ABlackMan
Superstar
If lebron can’t stop KD how in the hell could Larry ever even imagine it
Bird or Durant
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Leaving GS was the greatest mistake KD ever did. Nikka let the bytch ass nikkas pressure him into losing situations
KD MY GUY
BUT IM GOING WITH BIRD...
HE HAD THE GREATER
5 YEAR PEAK.
I think if you give both players the same rosters to compete with over a career Bird wins the title more often than KD does.
BIRD 5 YEAR PEAK
3 MVPS
2 FMVPS
27, 10 & 7
ON 50/40/90
MJ PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE
fukkING WITH THIS.
00-02 Dream 93-93
Magic 87-89
Bron 12-14
Dream 93-93
Magic 87-89
Bron 12-14
I SAID 5 YR PEAK
AND YOU LISTING 1, 2 & 3 YEARS
None of those teams were on the same level as the 2012 Heat, 2014 Spurs and 2016 Warriors. shyt, none of those teams were as good as the 2016 Spurs squad that KD beat. The '84 Lakers were the closest in comparison to a team that Bird beat, but it's hard to really take them that seriously in this discussion because of how handicapped Magic was during that period (in similar vein to Bron). And Cap wasn't that great at that point of his career where he could nullify that.
The '81 Dr. J's 76ers and the '87 Bad Boy Pistons were not even in the same stratosphere as those aforementioned teams.
And yes, while KD not being able to beat those teams is certainly a blight on his resume, you have to put it in its rightful context here, that he had bigger obstacles to overcome than Bird did.
It's not as simple as Bird won with the Celtics and KD didn't with the Thunder.
This isn't entirely relevant given we're talking about the timeline of what KD did in OKC, in relation to what Bird did in Boston (by the time he was in his mid-30s like KD is now, he was a shell of his former self).
Bird was wildly inconsistent during the playoffs - his ppg dropped and so did his efficency (largely because he lacked the handle and finishing to be a consistent dominant scoring option). Whereas KD's ppg increased during the playoffs, and his efficiency stayed relatively the same in relation to the increased volume. Rarely ever was KD out of his element or the reason why his team struggled in the postseason, whereas Bird had a handful of series' he stumbled through and either costed his team or his inconsistency was swept under the rug because his team ended up winning.
A lot of folks seem to gloss over just how many times Bird and Magic struggled during the postseason. In all these player comparisons involving the two, folks make out like they're some infallible beings, when it couldn't be further from the truth.
Mister Terrific
It’s in the name
The KD slander in this thread is hilarious. We’ve seen him on the same team as Lebron and Curry and often he looked like the best player on the floor.
My only knock against KD is he isn’t selfish enough. If he was selfish he’d average 35 ppg easy.
My only knock against KD is he isn’t selfish enough. If he was selfish he’d average 35 ppg easy.
Based upon what?
KD was a definitively better playoff performer than Bird, so if all things were equal, how would Bird have had more titles?
No.
KD WAS a primary reason his team struggled in a lot of losses. 2013, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024, etc.
Most star players are usually going to be out of their element when their team loses. KD isn't immune to this tonwhete you can say "rarely"
He'll the only reason it didn't happen more was because of how many elite scoring guards KD has played with, something you ignore.
Bird may have had McHale and Parish, but those were big men. Ainge and Dennis Johnson at that stage of his career weren't elite scoring guards to take pressure off of Bird on the perimeter
KD played with Harden, Curry, Harden again + Kyrie and Booker and Beal
2 of them won MVPs
At the end of the day, Bird could be excused for his off-shooting performances more than KD can because he was an elite playmaker
This is silly man. Of course he'd look like the best player on the floor when Lebron can't guard both of them at the same time carrying the team, and the cavs are focused on stopping Curry whose known for not dominating the ball. There was little responsibility for KD. If KD is so great, why can't this man make a finals appearance? He only made 1 without steph, back in 2012.
Mister Terrific
It’s in the name
Larry Bird played with
Kevin McHale top 50 player considered the 2nd best power forward of all time by many
Robert Parish top 50 player averaged 20 and 10 with 2 blocks a game. Finished top 5 in MVP voting, 5 all star selections
Dennis Johnson, one of the best combo guards in the league. Perrenial all star before joining Boston, all defense etc
Cedric Maxwell, averaged 20 and 10 before Boston drafted Bird on damn near 60% shooting. NBA finals MVP. Scored 24 points again in a game 7 to win a chip. Bird never exists he’s a perennial all star and likely top 50 player.
Danny Ainge solid PG. Made an all star team. 15 and 7 type player. Craft, versatile, nightmare to play against.
In an Era where basketball was probably the 5th most popular sport in the US Larry Bird came in the league playing with the Monstars on an historic franchise and won 3 chips
The hell is y’all talking about in here.
Kevin McHale top 50 player considered the 2nd best power forward of all time by many
Robert Parish top 50 player averaged 20 and 10 with 2 blocks a game. Finished top 5 in MVP voting, 5 all star selections
Dennis Johnson, one of the best combo guards in the league. Perrenial all star before joining Boston, all defense etc
Cedric Maxwell, averaged 20 and 10 before Boston drafted Bird on damn near 60% shooting. NBA finals MVP. Scored 24 points again in a game 7 to win a chip. Bird never exists he’s a perennial all star and likely top 50 player.
Danny Ainge solid PG. Made an all star team. 15 and 7 type player. Craft, versatile, nightmare to play against.
In an Era where basketball was probably the 5th most popular sport in the US Larry Bird came in the league playing with the Monstars on an historic franchise and won 3 chips
The hell is y’all talking about in here.
Mister Terrific
It’s in the name
I’m talking about team USA. We seen Durant in 3 Olympics and a World Championship and you could say he was the best player in the world on all 3 and I’m a Lebron fan
Yall gonna act like this man not a killer when he wants to be. The only problem with KD is he coasts. If he was turnt up all 4 quarters he’s averaging 35 a game and nobody stopping him.
Blackrogue
Superstar
Just realized luka got bird and magics nickname when looking up all their numbers for KD, Larry legend, Tatum and luka.
Luka legend and luka magic
Luka legend and luka magic
Quite literally after I reiterate to you that we're talking about KD's timeline in OKC, because that's what's relevant here to Bird's in Boston, again, when Bird hit his mid-30s he was a shell of his former self, so KD wins by default if we're comparing those two stages of their respective careers. Yet here you are bringing up what KD did in '22, '23 and '24, when it's not relevant.
Essentially, the only two examples here which are applicable are 2013 and 2016, one of which was because his running mate was injured and had to rely on role players to pick up the slack, and the second of which, he came up against one of the most dominant teams in the history of the game. Neither of which are exactly damning cases. OKC weren't going to make it out of that Grizzlies '13 series no matter what KD did, because Memphis had arguably the best perimeter defense in the league and an offense which was designed around their two bigs.
The 2016 WCF is one of the rare series' during that time where his inconsistency ultimately cost his team, but like it's been stated, the level that it would've taken to beaten GS in that series, is probably something that no player has reached. And what I mean by that is, the Warriors had no suspensions, no injuries and they were still relatively fresh after not being troubled in the previous two series'. Steph and Klay simply found another gear and it was too much for OKC to handle in the end. That series showed exactly why that GS team won 73 games.
Except during his time on the Thunder, it was rarely.
During the 80s, offenses were predominately post-orientated, so the inside-out structure most definitely took pressure off Bird. His weak handle and lack of finishing was the reason for his struggles, not because he didn't have a team that wasn't good enough to take pressure off him. Only the Lakers were comparable in talent and depth during that era.
KD only played with one elite guard during his team in OKC, otherwise, it was largely filled with role players or players who had yet to truly break out [Harden].
Bird had significantly more help in Boston than KD had in OKC.
Here's how disingenious you are:KD played with Harden, Curry, Harden again + Kyrie and Booker and Beal
2 of them won MVPs
- KD played with Harden in OKC for the last time in 2012, you know when Harden shytted the bed in the Finals and wasn't even remotely close to a MVP-level player?
- KD won with Steph, so what's your point?
- KD played with Harden (again) outside of his time in OKC (again, irrelevant), where Harden came back from injury during the Bucks '21 series and provided next to nothing, all the while KD had one of his greatest ever series' and was quite literally a big toe away from beating the Bucks (who ended up winning the championship). This is all without mentioning that Kyrie was injured, and it's a belief held by many that if he wasn't injured they would've won the title that year. Which again, this isn't really relevant to the discussion.
- Booker and Beal are not relevant to the timeline we're speaking about.
Excused based upon what, exactly?
KD still had more impact and produced at a higher level during the playoffs, consistently. It just so happened he came up against much greater competition than Bird did.
KD would avg 40 in the 80s