didnt shoot a lot but man was the mvp for assists
@@optimumplatinum2640 Erm.. Dennis averaged 1.2 APG. He was a rebounding and defensive machine, though.
Yeah but it’s marginal. He’s definitely in the top percentile
@@FirstName-zt2myevery basketball player including bird is famous for their athleticism that’s the whole point of being an athlete
Bird had SKILLS. He was "athletic," but in an unorthodox way. He had a "killer instinct" that served him well in the NBA. Not to mention, he was TOUGH as hell. You don't DOMINATE in a sport full of world class athletes without having athletic ability of your OWN. He and Magic Johnson had one of the greatest rivalries in pro sports history. They made the NBA the league it is today. Larry Bird was one of the GREATEST players in basketball history. BOTTOM LINE.
Great athlete. Watch the footage. I saw it in real-time, and he was always beating my damn team..
When I think of Bird, it's what he did in the most crucial minutes of a game. A rare switch inside him that lifted him into a super hero that transcended the sport into pure kinetic ballet
Larry Bird gave PTSD the greats of the 90’s when they were developing in the 80’s.
My grandma has been president of the Larry Bird fan club for pretty much forever. She's an awesome lady.
Noo.. That's a good thing.
My dad grew up poor and played some college ball. Bird was his favorite of all time. I had a poster of him in my room as a kid.
There will never be another Larry Legend.
Bird and Mcale were the two baddest white brothers in the world. They dominated everyone they went up against.
McHale doesn't get the appreciation he deserves.. there were games he straight up saved because Bird was ice cold. Man was a monster in the paint.
Michale a Top 5 PF, behind Duncan, Malone, n close Barkley
Mchale😂
@@scoop333g6 If you never saw him play, be quiet until you watch him.
@@Cannon4545 He was laughing cuz op spelled it wrong.
Dude couldnt stop talking shit , he couldnt miss with that sweet stroke
As a co-founder of Texas' first 24/7 crisis center, I can say that you're losing your father as such a young age to suicide if something that Larry never got over. People don't get over something like that, but they may work through it. I'm not sure Larry ever worked through it. My heart goes out to him in his family.
Thank you for your work. You helped a lot of people. That's a good record to have.
Larry was just built differently, physically but most importantly mentally. He was fearless, and he knew was inherently better than every one else. When the skill matched the confidence, you got Larry Legend.
Larry was a tactician. Dude has INSANE instincts. He was almost always three steps ahead, with great strategy. One of his greatest skills though, was getting in the head of his opponents. If you let him in, it was over.
0:07 "Couldn't jump over a piece of paper" yet you show a clip of him dunking. JC 🙄
He’s 6’9 with a 9’1 standing reach. He needed only about 11 inch jump to be able to dunk
@@tyrnip7868 Google tells me that he had a 28" vertical and that this is the average of the NBA. So these claims are disrespectful and the video seems racist to be honest.
@@christopherstein2024 also that 28” vertical you referenced is a standing vertical not a normal vertical. Average for SF in recent drafts were closer to 33”
@@tyrnip7868 Larry Bird was drafted half a century ago, 46 years to be precize.
..Larry was a great athlete. I know; I saw him beat my team about one-hundred and two times..
Jordan never beat bird in the playoffs...
Because Jordan was on bad teams playing Celtics teams that were among the best of all time.
That Boston team was tough to beat!
That Boston team could no longer beat the Pistons, so it’s not MJs fault the Celtics couldn’t get past the Bad Boys.
@Tolstoy111
Jordan only won one playoff game before Scottie pipen joined him. And he had some really good teammates. I thought he was the greatest player ever. He only won one playoff game. Lebron, and I’m no lebron fan, took a bunch of scrubs to the nba finals. The year before bird played for the Celtics they went 29-53 and didn’t make the playoffs. The following year, birds rookie, they went 61-21 with an identical roster other than bird. They made it to the eastern conference finals losing to the sixers in 5 games. You telling me that the greatest player in nba history only ever won one playoff game, not series, in his entire career without pipen? That was the greatest single season turnaround in nba history until lebron outdid it in his rookie year. Bird orchestrated a 32 game turnaround as a rookie. Jordan is criminally overrated and benefited from expansion and rule changes. His championship wining years also coincided with a Lull in overall talent in the league. I’d take bird or magic any day over Michael Jordan. And it’s not even close.
@@JamesBuddell-fn6bz Those early Jordan teams barely made the playoffs. They were not good. His first year with the Wizards he had them on pace for the best record in the East till he got injured. Expansion affected all teams equally. The 90s NBA was tough and loaded with HOF-ers. Keep in mind that Jordan was a few years younger than Byrd was coming into the league. Only 21 - he took a while to bloom. Pippen was a bench warmer his rookie year. He was not impactful on the Bulls winning anything that year. And btw the Celtics also changed head coaches Byrd’s rookie year. It’s like Phil Jackson taking over for Del Harris on the Lakers. A new energy.
Magic and Bird did save basketball. Those two plus all the talent that came in at the same time. Dominique, Clyde the Glide, Rifleman, Chief, McHale, Johnson, Ainge, Cooper, McAdoo, Wilkes, Jabbar, Worthy, Byron Scott, Rambis, all sorts of talent.
I saved basketball.
Agree.
@@dariuscanuto Thank you.
The first basket ball player I learned about as a kid, what a legend.
History repeats itself with Luka Doncic at the new unathletic white guy taking over the league.
It means Athletic mean shit if doesn't have IQ clutch winner mentally, sacrifice for the team and so on ....
And Jokic isn't half as athletic or Larry or Luka.
I think we over value the athletic abilities of basketball players, at the end of the day the goal of the game is to put the ball in the basket
Larry legend is way good than Joker and Luka.
😂😂😂😂😂 y'all are funny shooting three's isn't dominating take that away and what's left 😂😂😂
All it takes is one person to change a life. That Indiana Head coach wanted him and knew he had something special he can see.
He had to pretty athletic thats like calling Dale Earnhardt a non driving sob!
Most obscure reference ever
@@A30_TKDah yes dale earnhardt, never heard of him it’s not like he was the face of what was one of the most popular sports in the country, while at its peak.
@@A30_TKD unironically the least obscure reference ever. If you don’t know who Dale Earnhardt is, that’s on you for living under a rock, not anybody else.
Yup..super athlete.
Thw 86 Celts were unbelievable, they were like the Globetrotters out there crushing the generals every night with beautiful play and trick passing- in actual NBA competition!
Larry Bird was the best college basketball player ever. He singlehandedly led unheralded Indiana State to the national championship game, where they finally lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. The Spartans had Johnson and a stellar supporting cast, while ISU had Bird and a bunch of stiffs. It's no coincidence that Indiana State has been a CBB non-entity before and since Bird.
It was ridiculous that Bird was not the 1981 NBA Finals MVP. Here were his stats for that series:
Game 1 - 18 points, 21 rebounds, 9 assists
Game 2 - 19 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists
Game 3 - 8 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists
Game 4 - 8 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists
Game 5 - 12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists
Game 6 - 27 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists
Back then, the NBA "powers that be" did not comprehend the value of a triple-double and Bird was close to having three in that series.
He didn’t get a single triple double 💀
May not be the GOAT but Magic and Legend saved the NBA . That's not up for debate.
Larry Legend was a beast! Beautiful story too, so inspiring.. 🏀
What was Kareem’s vertical leap? Nobody calls him unathletic because he is black
KAJ was a great athlete in the '70s, most remember his career in the '80s when he slowed down.
@@c.antoniojohnson7114 Lew Alcindor. ..Oscar Robertson. Nobody remembers that!
“I got bored” the goat
Were you out of breath on that 10:42 "rebuild"?😆
Larry is actually my great uncle, haven't seen him in a long time but I've become a local celebrity since I've moved to Boston
Proof bro 🙏
Great vid! One minor note, at 18:48, it was the Great Western Forum. Staples Center didn't open until the 99-00 season with the Shaq and Kobe Lakers.
The Bird Man GOAT
That is the phrase. "The NBA's Ultimate Competitor"! With my limited exposure to players from b4 the 80's, I can only comment from my opinion. Kobe & MJ were definitely 🔥 on the same page. As far as work ethic, training, etc., I struggle to come up with any other names aside from those 3 men. There are so many categories. For example, in my opinion, Bill Russell was best player to play with the most honor & integrity while winning so much of the time. I don't care that his competition was underrated except for The Stilt. Most exciting with dunking, V. Carter, Blake & a hand full more. But as far as surpassing what the media thought & exceeding your genetics, Mr. Bird 🐦 is close to the top, if not The Top, to exceed his potential! Thank you very much for the content!
I wouldn't use 3-pointers as a metric for someone's shooting ability, at that time. Don't forget, 3-point shots weren't even a thing until 79 or 80. People thought 3-pointers were a gimmick, at first. Hell, look at Magic's 3-point stats, at that time, and I bet his numbers are the same or worse than Bird's. Great video, by the way. Thanks for all the hard work.
peace
Even his intense rivalry with magic turned into deep friendship after his announcement publicly
The Staples Center? Thats cute. Try The Forum kiddo
13:08 I have seen this left-hand-putback so many times from a lot of angles. It is still a mystery to me how he did it... Not only the change of hands in midair, not only the lefty...
The angle in this finger-roll!! This is simply impossible!!! One of the most amazing shots of all time in my opinion...
Tanks Larry for the great memories!
Larry Bird was my favorite player growing up, although I was not a Boston fan.
I'm usually not too invested in sports but the script, editing and choice of footage got me hooked 🎣
Thank you for the wonderful video
These two legendary players spurred the beginning of the explosion of worldwide popularity for the NBA.
The interesting thing is that we are seeing a similar parallel now in the female counterpart league WNBA...All it takes is a couple of dynamic ultra skilled winning players to spark the explosion 💥
no , magic and bird saved the nba to exists longer than early 80s ... jordan made nba what it becomes now world wide ...
im from germany and late 80s the world wide basketball was a different game to nba ;) that is nowadys different because mj inspired millions of teenager wanna be like mike ... even my mom knows who mj is and she wasnt into sports in anyway ;)
Lol. No, the NBA was popular enough to make money before Bird and Magic showed up.
The WNBA will never be popular enough to be self-sufficient
Excellence in story telling!!!! Great job!!!!
LARRY LEGEND IS A UNICORN AND THE TRUE GOAT!!! 🐐 ☘️
Larry didn’t leave Indiana State University after 24 days, he left INDIANA UNIVERSITY. They’re different.
Thank you for the best vid on Larry Legend. I grew up amazed.😮
The aesthetics of an athletic body can sometimes differ from the reality of an athletic body.
great video! extremely underrated, subbed
8:20 Bird anticipates and STEALS an alley-oop pass. Love it.
Ok, I gotta say this…
Larry was awesome “yes”
McHale and Parish were awesome “yes”
Dennis Johnson was great “yes”
But Danny Ainge gets left out of the discussion almost every time - and that’s a crime. - Ainge was a 6’5” guard who could shoot the lights out from the perimeter, and was as scrappy and smart as anyone else in the league.
A 3-sport all American in college, and one of the NBA’s best executives after retirement, Danny was one of the league’s best #2 guards of his day.
And by dominated the NBA, we mean being really good, winning 3 rings, making All Star teams, but losing to his #1 rival Magic two out of three times in the Finals, and his rival also won it all five times, two more than he did.
While still an active player, ESPN was calling him "Larry Legend" the last couple years of his career when showing Celtics highlights........still none to this day have acquired such a moniker. Legend indeed!!!!!!!
jordan said that getting his shit wrecked by bird made him a better player and leader.
that's just the kind of player bird was. everyone stepped up, either to play with him or against him.
Best description !!!! We never had cable but I had an old black and white TV that could pull in Boston 38 and 56 for Celts, Bruins, Sox. LOL i'm in my 60's, do the math, I never knew there was a New England football team until my 30's.
I used to work for NBA TV way back in the day as a security officer and that's when I first found out about Larry Bird (they had a huge picture of him on one side of the wall) and yeah, this dude was great haha.
Amazing coverage if his career, felt like i was watching a proper documentary/movie
Best compliment I could receive! Thanks for the kind words.
Larry Bird was a fine athlete; you couldn't play in the NBA and not be. He just wasn't an innately freakishly good athlete like some of the other GOAT contenders. But give the man his due, he put the work in and could run and jump as hard as he needed to for as long as was required.
People forget how great Bird and Magic were. BOTH WERE ROOKIES. Magic led the Lakers to the finals to eventually win it. Bird was a rookie and led a terrible Celtics team the year before to the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to the 76ers. Look how two rookies that took teams that were mediocre and took them to another level. Brid would win the next year in 1981, but those two REALLY DID save the NBA.
Hard work beats skill when skill don't work hard. 💯
Larry Bird had advanced court intelligence.
i always thought it was funny his name was Bird and he looked like a Bird. I was a toddler in boston during his peak and thought he was related to big bird frfr lol
Bird man for life.
Bird probably one of my favorite players in the 80s . Right behind Zoe.
The definition of HEART
He was very quick for 6’10” coming into the league is first 5 to 6 years before back injuries and age got off the phone. Also his vertical leap was a standing 28 inches which was the league average without a run up in the same as the mailman, Karl Malones. His endurance with 1st rate and eye-hand coordination was outstanding.
I’ll preface this w saying that I am not a big sportsball fan but I had heard of the legendary Bird. With that being said this was an amazing video!
“Not a lick of athleticism”…come on man.
Yeah makes no sense 😂
I have so much admiration for Larry ! Him and Magic are the real ones ! 🏀🇫🇷👍
The Goat 🐐.
I love hearing greatest players of that time have to say about him.
I used to live 20 minutes from French Lick, Indiana. Bird is an absolute icon
“WHO’S READY TO COME IN SECOND?!” Absolute psycho energy lmao
Cool docu's and passion projects like this is one of the BIG reasons RUclips will take over Cable/Sat TV. well done.
Bird started out at INDIANA UNIVERSITY and left. GET IT RIGHT! I know it's Indiana, but there are multiple universities here.
Great review of Bird; he is one of the greatest of all time!
I don't even ever watch hoops or sports in general, but this was super interesting. I literally watched the whole video sitting uncomfortably on the floor.
Folks seem to get confused w/ athleticism and fitness, especially in Bird’s era, athletes didn’t “work out” they played their chosen sport. Bird was a gamesman, he took the rules of his sport and exploited them to every advantage mixed w/ his natural attributes and that’s that, it ain’t rocket science.
My dad idolized this guy and copied his moves for 20 years. When I showed zero interest in basketball, I think it broke his heart.
Watch hoopology, he funny af you finna be interested in a month❤
This man somehow made me interested in basketball
He was incredibly intelligent.
French lick in is small but has couple great golf courses, the Donald ross Hill course very difficult i usually played it once or twice a Year and they now have a great championship course. Bird had it all could score from anywhere shoot over anyone including kareem, Robinson etc, fast hands and physical. He was everywhere because he always was thinking ahead. Im fortunate to live forty minutes from french lick. Good fishing and forests.
On Double Dribble on the NES Larry Bird would pretty much never miss the three-point shot as long as you released it right at the top of the jump.
I was born into a family that had Lakers season tickets literally since they moved to Los Angeles but I cannot deny that Larry Bird was possibly the greatest ever during his time, and I secretly rooted for him .. when he wasn't playing the Lakers of course. :) I'm 53, so I been very fortunate to live through multiple Lakers dynasties but Larry and the Celtics were the ONLY East team that ever really worried me each season.
It’s crazy how all the “superstars” always lose a family to some sudden tragedy. That’s the sacrifice they never talk about.
I kinda know what you're getting at, and you're not wrong. But in Bird's case he wasn't a superstar yet and had no real promise of ever being one when his Father died. He had left Indiana University and gone back home to somewhat anonymity working the garbage man job. It was only sometime after his Father's death that he went back to basketball and Indiana State.
Your theory doesn't take into account the "superstars" who didn't have a death or other tragedy in the family OR the population that are not "superstars" who do suffer tragedies.
great video! get a plosives shield for your mic tho, i can feel the air
BIRD TALKING TRASH WAS Psychological warfare. Making players THINK too much disrupts the thought process and interrupts the desired effect!! BIRD GOT INTO THEIR HEAD AND CREATED CHAOS AND RUINED THEIR ABILITY TO OVERCOME THAT FACT!! BRILLIANT!!!;
Thank you. Great cover article.
The Best I was lucky 🍀 enough to get to see!
I was around to see when Larry was in college and the NBA. Now I am around to see Nikola Jokic and Caitlin Clark. Lucky me.
Caitlin give me Bird vibes, I hope she picks up the trash talking.
Will listen to it when YT stops pushing an ad every 3 minutes
My all time favorite player.😎👍🏿