MJ has always said Bird was the very best he’s ever played against/with…got Birds autograph when I was 15 in 96…Gatorade was doing some charity event at the hotel The Dolphin in Disney World…was late at night and the elevator doors opened and there the man was…and he seems like he’s 7ft in person…he was so cool and asked for a bite of my ice cream cone which o had just gone and gotten…I go to give it to him and h laughed and said “Jesus son”…lol…he signed a receipt I had….I asked him, “excuse me sir, are you Larry Bird?”..he goes, “last time I checked I was”…such a great man
I cannot argue with that. Not that this matters , but I'm a 47 year old Blackman, and I'm telling you straight up..... every time I watch Larry Bird highlights , I cry. He was incredible. I have nothing but respect for Mr . Bird aka Larry Legend. Definitely the GOAT and or top 3 ever ever ever.
I love how people always say like 'well Jordan was still young.' as if bird didn't take a losing team before he entered and made them nba champs his second year in the league.
If I’m building a team I’m starting with Bird. I had Lakers season tickets during showtime, and I was fortunate to see the greats including Magic, Bird, and Jordan in their prime. And I’ll tell you, watching Bird in person was a treat I’ll never forget. He always found a way for his team to win a game. He was absolutely brilliant. Magic was my guy in LA, but we all realized who was the best. And sadly, due to Bird’s back problems, we’ll never know just how much more he could have achieved had he gotten to play longer. In my book, Larry is where you start building your team.
Bird is up there, but in no way shape or form do I pick any of them over Duncan or Russell. larry would be my #3 but those 2 impact defensively and Duncans best ever 2 way player, along with his longevity make them 2 the most important players ever if you are starting a franchise. This is why this debate is so fun for non biased fans. Many players have claim and arguments for being the goat.
@@scottrackley4457 Timmy is the best defender of all time. He completely obliterates him. Anyone thinking otherwise is just yet another fool. Timmy is twice the player Hakeem was.
@@scottrackley4457 yup and thats because he was challenged. timmy didn't get challenged. Timmy has a better defensive stats in all the important categories. Timmy had more playoff stats too by a large margin. Defensive rating, defensive +-, you can look at every advanced stat and it isnt even close. Hakeem wasnt even as good as robinson.
With Michael, you can tell what he's about to do, and still you can't stop him. With Larry, HE tells you what he's about to do, and still you can't stop him.
Jordan, NEVER beat Larry in the playoffs - Never. He was the only player Jordan could not beat in the playoffs and MJ said its still burns to this day.
You should really look into not only Larry Bird's playing, but how he fought against physical problems. A shattered knuckle in 1979, major back problems in 85 that got worse, face fractures and eventual Bilateral Achilles tendon and bone spur surgeries. And he still played after the surgeries. Larry didn't retire because he was at the top of his game, he retired because he couldn't feel his feet at times and wanted to continue to be able to walk. He had his spine fused after he quit.
the players in the 80's and early 90's so so good, and there was alot of them ALWAYS pushing each other to be better. It was the greatest era of basketball.
The player saying he’d rather guard MJ than Bird is MJ’s former teammate at North Carolina, James Worthy. He knew MJ well. Worthy also said “MJ made you look slow. But Bird made you look stupid.” BTW, the Celtics were 26-56 in 1979, the year before Bird arrived. The next year after adding ONLY Larry Bird? 61-21! And the next year, 62-20, and his first NBA Championship. After beating Dr. J, Moses Malone, and the hugely talented Philadelphia 76ers in the ECF. Bird won an NBA championship in only his second year in the league. Bird was unreal.
Bird played with entire team of hof players . Played Jordan when MJ was a kid on horrible team . Jordan torched Celtics team... scoring at will thru double n triple teams with 63 After the game bird said MJ is the best basketball player he'd ever seen , he has no weakness he can't be stopped , that's no basketball player that's God disguised as Jordan. Bird lost in the finals twice with hof teams . MJ 6 wins zero losses Bird was right , MJ can't be beat . Bird also asked , who would win one in one ? Bird laughed , come on... nobody could beat MJ one on one .
@@rongee4433 Jordan was 0-6 against Bird and the Celtics in the playoffs, not the other way around. MJ is the best individual player, I agree, but basketball is a team sport. And even MJ couldn’t get the Bulls to win an NBA title until Scottie Pippen came along. It took Jordan 10 years to win his first NBA title. Bird took a 29-53 1979 Celtics team and in his first year in 1980 they went 61-21 - after only adding Larry Bird! And in Bird’s 2nd year, the Celtics won it all. Both players are great. But Bird made his whole team great on DAY ONE. Bird/Celtics would have won it all in ‘85 if Bird hadn’t broke his shooting hand in a bar fight in Philly (and they STILL eliminated the 76er’s with Dr J and Moses Malone!). And he would have won more titles if he hadn’t injured his back putting in a driveway (I kid you not!) for his mom in the off-season in the late ‘80’s. Bird was more dangerous than Jordan because he could get his team to beat you in so many ways, even if he himself didn’t score. And his dagger 3’s at the end of games are legendary.
Shaq over Bird...... c'mon I love Shaq but he just slipped outta my top 10. But yeah you don't know the older players. My top 10: Bird MJ Wilt Magic Kareem Russell Kobe Duncan Hakeem Lebron 11. Shaq Curry O. Robertson
Yeah, but when they met in the playoffs, Bird had McChale, Parrish, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Bill Walton. MJ had Dave Corzine and Charles Oakley.
Bird owned the Bulls in 1991 when the Bulls were loaded? Bird made his teammates better. The 1991 Celtics were old and injured and still better than MJ, Grant, Cartwright, Pippen, and Paxon
@@MarkKolter-jj7eglol , bird didn't even make the finals where as in the bulls won the championship . Bird 3 wins 2 losses in finals with hof teams . Jordan 6 wins 0 losses in finals . As Larry said when young kid Jordan torched the entire hof team Celtics with 63 ..... Jordan is the best basketball player he's ever seen , he has no weakness , unstoppable , that's God disguised as Jordan .
I'm an Atlanta native - but during the 1980s I was a huge Celtics fan, and my hero was Larry Bird!! I loved to watch the Celtics play, especially against the Pistons because something wild usually happened with Bill Laimbeer on the court. Pro basketball was so much fun back then!
I was at game 4 in 88 Celtics v Hawks. The Omni. Celtics lost that game but won the series. I was sitting behind the goal in Atlanta bench side. Maybe 12 rows up.
Jordan once said that Bird was the only player that scared him. He said that playing against Bird was like Larry was living inside his head and knew what Jordan was going to do before Michael himself knew what he was going to do. Sure, Larry had skills, but he also played the game on a different level than everybody else.
I grew up in the 80s in the town near Boston and Larry Bird was my freaking idol. All the stuff they say about him is totally true. You’d see him do these things on the court and it was like he was magician, this sleight of hand trickery.
Absolutely LOVE Bird. One of my top 5 all time favorites for sure. Love Larry Legend. But I’m taking Jordan every time, brother. Although it is close, and a tough choice, Jordan is the goat.
Where bird comes in on any person's list for a dream team is secondary to the fact that when it comes to the greatest basket ball minds and thousands of long time fans, Bird is always on the team.
By the way Wilt Chamberlain once went 4 straight with 60+ points the 5th game he only scored 58 points. He also is the only player to shoot 18 for 18. 100% if any thinks the NBA was less competitive back then they haven’t watched any of those games.
Oh Yeah Wilt the Stilt dominated !! He was the best player But Bill Russel had the team...... Alike MJ with the Bulls.... When Scotty P came then the Bulls Dominated
I think one of Bird's biggest assets that should be considered is his team play. Where Jordan was a ball hog, Bird was able to CREATE two Hall of Fame players on his team all while getting very admirable stats of his own. Were it not for Bird, Parrish and McHale wouldn't have been HOFers. If Larry had played with the same selfishness Michael had, Larry's stats would have been much, much higher, but the Celtics would have suffered more losses. Watch Bird's assists, and you'll see he could have easily made those points himself, but decided to get his team in on the action. That way he provided multiple threats other than himself, and also became a threat with, or without the ball. That right there, is GOAT material.
Lil piece of history that might give you some insight on Bird. The region bird grew up in was a rural slum or ghetto!His father came home a screwed up drunk from Korea. Not to long before bird graduated from high school his father blew his brains out! Bird was recruited by Bobby Knight but returned home after a month. He went to work on a trash truck to help support his mother and siblings and went to a local jr. College. The Indiana coach heard about him thru someone lost to the yrs ,and somehow managed to get him to come to Indiana to play and the rest is history. His drive and his will to help his family is what endeared him to many of us! Just fyi!
The house he grew up in is in French Lick Indiana. It sits right next to the RR tracks in town, they still have a basketball backboard on the garage exactly like Larry had growing up. He played B-ball ALL the time when he was at home. He was incredible in school B-ball in French Lick before he went to IU.
The three you mention… also OFF the court. Kareem is an extraordinarily well-read gentleman. Stockton and Duncan were always seen as “nerds.” Very smart men.
Larry is my favorite though. He could do things most ballers can’t do today. IMO. I love sitting and watching these old videos of him. It reminds me of me and my grandpa watching the Celtics and also the Tarheels which Jordan came from, my home state. Thanks Polo.
"Goat" actually is an insult. As in "You're just an old goat". It was also an acronym "Getting Old And Tiresome". "BEST" is the same number of letters and says it all.🏆
I realize it's decades later but for the narrator; Jerry Sichting is pronounced like Sea-Sting. He played point guard and wore number 12 for the Celtics.
The reason many of the greats of the day would rather cover MJ than Bird is that if Michael passed the ball, the play was over for him. When Larry passed, he would be cutting to the hoop or finding open space in the field. The play wasn't over for Bird until the ball went through the net.
Bird is my GOAT. The best all around team player. Ever. Who would you rather have?. The best individual player ever. Or the best team player ever?. Anyone with half a brain cell should pick Burd. No contest. I love how every MJ fan boy always always always says easy easy it was a young MJ. Lmao. Gimme a break. Look what Bird did in his rookie year with no one on his team. Excuses. There are many players who have more championships than MJ lol.
I'm not one to argue over who's the best, I've been on Jordans train for years. But then I watched something about Kobe Bryant that is just awe inspiring. He told the story about a father taking his kids to the game. He said just imagine this father worked lots of overtime just to afford the tickets. They are coming to see me (Kobe) play ball in person. Maybe it'll be the last time that person gets a chance to see his favorite player in person. Then the kids favorite player says he's resting for the playoffs because this game isn't important enough to play in. This once in a lifetime possibly, and the hero is thinks it's beneath him to play this one game. Kobe said he doesn't want to disappoint his fans, he actually loves playing ball and wants to be out there every play because you never know who's coming to the game. That's why I can't stand LeBron James, he has no heart. In my universe Michael Jordan is the goat, but Kobe is right there with him. I was a Knicks fan back in the 90's, so I seen plenty of Jordan. He was a monster, but he had people like Larry Bird making him hungry.
I was literally watching your video and the picture of Kevin McHale popped up and I remembered when I was a teenager he reminded me of Frankenstein. Then you said he looked like a serial killer LOL.
OMG I’m not the only one who sees it! I grew up in the Boston area and was a crazy Celtics fan back in the 80s. McHale always look like some guy who’d been caught hanging out in an alley doing something illegal.
I'm a big bird fan but since you said you are going to check out Magic Johnson, I'd like to point out That in a Los Angeles, Lakers finals game Kareem was injured and could not play so Magic Johnson played center. And I believe he had twenty one points and nineteen rebounds in a victory. Simply amazing.
My 2 favorite players! Jordan and Bird.. #1 and #1a! The crazy thing about Bird is that he played his Entire career injured. He broke and deformed his pinky on his shooting hand just before being drafted. His finger was never the same but he overcame it. His spinal injury would have prevented most people from walking, let alone play basketball. He had to stretch for 3 hours before each game. He also had a heel injury and broke his face on the floor during a game.
“They were playing zone” Ummm, no, sir. Birds era didn’t allow zone defense.That would’ve been whistled for “Illegal Defense”. It was a technical for every call after the first. Man to man defense was the only defense the NBA allowed until very recently.
Yep, you could only double team the guy with the ball . It made defenses have to constantly rotate and the ok offense had to set picks and get the ball around the key to the weak side open man. Which was Bird I hear all these young guys saying the defenses were weak and dumb. How are you going to leave Bird open? They have no idea how real basketball is supposed to be played. Now, longevity and cool dunks make a great player in their eyes. Video game mentality. Winning isn't the main goal anymore. I Now it's, flash. They refuse to try and block shots because they don't want a photo of them getting slammed on. Ridiculous. Nobody plays team ball Bird intentionally passed up 4-5 easy shots a game to pass and make his teammates better. He asked his dad , as a teen, why shouldn't I just s orw 50-60 points a game? Dad said, well it would be boring to watch and your teammates would never have your back. I saw his entire career. I know, if Bird wanted to average 40+ pts a game he could have easily have done it. He proved it. 9 days after McHale scored 56, arry scored 60. Showing that if that is what he wanted to do he could. He'd be the highest ppg player ever. But may not have won championships.
@@JackRyder-lh4ek Today’s game isn’t basketball. It’s five guys standing around behind the arc, having a 3 point contest. I’m not going to say that there’s no talent in the league now, because I’d be lying. But, true basketball is a thing of the past
If i made my dream team . That will be C- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar PF-Tim Duncan SF-Larry Bird SG-Michael Jordan PG-Magic Johnson All in their prime its impossible beat this team ❤
Forgot that as well as the whole Celtics team played defense against MJ, it was without Dennis Johnson who was one of the best defensive point guards in the league so that shows that they played tremendous team defense as well as being so in sync on the offensive end.
Bro! Both Kareem and Wilt were better than Shaq! Watch their highlights. Wilt was amazingly fast in his prime and strong. The NBA changed the rules because of Wilt!
One of the most consistently revealing aspects of these wonderful old-school-focused NBA channels -- and this one is among the best in a competitive genre -- is how tough the players of the 1980s had to be just to survive the decade physically intact while not being a career benchwarmer. Larry Bird may have looked unathletic standing around with that gigantic chicken chest, but when he was moving, he was anything but. Find me one 6' 9" white guy not from Europe who is that smooth in action and able to move the ball apart from what his limbs seem to be doing. Basically a magician. Jordan is my top pick for best player ever even though I grew up in the 1980s as a rabid Celts fan. Gotta keep it real. But I cannot imagine the NBA being what it is now without Bird having been one of its pivotal figures.
I moved to Boston in 1985 to go to college. I brought a Syracuse Football poster, a David Bowie poster, and a poster I got at a car show..that I've never see since..of Jordan dunking on a chain-link net (which I had all through high school, growing up in Syracuse, I'd shovel the driveway and get the slimmest of winterwear I could get away with..and then SEE if the net wasn't too stiff to use), at night with the Chicago skyline in the background. Everybody tried to buy it over the years. NOPE. I was a Boston Celtic fan coming into Boston, and a HUGE Bird fan..but I was also a Michael Jordan fan. I saw Bird play twice..twice he didn't play when I went..and I never saw Bird. I did see Dominique Wilkins in The Omni in 1994! Anyway..sorry to ramble..love your show, by the way.. but SEEING Bird..and Magic..and Kareem..and Walton..and Parrish..and Worthy..and MICHAEL..all in real time was amazing! I know you appreciate it..but you will ALWAYS compare it to what you've witnessed SINCE, yeah? Young people today..NBA FANS..have NO IDEA how ABSOLUTELY DOMINATING Wilt Chamberlain REALLY was. I don't even REALLY get it..and I'm 56. People belittle the past game by saying they couldn't compete. These guys were incredible athletes..who could've played many sports professionally, and many did.. The game has evolved over time, as it should, and today's game is different. But not that much, really. I could see Wilt and Bill Russell CRUSHING in today's game. And Havlicek. And Jerry West. And Pete Maravich. I could go on. I like that you look back on the past eras. Check out Kareem, check out Shawn Kemp, check out Willis Reed, CHECK OUT BILL RUSSELL. 🤙
7:30 central time I love watching your reactions to Larry Bird’s tapes. In 1976 my husband and I had our son in Baton Rouge, LA so he got to grow up with Pistol Pete and then Larry Bird and top it off with Shaq. Jamey my son was born with left side partial paralysis in his left side but he loved the sport. The best story I ever heard on Shaq was that Coach Dale Brown was always getting on Shaq for being the last one on the court for practice. Shaq said getting his size 21 shoes on took longer than the others. Coach said tomorrow you will be on time or else. Well the next day Shaq comes to the bench with his shoes on, but NOTHING else! You need to find a team player or Coach Brown to tell the story.
MJ had 1 rule for the Bulls. Nobody was to say a word to Bird not even ‘hi’. If Jordan makes the rule not to poke the bear what does that imply. Also MJ’s comment on Bird retirement ‘I’m glad to hear it. Bird ruined many of my good games’ Sometime check out Mchale’s highlights especially footwork. He was known as Man of 1000 moves. As a Showtime fan it was amazing how he could create open easy shot against lock down defenses
A healthy Bird is the best ever. He's got eyes around his head. His passing is better than most point guards in the NBA and uses his teammates as weapons to win games. His shooting is lethal and he is cold blooded. Pat Riley sums it up. He would choose Michael Jordan to shoot to win a game but he would choose Larry Bird to shoot to save his life. He is called Larry Legend for a reason.
Michael Jordan was getting mixed reviews his firxt 6 seasons. He was putting up gaudy stats but the first three seasons the Bulls had a terrible reocrd and got blown out in the first round losing all but one playoff game those three playoff rounds, during a time when Bird's Celtics and Magics Lakers, and then later the Pistons, were running train on the league. The Bulls improved during the regular season the next three seasons winning 50, 45 and 57 games respectively but they could never get past the Pistons in the playoffs. There was a tremendous amount of criticism of MJ in those first six seasons with people questioning whether the Bulls could actually win with Jordan who was perceived as being a "me-first" player hogging the ball to pad his stats rather than being a "team-first" player, someone incapable of sharing the ball in an effort to win. It wasn't until Pippen started having his breakout seasons in 90-91 and after where that the Bulls started winning championships. He previously was getting "most improved player" awards from the NBA, and transformed into an NBA all-star and all-defensive player which helpd carry the Bulls over the top, but also started their ascent at a time when Bird was but a shadow of his former self as he was getting crippled by injuries. Who knows if Jordan would have had the same success if Brid's career wasn't taken down prematurely by his back and heel injuries.
Totally on board with your comment about the way Jordan moved. Was at a Bucks vs Bulls game in Milwaukee in the late 80's. Total nose bleed seats, couldn't even begin to see the numbers on the jerseys. Could always tell it was Jordan anywhere on the court, total poetry in motion. Nobody else moved like that.
Coach Wooden was the Wizard of Westwood. I believe he is still the winningest collegiate basketball coach (maybe the coach from Indiana?) Wooden built a basketball program, that was more a program for how to be a man and how to get through life. He was a legend while he was still alive. The only other collegiate sports coach that was a legend while still alive and coaching was Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. Very similar to Wooden in the way he molded young men into champions. He coached Joe Montana and won national championships and he crushed the NFL when he went to the 49ers
I was a young kid watching all these games live all of my coaches from Little League to high school told us to only watch Larry Bird, not Jordan not magic. No one but bird. Why? Bird was the ultimate gym rat. He was the first to arrive in the last to leave every single day. His work ethic, his ability to improve the players around him, his ability to go on heavy streaks, and he could kill you with his left hand if you shut down his right, he won more games on buzzer beaters than anyone, and best of all he would go to the mat for any of his teammates. He was unselfish and he always played hurt. He is the goat to my eyes.
Polo love the channel, you come across as real and also a decent guy who would be a great friend to have in your corner. And I have been envious of you this past year or so. Led Zeppelin has been my favorite band ever since the day , I remember it well , that my older brother Lee,brought home Zeppelin IV in the summer of 1977. I heard Zeppelin II at Gordie Johnson ,my grade 8 classmates place, about 3 weeks later. And Larry Bird became my favorite player in the run to the college championship game in 79. So the fact that you have experienced these 2 entities for the first time has been fantastic for me to watch. I've laughed so hard at times knowing that you didn't have a clue what was about to happen inside your brain as you talked about Zeppelin while you prepared to listen to " Stairway " or " Nobody's Fault but Mine" not knowing that your musical world view was about to be altered forever but that isn't what this comment is about. You won't be able to upload your reaction to reading the NBA record book but take an hour to go through it and marvel at Wilt Chamberlain. You will see his name 72 times by the time you finally finish with 68 of these times being a record that " the Dipper " holds by himself and a vast amount of those records beeping held by himself alone. It's a remarkable read and the experience will alter your basketball world view as well. Keep up the great work. You have an extremely relaxing voice that is so easy to listen to . Well this Canadian wants you to have a fantastic day. And remember, Keep your stick on the ice, eh.
David Robinson -- crazy high IQ. Not just basketball IQ, but academic too. John Stockton also comes to mind as a player with a crazy high basketball IQ.
@karenj3611 nailed it ... Everyone asks who the goat well thats the goat those two together at each other...best b ball I seen in my life was those days...
My top two guys right there. Michael Damn JOrdan and Larry F*ckin" Bird. And this coming from a die hard knicks fan that remembers when the Knicks had BOTH Mark Jackson AND ROD STRICKLAND AT THE POINT.
Tim Duncan was a quiet trash talker, says a lot of NBA greats. Tim said stuff like and softly, "Don't do that", " Do you think you want to do that?", " Oh you missed that one." Love me some Timmy. Pop adored Timmy (as the folks in St Croix, US Virgin Islands, where Tim Duncan is from, call him) also.
Polo --- you really really need to look at some Jerry West highlights and look at his stats. There is a reason he is the NBA Logo. Mr. Clutch was his nickname. Like Bitd and Magic, West came from Midwest roots, playing for West Virginia and taking them to national champs and then went on to be best in the NBA playing for the Lakers. Because of the era, you know the style of basketball playing was different than in the '80s ,'90s and forward. He also became coach and General Manager for the Lakers, signing talent like Magic, Kobe, Worthy, Kareem, and so many legendary Lakers. Jerry West put up the numbers, played hurt constantly, 3 broken noses, bad knees, etc... he hit net from the top of the key in the last second of a game for the win, the far end key. He was putting up numbers that were records for the modern players to beat and he had no 3 point line. Players in the modern era struggled to break those numbers. Jerry West R.I.P.
NBA says that it is not Jerry West on the logo. Stop saying that. Look it up. If it's him,why didn't they show him respect and pay him his dues then and b-fore he passed. Not even the Lakers did give him what belonged to him
@@AngelCancel-fx2pc --- if you actually look up the man who designed the logo he admits that the logo is based on Jerry West. This is taken directly from a google search on the creator of the logo. In 2010, Siegel (creator of the logo) admitted the truth to the Los Angeles Times, "It's Jerry West", he said. More specifically, its the image of West taken in a photograph by Wen Roberts in 1969. I hate to be the one to ruin your night with the truth. But, you seem so angry about it as if the logo was actually a copy of someone you know and you have a personal reason for not wanting West to get the notoriety, that I enjoyed giving you this information knowing it probably will infuriate you even more being told you are wrong. My pleasure.
One extremely minor point to add. That “odd lineup without Dennis Johnson” had Jerry Sichting. The dude said Jerry Si-ching. Understandable, but those old enough knew it was pronounced See-sting. Made me chuckle. Sichting (6’1”) was who Ralph Samson (7+ feet) sucker punched in the 1986 Finals.
You seemed to laugh at how much Larry bird made starting in the NBA. 650k in his time is worth 2.6 million today if you account for inflation in 1980. Not too shabby.
Larrys Celtics went 6-0 against Michaels Bulls and swept them 2x in the playoffs Michael got his 1st Championship Larry's Retirement Season Michael knows that Larry Bird was the Truth ...
Say Hey Polo, I saw Larry many times and I saw him and the Celtics play Michael and the Bulls a few times. Michael, as you say, was "poetry in motion," but the Celtics were simply a much better team. Three years after the game in this video the Celtics had aged. Larry was hurt and Bull's front office had built a powerhouse around The Goat. And the rest is history. BUT--I will say this: I never saw a player work night after night the way Larry did. He played like every game was a playoff game. He made highlight reel plays, passes, and shots every time I saw him. Really exciting. Larry's star is rising and I think most people have him in their top five. Yet, there's no way to go higher for Larry. There's a clog ahead of him with Michael on top and Kareem-Bill-Magic-Steph-Kobe and a couple others I can't think of. I have great respect for Lebron but I have him around eight or nine. Nothing wrong with that. Loved your reaction the great Larry Bird. Thanks. I watch most of your reactions and I'm a big fan. Peace. Out.
Admittedly I'm a casual basketball fan, back in the mid to late 80's you could see that MJ was the next Bird type player. It was like the apprentice learning from the master, and MJ had the talent, period.
Polo you are great watch all your videos ,love your openness to new musiic PBS had a free coceet simonand garfunkel had a free concert in New York 100 000 people showed up also Lebon James put Larry Bird number 1 top five list see on you tube
"He looks like the guy who'd rotate your tires"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!! If you haven't watched any of Bird's passing highlights, you've got to. It was his basketball IQ combined with his wizardly court vision that set him apart from any other player, imo. He was a magician when it came to passing. I may be a bit biased because I grew up watching him in Boston and there was no-one like him. Thanks for the reaction, Polo!!!!
Nice job Polo. It's beyond difficult to give an all time starting five. This is my best attempt at a 12 man roster that could never be beat. PG's Magic & Stockton, SG's Jordan & Kobe, SF 's Bird & LeBron, PF;s Duncan & Mailman, C's Shaq & Kareem, 11th , 12th men Russell & West. 13 because you cant leave out Wilt. If I recall Wilt had at least one season where he played every single minute of every game. Watch as many Lakers and/or Celtics finals games as possible. In fact, watch all the finals series' in order from 1980-1990. It was the greatest decade the NBA will ever have.
I graduated HS in 1980. A great time, & age (for me), to watch & appreciate Larry Bird, as well as the NBA as a whole. From the edge of your seat a lot of the time. I miss that. As far as never seeing the fans rush the court ever again, I hope you're wrong. It can be a good thing, & the players will talk about it for the rest of their lives. If it's done without damaging anything, I think its good for the fans' and the players' morale. Winning a nailbiter is exhilarating. Big games & playoffs can get big reactions too. If fans just did it, there would be no real way to stop it. No idea what the repercussions would be today, though. We just did it & left after a little while.
16:26 Coach Phil Jackson MJ did begin spreading the ball around by the early 90s. Partly because a one man team was never going to win 🏆and partly because Chicago began acquiring better talent. -Out with... Corsine, Cartwright, Vincent, Brown, Gilmore etc In with... Pippen, Kukoc, Harper, Rodman, Kerr But whereas MJ had to wait 6 seasons for Chicago to acquire better talent (better supporting cast) Magic and Bird each had a dramatic, HUGE positive impact on their teams. Magic won a ring in his rookie season while Bird turned a 29-53 team into a 61-21 team his rookie season. And Bird won a ring in his 2nd year. But Magic did join a team with a mid career Kareem (and the weakest annual conference playoff bracket in SPORTS history throughout the entire 1980’s). And by Birds second season Boston had acquired both Parish and McHale who would ultimately become the greatest frontline in league history. So it’s tough to say. I believe Bird and Magic were superior to MJ at elevating their teammates abilities. Constant feeding, solid leadership, improving confidence. BUT how would Magic or Bird have faired with those 1984-1990 Bulls rosters (minus MJ of course)?? Honestly I could see Bird and Magic greatly increasing the confidence and team cohesion of those guys. They weren’t THAT bad really. -C. Oakley-rebounder, enforcer -H. Grant- good D, decent scoring -J. Paxson-solid shooter/3 pointers -D. Corzine-sort of a Laimbeer type minus the whining and cheap shots. -O.Woolridge-outstanding athlete, shot blocker, nasty dunker. -Iceman George Gervin showed up in ‘85 and might’ve stayed longer had he been involved instead of shunned. -Pippen actually arrived in ‘87. Earlier than most people realize. 🤔 Hmmm so really what was the problem?? Those 1984-90 Bulls weren’t all that bad. ** Maybe MJ had to just wait for Bird & Magic, the Celtics and Lakers to “get old” and fade ?? Oh but then there’s the “Bad Boys”. They too had to wait for Boston ☘️& the LAL🟪🟨 to fade AND they were in line ahead of Chicago. So MJ & crew had to wait 2-3 MORE seasons for Detroit to collect a couple 🏆🏆 then for them to also fade. Finally the coast was clear... 4 expansion teams added to dilute the league so Chicago basically gets all of the 1990’s without any REAL competition. Much less any true rivalries like the 1980’s had. -Celtics vs 76ers -Lakers vs 76ers -Lakers vs Celtics -Celtics vs Pistons -Lakers vs Pistons Nope Chicago had the watered down league all to themselves for the whole decade. The only exception being the ‘94-‘95 Rockets. Unfortunately their 2 season run happened the same 2 seasons that MJ was swinging a baseball bat.
Growing up watching these legends play was amazing. I agree with you about MJ being the GOAT. I always got goosebumps watching him play. It’s like he defied the laws of physics. Bird comes in second for me.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Michael Jordan makes you look slow, Larry Bird makes you look stupid- James Worthy
BIRD THE GOAT..........
This era of the NBA is unrivaled
Mid late 90s
4-2-2-2-1-1-1-3-2 Bird’s MVP finishes in his first 9 years in the league. A league with Kareem, Dr. J, Moses, Magic, Dominique, and Michael….
MJ has always said Bird was the very best he’s ever played against/with…got Birds autograph when I was 15 in 96…Gatorade was doing some charity event at the hotel The Dolphin in Disney World…was late at night and the elevator doors opened and there the man was…and he seems like he’s 7ft in person…he was so cool and asked for a bite of my ice cream cone which o had just gone and gotten…I go to give it to him and h laughed and said “Jesus son”…lol…he signed a receipt I had….I asked him, “excuse me sir, are you Larry Bird?”..he goes, “last time I checked I was”…such a great man
What a truly awesome memory!!
I don’t know their history well enough, but did they ever play on Team USA together?
@@bqcaldwell99yes bird magic and mj were on the 92 dream team
Every brother knows who the GOAT is. AND THE GOAT IS A BIRD 🐦 😅
@@bqcaldwell99Really?
LARRY LEGEND IS A UNICORN AND THE TRUE GOAT!!! 🐐 ☘️
I cannot argue with that. Not that this matters , but I'm a 47 year old Blackman, and I'm telling you straight up..... every time I watch Larry Bird highlights , I cry. He was incredible. I have nothing but respect for Mr . Bird aka Larry Legend. Definitely the GOAT and or top 3 ever ever ever.
@@Callousedhands.
Michael Jordan Goat
Larry Bird Legend
I love how people always say like 'well Jordan was still young.' as if bird didn't take a losing team before he entered and made them nba champs his second year in the league.
If I’m building a team I’m starting with Bird. I had Lakers season tickets during showtime, and I was fortunate to see the greats including Magic, Bird, and Jordan in their prime. And I’ll tell you, watching Bird in person was a treat I’ll never forget. He always found a way for his team to win a game. He was absolutely brilliant. Magic was my guy in LA, but we all realized who was the best. And sadly, due to Bird’s back problems, we’ll never know just how much more he could have achieved had he gotten to play longer. In my book, Larry is where you start building your team.
Bird is up there, but in no way shape or form do I pick any of them over Duncan or Russell. larry would be my #3 but those 2 impact defensively and Duncans best ever 2 way player, along with his longevity make them 2 the most important players ever if you are starting a franchise. This is why this debate is so fun for non biased fans. Many players have claim and arguments for being the goat.
@@Dejusticed Keep your Duncan, I'll pick Olajuwon. Tim wants no part of Hakeem.
@@scottrackley4457 Timmy is the best defender of all time. He completely obliterates him. Anyone thinking otherwise is just yet another fool. Timmy is twice the player Hakeem was.
@@Dejusticed Olajuwon is #1 in blocks and #11 in steals, say what?
@@scottrackley4457 yup and thats because he was challenged. timmy didn't get challenged. Timmy has a better defensive stats in all the important categories. Timmy had more playoff stats too by a large margin. Defensive rating, defensive +-, you can look at every advanced stat and it isnt even close. Hakeem wasnt even as good as robinson.
With Michael, you can tell what he's about to do, and still you can't stop him.
With Larry, HE tells you what he's about to do, and still you can't stop him.
Jordan, NEVER beat Larry in the playoffs - Never. He was the only player Jordan could not beat in the playoffs and MJ said its still burns to this day.
You should really look into not only Larry Bird's playing, but how he fought against physical problems. A shattered knuckle in 1979, major back problems in 85 that got worse, face fractures and eventual Bilateral Achilles tendon and bone spur surgeries. And he still played after the surgeries. Larry didn't retire because he was at the top of his game, he retired because he couldn't feel his feet at times and wanted to continue to be able to walk. He had his spine fused after he quit.
Bird greatest all-around passer of all time
Hell of a shooter too.
@@maxxdahl6062lol More like hell of a EVERYTHING 😂
@@johndardi1334 Oh I know, I'm from Indiana, he's like a god there. lol
Bill Walton, one of Bird's teammates, was extremely intelligent.
RIP BIG RED!!!
Never had a problem with teammates that would eat peyote without a question
@@matthewgenyas4454
Hallucinate
the players in the 80's and early 90's so so good, and there was alot of them ALWAYS pushing each other to be better. It was the greatest era of basketball.
The player saying he’d rather guard MJ than Bird is MJ’s former teammate at North Carolina, James Worthy. He knew MJ well. Worthy also said “MJ made you look slow. But Bird made you look stupid.”
BTW, the Celtics were 26-56 in 1979, the year before Bird arrived. The next year after adding ONLY Larry Bird? 61-21! And the next year, 62-20, and his first NBA Championship. After beating Dr. J, Moses Malone, and the hugely talented Philadelphia 76ers in the ECF. Bird won an NBA championship in only his second year in the league. Bird was unreal.
That's insane
Bird played with entire team of hof players . Played Jordan when MJ was a kid on horrible team .
Jordan torched Celtics team... scoring at will thru double n triple teams with 63
After the game bird said MJ is the best basketball player he'd ever seen , he has no weakness he can't be stopped , that's no basketball player that's God disguised as Jordan.
Bird lost in the finals twice with hof teams .
MJ 6 wins zero losses
Bird was right , MJ can't be beat .
Bird also asked , who would win one in one ? Bird laughed , come on... nobody could beat MJ one on one .
@@rongee4433 Jordan was 0-6 against Bird and the Celtics in the playoffs, not the other way around. MJ is the best individual player, I agree, but basketball is a team sport. And even MJ couldn’t get the Bulls to win an NBA title until Scottie Pippen came along. It took Jordan 10 years to win his first NBA title. Bird took a 29-53 1979 Celtics team and in his first year in 1980 they went 61-21 - after only adding Larry Bird! And in Bird’s 2nd year, the Celtics won it all. Both players are great. But Bird made his whole team great on DAY ONE. Bird/Celtics would have won it all in ‘85 if Bird hadn’t broke his shooting hand in a bar fight in Philly (and they STILL eliminated the 76er’s with Dr J and Moses Malone!). And he would have won more titles if he hadn’t injured his back putting in a driveway (I kid you not!) for his mom in the off-season in the late ‘80’s. Bird was more dangerous than Jordan because he could get his team to beat you in so many ways, even if he himself didn’t score. And his dagger 3’s at the end of games are legendary.
Shaq over Bird...... c'mon
I love Shaq but he just slipped outta my top 10. But yeah you don't know the older players.
My top 10:
Bird
MJ
Wilt
Magic
Kareem
Russell
Kobe
Duncan
Hakeem
Lebron
11. Shaq
Curry
O. Robertson
Pretty simple.Jordan never beat bird in the playoffs.No matter how much he hogged the ball.
Yeah, but when they met in the playoffs, Bird had McChale, Parrish, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Bill Walton. MJ had Dave Corzine and Charles Oakley.
Bird owned the Bulls in 1991 when the Bulls were loaded? Bird made his teammates better. The 1991 Celtics were old and injured and still better than MJ, Grant, Cartwright, Pippen, and Paxon
@@MarkKolter-jj7eg yup - Bird had one foot out the foor and beat MJ in his first TITLE SEASON
@@MarkKolter-jj7eglol , bird didn't even make the finals where as in the bulls won the championship .
Bird 3 wins 2 losses in finals with hof teams .
Jordan 6 wins 0 losses in finals .
As Larry said when young kid Jordan torched the entire hof team Celtics with 63 ..... Jordan is the best basketball player he's ever seen , he has no weakness , unstoppable , that's God disguised as Jordan .
Correct. Jordan is not the G.O.A.T. He was a ball hog and couldn't play D
I'm an Atlanta native - but during the 1980s I was a huge Celtics fan, and my hero was Larry Bird!! I loved to watch the Celtics play, especially against the Pistons because something wild usually happened with Bill Laimbeer on the court. Pro basketball was so much fun back then!
I was at game 4 in 88 Celtics v Hawks. The Omni.
Celtics lost that game but won the series.
I was sitting behind the goal in Atlanta bench side.
Maybe 12 rows up.
Jordan once said that Bird was the only player that scared him. He said that playing against Bird was like Larry was living inside his head and knew what Jordan was going to do before Michael himself knew what he was going to do. Sure, Larry had skills, but he also played the game on a different level than everybody else.
You should talk about how Bird become legendary while always being injured.
2:35 - "poetry in motion" I couldn't agree more.... That might never be replicated......GRACE
I grew up in the 80s in the town near Boston and Larry Bird was my freaking idol. All the stuff they say about him is totally true. You’d see him do these things on the court and it was like he was magician, this sleight of hand trickery.
I'd take prime Larry over prime Jordan
@@derekbeck9124 BIRD THE GOAT
"Larry was a basketball genius" - Dr J
Absolutely LOVE Bird. One of my top 5 all time favorites for sure. Love Larry Legend.
But I’m taking Jordan every time, brother. Although it is close, and a tough choice, Jordan is the goat.
James Worthy also said that "Michael made you look slow Larry made you look stupid."
The McDonalds MJ/Bird commercials were AWESOME, playing HORSE
The Family Guy version is better
Larry Legend. I had forgotten how good he was.
Bird the real goat. Best all
Around player and it’s not that close.
Larry is my favorite player. I've got Bird, Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Kobe. Yes I'm old lol
Worthy said I would much rather guard MJ instead of Larry.
Larry Bird looks like hes the guy that rotates your tires...that floored me lololololol
Imagine what Bird would have been without the back injury in 1985, that's scary.
Where bird comes in on any person's list for a dream team is secondary to the fact that when it comes to the greatest basket ball minds and thousands of long time fans, Bird is always on the team.
By the way Wilt Chamberlain once went 4 straight with 60+ points the 5th game he only scored 58 points. He also is the only player to shoot 18 for 18. 100% if any thinks the NBA was less competitive back then they haven’t watched any of those games.
Wilt also NEVER fouled out of a game!
And didn't the NBA change the rules /twice/ during his career because of his athleticism?
And he played every minute of every game!
He was also just an absolute beast in every sport… track field basketball his athletic ability was insane.
Oh Yeah Wilt the Stilt dominated !! He was the best player But Bill Russel had the team...... Alike MJ with the Bulls.... When Scotty P came then the Bulls Dominated
I think one of Bird's biggest assets that should be considered is his team play. Where Jordan was a ball hog, Bird was able to CREATE two Hall of Fame players on his team all while getting very admirable stats of his own. Were it not for Bird, Parrish and McHale wouldn't have been HOFers. If Larry had played with the same selfishness Michael had, Larry's stats would have been much, much higher, but the Celtics would have suffered more losses. Watch Bird's assists, and you'll see he could have easily made those points himself, but decided to get his team in on the action. That way he provided multiple threats other than himself, and also became a threat with, or without the ball. That right there, is GOAT material.
❤
TRUTH!!! 😊
He actually said he’d rather mess with MJ then LB
He completely blew that
Larry legend was creative. On top of EVERYTHING ELSE he was bringing.
Lil piece of history that might give you some insight on Bird. The region bird grew up in was a rural slum or ghetto!His father came home a screwed up drunk from Korea. Not to long before bird graduated from high school his father blew his brains out! Bird was recruited by Bobby Knight but returned home after a month. He went to work on a trash truck to help support his mother and siblings and went to a local jr. College. The Indiana coach heard about him thru someone lost to the yrs ,and somehow managed to get him to come to Indiana to play and the rest is history. His drive and his will to help his family is what endeared him to many of us! Just fyi!
Yes!
The house he grew up in is in French Lick Indiana. It sits right next to the RR tracks in town, they still have a basketball backboard on the garage exactly like Larry had growing up. He played B-ball ALL the time when he was at home. He was incredible in school B-ball in French Lick before he went to IU.
Kareem, John Stockton and Tim Duncan have exceptional IQ.
Kareem praised Birds IQ 😊
Good shout out with Stockton, I forgot about him.
The three you mention… also OFF the court. Kareem is an extraordinarily well-read gentleman. Stockton and Duncan were always seen as “nerds.” Very smart men.
Jerry West as well ! 🏀🤯
I love learning about this stuff. I saw Larry in Garden in 1979. So good.
Larry is my favorite though. He could do things most ballers can’t do today. IMO. I love sitting and watching these old videos of him. It reminds me of me and my grandpa watching the Celtics and also the Tarheels which Jordan came from, my home state. Thanks Polo.
Bird is the word. I’m glad I got to watch him as a youngster. Jordan too from the time he played with Carolina.
The re-edited passing video on him is nuts!
Bird was fun to watch in the 3 point contests as well ✌️
‼️💯🦅Bird is the Goat🐐💯‼️
"Goat" actually is an insult. As in "You're just an old goat". It was also an acronym "Getting Old And Tiresome".
"BEST" is the same number of letters and says it all.🏆
Agreed. @@GaryIrving-x5o
In a blind taste test (colour/race/team) Larry bird was a BAAD MFer!🤘
I realize it's decades later but for the narrator; Jerry Sichting is pronounced like Sea-Sting. He played point guard and wore number 12 for the Celtics.
The reason many of the greats of the day would rather cover MJ than Bird is that if Michael passed the ball, the play was over for him. When Larry passed, he would be cutting to the hoop or finding open space in the field. The play wasn't over for Bird until the ball went through the net.
Well said
Really digging the sports reactions man! Takes me back to watching them play. 😂
Bro, tyvm for this! Please continue the Bird dive. You will be amazed.
Bird is my GOAT. The best all around team player. Ever. Who would you rather have?. The best individual player ever. Or the best team player ever?. Anyone with half a brain cell should pick Burd. No contest. I love how every MJ fan boy always always always says easy easy it was a young MJ. Lmao. Gimme a break. Look what Bird did in his rookie year with no one on his team. Excuses. There are many players who have more championships than MJ lol.
No, He said he's rather guard Jordan than Bird.
I'm not one to argue over who's the best, I've been on Jordans train for years. But then I watched something about Kobe Bryant that is just awe inspiring. He told the story about a father taking his kids to the game. He said just imagine this father worked lots of overtime just to afford the tickets. They are coming to see me (Kobe) play ball in person. Maybe it'll be the last time that person gets a chance to see his favorite player in person. Then the kids favorite player says he's resting for the playoffs because this game isn't important enough to play in. This once in a lifetime possibly, and the hero is thinks it's beneath him to play this one game. Kobe said he doesn't want to disappoint his fans, he actually loves playing ball and wants to be out there every play because you never know who's coming to the game. That's why I can't stand LeBron James, he has no heart. In my universe Michael Jordan is the goat, but Kobe is right there with him. I was a Knicks fan back in the 90's, so I seen plenty of Jordan. He was a monster, but he had people like Larry Bird making him hungry.
I was literally watching your video and the picture of Kevin McHale popped up and I remembered when I was a teenager he reminded me of Frankenstein. Then you said he looked like a serial killer LOL.
OMG I’m not the only one who sees it! I grew up in the Boston area and was a crazy Celtics fan back in the 80s. McHale always look like some guy who’d been caught hanging out in an alley doing something illegal.
Local Celtic fans referred to Kevin as Herman Munster (from the TV show
The Munsters.)
@@tomgribbin9531Danny Ainge started that
I'm a big bird fan but since you said you are going to check out Magic Johnson, I'd like to point out That in a Los Angeles, Lakers finals game Kareem was injured and could not play so Magic Johnson played center. And I believe he had twenty one points and nineteen rebounds in a victory. Simply amazing.
My 2 favorite players! Jordan and Bird.. #1 and #1a!
The crazy thing about Bird is that he played his Entire career injured. He broke and deformed his pinky on his shooting hand just before being drafted. His finger was never the same but he overcame it.
His spinal injury would have prevented most people from walking, let alone play basketball. He had to stretch for 3 hours before each game.
He also had a heel injury and broke his face on the floor during a game.
“They were playing zone”
Ummm, no, sir.
Birds era didn’t allow zone defense.That would’ve been whistled for “Illegal Defense”. It was a technical for every call after the first.
Man to man defense was the only defense the NBA allowed until very recently.
Yep, you could only double team the guy with the ball .
It made defenses have to constantly rotate and the ok offense had to set picks and get the ball around the key to the weak side open man.
Which was Bird
I hear all these young guys saying the defenses were weak and dumb.
How are you going to leave Bird open?
They have no idea how real basketball is supposed to be played.
Now, longevity and cool dunks make a great player in their eyes.
Video game mentality.
Winning isn't the main goal anymore.
I
Now it's, flash.
They refuse to try and block shots because they don't want a photo of them getting slammed on. Ridiculous.
Nobody plays team ball
Bird intentionally passed up 4-5 easy shots a game to pass and make his teammates better.
He asked his dad , as a teen, why shouldn't I just s orw 50-60 points a game?
Dad said, well it would be boring to watch and your teammates would never have your back.
I saw his entire career. I know, if Bird wanted to average 40+ pts a game he could have easily have done it.
He proved it.
9 days after McHale scored 56, arry scored 60.
Showing that if that is what he wanted to do he could.
He'd be the highest ppg player ever.
But may not have won championships.
@@JackRyder-lh4ek Today’s game isn’t basketball. It’s five guys standing around behind the arc, having a 3 point contest.
I’m not going to say that there’s no talent in the league now, because I’d be lying. But, true basketball is a thing of the past
If i made my dream team . That will be
C- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
PF-Tim Duncan
SF-Larry Bird
SG-Michael Jordan
PG-Magic Johnson
All in their prime its impossible beat this team ❤
Forgot that as well as the whole Celtics team played defense against MJ, it was without Dennis Johnson who was one of the best defensive point guards in the league so that shows that they played tremendous team defense as well as being so in sync on the offensive end.
I believe Bird’s back is out at this point. He’s much more upright and less fluid than his early years. So incredible. ❤
BIRD GOAT!!!
Bro! Both Kareem and Wilt were better than Shaq! Watch their highlights.
Wilt was amazingly fast in his prime and strong. The NBA changed the rules because of Wilt!
Even Bill Russel . The 3 are better hhan Shaq . The 5th on my top 5 its Hakeem the dream ❤
Did anyone not see Shaq trying to hit a free throw nothing but brick's could not hit beyond 8feet
You said James Worthy said that he would rather guard Larry Bird than Michael Jordan. You said it backwards. He said he would rather guard MJ.
One of the most consistently revealing aspects of these wonderful old-school-focused NBA channels -- and this one is among the best in a competitive genre -- is how tough the players of the 1980s had to be just to survive the decade physically intact while not being a career benchwarmer.
Larry Bird may have looked unathletic standing around with that gigantic chicken chest, but when he was moving, he was anything but. Find me one 6' 9" white guy not from Europe who is that smooth in action and able to move the ball apart from what his limbs seem to be doing. Basically a magician.
Jordan is my top pick for best player ever even though I grew up in the 1980s as a rabid Celts fan. Gotta keep it real. But I cannot imagine the NBA being what it is now without Bird having been one of its pivotal figures.
I moved to Boston in 1985 to go to college. I brought a Syracuse Football poster, a David Bowie poster, and a poster I got at a car show..that I've never see since..of Jordan dunking on a chain-link net (which I had all through high school, growing up in Syracuse, I'd shovel the driveway and get the slimmest of winterwear I could get away with..and then SEE if the net wasn't too stiff to use), at night with the Chicago skyline in the background. Everybody tried to buy it over the years. NOPE.
I was a Boston Celtic fan coming into Boston, and a HUGE Bird fan..but I was also a Michael Jordan fan.
I saw Bird play twice..twice he didn't play when I went..and I never saw Bird. I did see Dominique Wilkins in The Omni in 1994!
Anyway..sorry to ramble..love your show, by the way..
but SEEING Bird..and Magic..and Kareem..and Walton..and Parrish..and Worthy..and MICHAEL..all in real time was amazing!
I know you appreciate it..but you will ALWAYS compare it to what you've witnessed SINCE, yeah?
Young people today..NBA FANS..have NO IDEA how ABSOLUTELY DOMINATING Wilt Chamberlain REALLY was. I don't even REALLY get it..and I'm 56.
People belittle the past game by saying they couldn't compete. These guys were incredible athletes..who could've played many sports professionally, and many did..
The game has evolved over time, as it should, and today's game is different. But not that much, really. I could see Wilt and Bill Russell CRUSHING in today's game. And Havlicek. And Jerry West. And Pete Maravich. I could go on.
I like that you look back on the past eras. Check out Kareem, check out Shawn Kemp, check out Willis Reed, CHECK OUT BILL RUSSELL.
🤙
7:30 central time
I love watching your reactions to Larry Bird’s tapes. In 1976 my husband and I had our son in Baton Rouge, LA so he got to grow up with Pistol Pete and then Larry Bird and top it off with Shaq. Jamey my son was born with left side partial paralysis in his left side but he loved the sport.
The best story I ever heard on Shaq was that Coach Dale Brown was always getting on Shaq for being the last one on the court for practice. Shaq said getting his size 21 shoes on took longer than the others. Coach said tomorrow you will be on time or else. Well the next day Shaq comes to the bench with his shoes on, but NOTHING else!
You need to find a team player or Coach Brown to tell the story.
MJ had 1 rule for the Bulls. Nobody was to say a word to Bird not even ‘hi’. If Jordan makes the rule not to poke the bear what does that imply. Also MJ’s comment on Bird retirement ‘I’m glad to hear it. Bird ruined many of my good games’
Sometime check out Mchale’s highlights especially footwork. He was known as Man of 1000 moves. As a Showtime fan it was amazing how he could create open easy shot against lock down defenses
A healthy Bird is the best ever. He's got eyes around his head. His passing is better than most point guards in the NBA and uses his teammates as weapons to win games. His shooting is lethal and he is cold blooded. Pat Riley sums it up. He would choose Michael Jordan to shoot to win a game but he would choose Larry Bird to shoot to save his life. He is called Larry Legend for a reason.
Michael Jordan was getting mixed reviews his firxt 6 seasons. He was putting up gaudy stats but the first three seasons the Bulls had a terrible reocrd and got blown out in the first round losing all but one playoff game those three playoff rounds, during a time when Bird's Celtics and Magics Lakers, and then later the Pistons, were running train on the league. The Bulls improved during the regular season the next three seasons winning 50, 45 and 57 games respectively but they could never get past the Pistons in the playoffs.
There was a tremendous amount of criticism of MJ in those first six seasons with people questioning whether the Bulls could actually win with Jordan who was perceived as being a "me-first" player hogging the ball to pad his stats rather than being a "team-first" player, someone incapable of sharing the ball in an effort to win.
It wasn't until Pippen started having his breakout seasons in 90-91 and after where that the Bulls started winning championships. He previously was getting "most improved player" awards from the NBA, and transformed into an NBA all-star and all-defensive player which helpd carry the Bulls over the top, but also started their ascent at a time when Bird was but a shadow of his former self as he was getting crippled by injuries. Who knows if Jordan would have had the same success if Brid's career wasn't taken down prematurely by his back and heel injuries.
Larry was a Byrd there was no cage for 😂
MJ never sniffed a championship until Larry and Magic retired. I saw him live often - you have no idea how great he was.
He beat Magic to win his first title.
Lakers vs Bulls. 1991 Finals😊
Zone D was illegal in 1986.
This was when watching the game was fun. Vicki
Totally on board with your comment about the way Jordan moved. Was at a Bucks vs Bulls game in Milwaukee in the late 80's. Total nose bleed seats, couldn't even begin to see the numbers on the jerseys. Could always tell it was Jordan anywhere on the court, total poetry in motion. Nobody else moved like that.
Bill Walton died recently. Both he and Karem Abdul Jabbar extolled Coach Wooden. Karem even wrote a book about him entitled "Coach Wooden and Me."
Coach Wooden was the Wizard of Westwood. I believe he is still the winningest collegiate basketball coach (maybe the coach from Indiana?)
Wooden built a basketball program, that was more a program for how to be a man and how to get through life. He was a legend while he was still alive.
The only other collegiate sports coach that was a legend while still alive and coaching was Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. Very similar to Wooden in the way he molded young men into champions. He coached Joe Montana and won national championships and he crushed the NFL when he went to the 49ers
I was a young kid watching all these games live all of my coaches from Little League to high school told us to only watch Larry Bird, not Jordan not magic. No one but bird. Why? Bird was the ultimate gym rat. He was the first to arrive in the last to leave every single day. His work ethic, his ability to improve the players around him, his ability to go on heavy streaks, and he could kill you with his left hand if you shut down his right, he won more games on buzzer beaters than anyone, and best of all he would go to the mat for any of his teammates. He was unselfish and he always played hurt. He is the goat to my eyes.
Polo love the channel, you come across as real and also a decent guy who would be a great friend to have in your corner.
And I have been envious of you this past year or so.
Led Zeppelin has been my favorite band ever since the day , I remember it well , that my older brother Lee,brought home Zeppelin IV in the summer of 1977.
I heard Zeppelin II at Gordie Johnson ,my grade 8 classmates place, about 3 weeks later.
And Larry Bird became my favorite player in the run to the college championship game in 79.
So the fact that you have experienced these 2 entities for the first time has been fantastic for me to watch.
I've laughed so hard at times knowing that you didn't have a clue what was about to happen inside your brain as you talked about Zeppelin while you prepared to listen to " Stairway " or " Nobody's Fault but Mine" not knowing that your musical world view was about to be altered forever but that isn't what this comment is about.
You won't be able to upload your reaction to reading the NBA record book but take an hour to go through it and marvel at Wilt Chamberlain.
You will see his name 72 times by the time you finally finish with 68 of these times being a record that " the Dipper " holds by himself and a vast amount of those records beeping held by himself alone.
It's a remarkable read and the experience will alter your basketball world view as well.
Keep up the great work.
You have an extremely relaxing voice that is so easy to listen to .
Well this Canadian wants you to have a fantastic day.
And remember,
Keep your stick on the ice, eh.
David Robinson -- crazy high IQ. Not just basketball IQ, but academic too.
John Stockton also comes to mind as a player with a crazy high basketball IQ.
The Zen master coach was Phil Jackson
@karenj3611 nailed it ...
Everyone asks who the goat well thats the goat those two together at each other...best b ball I seen in my life was those days...
My top two guys right there. Michael Damn JOrdan and Larry F*ckin" Bird. And this coming from a die hard knicks fan that remembers when the Knicks had BOTH Mark Jackson AND ROD STRICKLAND AT THE POINT.
Tim Duncan was a quiet trash talker, says a lot of NBA greats. Tim said stuff like and softly, "Don't do that", " Do you think you want to do that?", " Oh you missed that one." Love me some Timmy. Pop adored Timmy (as the folks in St Croix, US Virgin Islands, where Tim Duncan is from, call him) also.
Watching this whole game would be a great Patreon or whatever reward. I'm sure there are places you can find the old televised games.
There are at LarryLegendFullGames on RUclips.
Nice reaction vid. I can appreciate your top 5. But I’ll go with:
1-Bill Russell
2-Wilt Chamberlain
3-Michael Jordan
4-Larry Bird
5-Kobe Bryant
Polo --- you really really need to look at some Jerry West highlights and look at his stats.
There is a reason he is the NBA Logo. Mr. Clutch was his nickname. Like Bitd and Magic, West came from Midwest roots, playing for West Virginia and taking them to national champs and then went on to be best in the NBA playing for the Lakers.
Because of the era, you know the style of basketball playing was different than in the '80s ,'90s and forward. He also became coach and General Manager for the Lakers, signing talent like Magic, Kobe, Worthy, Kareem, and so many legendary Lakers.
Jerry West put up the numbers, played hurt constantly, 3 broken noses, bad knees, etc... he hit net from the top of the key in the last second of a game for the win, the far end key. He was putting up numbers that were records for the modern players to beat and he had no 3 point line. Players in the modern era struggled to break those numbers.
Jerry West R.I.P.
And Elgin Baylor
NBA says that it is not Jerry West on the logo. Stop saying that. Look it up. If it's him,why didn't they show him respect and pay him his dues then and b-fore he passed. Not even the Lakers did give him what belonged to him
@@AngelCancel-fx2pc --- if you actually look up the man who designed the logo he admits that the logo is based on Jerry West.
This is taken directly from a google search on the creator of the logo.
In 2010, Siegel (creator of the logo) admitted the truth to the Los Angeles Times, "It's Jerry West", he said. More specifically, its the image of West taken in a photograph by Wen Roberts in 1969.
I hate to be the one to ruin your night with the truth. But, you seem so angry about it as if the logo was actually a copy of someone you know and you have a personal reason for not wanting West to get the notoriety, that I enjoyed giving you this information knowing it probably will infuriate you even more being told you are wrong. My pleasure.
You just explained why he is the goat.
I remember that game. Bostonian. Everyone knew Jordon was dangerous.
Everybody watched that game ! It was more exciting than the Lakers rivalry.
One extremely minor point to add. That “odd lineup without Dennis Johnson” had Jerry Sichting. The dude said Jerry Si-ching. Understandable, but those old enough knew it was pronounced See-sting. Made me chuckle. Sichting (6’1”) was who Ralph Samson (7+ feet) sucker punched in the 1986 Finals.
You seemed to laugh at how much Larry bird made starting in the NBA. 650k in his time is worth 2.6 million today if you account for inflation in 1980. Not too shabby.
Larrys Celtics went 6-0 against Michaels Bulls and swept them 2x in the playoffs
Michael got his 1st Championship Larry's Retirement Season
Michael knows that Larry Bird was the Truth ...
Youre a Very hard worker and you earned your spot!!!!
Say Hey Polo, I saw Larry many times and I saw him and the Celtics play Michael and the Bulls a few times. Michael, as you say, was "poetry in motion," but the Celtics were simply a much better team. Three years after the game in this video the Celtics had aged. Larry was hurt and Bull's front office had built a powerhouse around The Goat. And the rest is history.
BUT--I will say this: I never saw a player work night after night the way Larry did. He played like every game was a playoff game. He made highlight reel plays, passes, and shots every time I saw him. Really exciting. Larry's star is rising and I think most people have him in their top five.
Yet, there's no way to go higher for Larry. There's a clog ahead of him with Michael on top and Kareem-Bill-Magic-Steph-Kobe and a couple others I can't think of. I have great respect for Lebron but I have him around eight or nine. Nothing wrong with that. Loved your reaction the great Larry Bird. Thanks. I watch most of your reactions and I'm a big fan. Peace. Out.
Admittedly I'm a casual basketball fan, back in the mid to late 80's you could see that MJ was the next Bird type player. It was like the apprentice learning from the master, and MJ had the talent, period.
Polo you are great watch all your videos ,love your openness to new musiic PBS had a free coceet simonand garfunkel had a free concert in New York 100 000 people showed up also Lebon James put Larry Bird number 1 top five list see on you tube
"He looks like the guy who'd rotate your tires"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!! If you haven't watched any of Bird's passing highlights, you've got to. It was his basketball IQ combined with his wizardly court vision that set him apart from any other player, imo. He was a magician when it came to passing. I may be a bit biased because I grew up watching him in Boston and there was no-one like him. Thanks for the reaction, Polo!!!!
“He looks like a serial killer.” when Kevin Michale was shown on screen. 🤣🤣🤣
McHale was a serial killer in the post. Literally nicknamed the “Torture Chamber”.
They are 2 great players that never perfectly matched up age wise. Bird hurt his feet most of the joint years so just enjoy both
Nice job Polo. It's beyond difficult to give an all time starting five. This is my best attempt at a 12 man roster that could never be beat. PG's Magic & Stockton, SG's Jordan & Kobe, SF 's Bird & LeBron, PF;s Duncan & Mailman, C's Shaq & Kareem, 11th , 12th men Russell & West. 13 because you cant leave out Wilt. If I recall Wilt had at least one season where he played every single minute of every game. Watch as many Lakers and/or Celtics finals games as possible. In fact, watch all the finals series' in order from 1980-1990. It was the greatest decade the NBA will ever have.
I graduated HS in 1980. A great time, & age (for me), to watch & appreciate Larry Bird, as well as the NBA as a whole. From the edge of your seat a lot of the time. I miss that.
As far as never seeing the fans rush the court ever again, I hope you're wrong.
It can be a good thing, & the players will talk about it for the rest of their lives.
If it's done without damaging anything, I think its good for the fans' and the players' morale. Winning a nailbiter is exhilarating. Big games & playoffs can get big reactions too.
If fans just did it, there would be no real way to stop it. No idea what the repercussions would be today, though. We just did it & left after a little while.
Lebron has a higher IQ than the average player, but not near players like Bird, Magic, Duncan
16:26
Coach Phil Jackson
MJ did begin spreading the ball around by the early 90s. Partly because a one man team was never going to win 🏆and partly because Chicago began acquiring better talent.
-Out with... Corsine, Cartwright, Vincent, Brown, Gilmore etc
In with... Pippen, Kukoc, Harper, Rodman, Kerr
But whereas MJ had to wait 6 seasons for Chicago to acquire better talent (better supporting cast)
Magic and Bird each had a dramatic, HUGE positive impact on their teams. Magic won a ring in his rookie season while Bird turned a 29-53 team into a 61-21 team his rookie season. And Bird won a ring in his 2nd year.
But Magic did join a team with a mid career Kareem (and the weakest annual conference playoff bracket in SPORTS history throughout the entire 1980’s).
And by Birds second season Boston had acquired both Parish and McHale who would ultimately become the greatest frontline in league history. So it’s tough to say. I believe Bird and Magic were superior to MJ at elevating their teammates abilities. Constant feeding, solid leadership, improving confidence. BUT how would Magic or Bird have faired with those 1984-1990 Bulls rosters (minus MJ of course)?? Honestly I could see Bird and Magic greatly increasing the confidence and team cohesion of those guys. They weren’t THAT bad really.
-C. Oakley-rebounder, enforcer
-H. Grant- good D, decent scoring
-J. Paxson-solid shooter/3 pointers
-D. Corzine-sort of a Laimbeer type minus the whining and cheap shots.
-O.Woolridge-outstanding athlete, shot blocker, nasty dunker.
-Iceman George Gervin showed up in ‘85 and might’ve stayed longer had he been involved instead of shunned.
-Pippen actually arrived in ‘87. Earlier than most people realize.
🤔 Hmmm so really what was the problem?? Those 1984-90 Bulls weren’t all that bad.
** Maybe MJ had to just wait for Bird & Magic, the Celtics and Lakers to “get old” and fade ??
Oh but then there’s the “Bad Boys”. They too had to wait for Boston
☘️& the LAL🟪🟨 to fade AND they were in line ahead of Chicago.
So MJ & crew had to wait 2-3 MORE seasons for Detroit to collect a couple 🏆🏆 then for them to also fade. Finally the coast was clear... 4 expansion teams added to dilute the league so Chicago basically gets all of the 1990’s without any REAL competition. Much less any true rivalries like the 1980’s had.
-Celtics vs 76ers
-Lakers vs 76ers
-Lakers vs Celtics
-Celtics vs Pistons
-Lakers vs Pistons
Nope Chicago had the watered down league all to themselves for the whole decade. The only exception being the ‘94-‘95 Rockets. Unfortunately their 2 season run happened the same 2 seasons that MJ was swinging a baseball bat.
The emphasis on being positive for your team as well as yourself cannot be discounted. I think that teams were more cohesive back them.
Growing up watching these legends play was amazing. I agree with you about MJ being the GOAT. I always got goosebumps watching him play. It’s like he defied the laws of physics. Bird comes in second for me.