If Larry Bird played in today's league..

[Imyremeshaw]

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]

Just realized dudes are hating on Bird's athleticism.

What is Paul Pierce?

 

[feelosofer]

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]

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]

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]

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.