If Larry Bird played in today's league..

Imyremeshaw

كن التغير الذي تريد أن تراه في العالم
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Messages
1,726
Reputation
370
Daps
5,210
Reppin
NULL
Bird without a doubt be great in this era. As much as Kobe, Wade, Durant pump fake to get to the free throw line, they aint got shyt Bird. That whiteboy was crafty and stout as hell. The best thing about Bird to me is he got his assist in the flow of the game, he didnt have dominate( aka Lebron) to have a complete statline. And with the way teams play small ball today I can Bird easily putting up 22 ppg, 12 rpg(at the least), and 6-7 ast.
 

Saint1

Superstar
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
8,644
Reputation
1,021
Daps
24,998
Reppin
CA
Just realized dudes are hating on Bird's athleticism.

What is Paul Pierce?
 

feelosofer

#ninergang
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
49,579
Reputation
7,719
Daps
141,630
Reppin
Brick City, NJ
He was a waaaaaay better passer than Dirk...

This. Larry had GOAT level court vision, I would put him closer to Durant.

Bird was a better athlete than he got credit for, his athleticism didn't really fall off until like 88-89 (when his back started getting bad) and even then dude was avg close to triple double.

2nd dude had off the charts ball IQ and could adjust to basically any system, without disrupting a teams offensive flow and was a very solid man defender and an even better team defender.

I grew up in the Magic/Bird era. We didn't hate him because he was white but because he was that good, he was BETTER than his stats would indicate.
 

feelosofer

#ninergang
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
49,579
Reputation
7,719
Daps
141,630
Reppin
Brick City, NJ
bird would get more than fifteen a game, breh.
Bird's bball IQ, confidence and ability to execute at any moment of a game.
Is distinctly higher than anyone that plays in this Gen.
Plus physically he had the pre-req's in height and intangibles.
to cause significant nightly damage to any team in this era night in, night out.

I saw bird unphased two straight years in the playoffs put the bulls out.
People can say he was white as a bullshyt deflection point all they want.
Yet, and still.....
Bird was a beast for real.

You sleep if you discounting bird.
Bird was Darth Vader of sports, for my Gen.
Other than ric flair,...
He was the top mainstream drawing villain on television and existence, for that time for a Blackman.

Art Barr

This young n1ggas don't know Larry Bird used to be in my nightmares, so swagless yet so much swag on the court.
 

pete clemenza

Veteran
Supporter
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
36,107
Reputation
3,223
Daps
87,457
Reppin
Cali
Bird was 6'10" with handles, passing/court vision, rebounding, post up, 3 point range, midrange game, great free throw shooter, crunch time shot maker, team leader, etc..

he just didn't have the great hops and super speed. I think he would beast in today's league. They don't make white boyz like him anymore
 

nieman

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
17,655
Reputation
2,435
Daps
34,928
Reppin
Philly
:snoop: Please stop bringing up handchecking. Defenses were still terrible in the 80s with it. Multiple players averages 20 ppg with regularity back in the day. I WATCHED these games myself as a kid and rewatched games regularly on VHS to watch classic games as I got older. You also have to understand that players were not as athletic now as they were then so it was easier for him to play in that era and dominate plus he was taller than most SFs. It doesn't take away from his greatness, but it needs to be put in perspective with longer, more athletic players of today. Bird would need someone to create shots for him more often than before. Kind of like how Rondo helps Pierce at times. That being said he would put up in his prime in Today's era about 25 ppg, 7.5 reb 5.5 ast. Which are still all-star numbers.

Kiki Vandeweghe was a SF and averaged 27, 29, 25, 27 ppg in four straight seasons shooting around 54% from the field. He was a good player, but in no way is he doing that in today's NBA. The defenses are more complex and the athletes are way better today.

People are always talking about today's "great defensive schemes" and "athleticism", but where are they and how do they translate to skill? You have bigs that can jump out of the gym but can't rebound. They can't block a shot unless its weak-side. They are playing a zone; seriously, Bird would probably feel disrespected if they showed him a zone. You can't shoot, can't rebound, can't pass, no shotblockers, no on-the-ball defenders, no handcheck but he couldn't put up same numbers?

This is one of the 6 greatest players of all-time. Talk about Lebron being better than Jordan, he has to pass Bird first.
 
Top