Not surprising Lebron James rated number 1 small Forward of allTime,ESPN

[100Percent]

LeBron 5x first team all defensive


Larry Bird 0 times first team all defensive

Ontop of that LeBron has been the best SF in the league at a time the SF spot is deeper than it has ever been, his level of competition that he faces on a nightly basis at his position trumps Bird.

But Bird has 3 second team all defensive selections which isn't as good of an honor but still very good and very telling. Just look at whos been put on the second team these last few years.

LETS BE CLEAR

I'm not saying Bird is better than Bron

All I'm saying is that at the end of the day these are the 1st and 2nd best SFs of all time and its disrespect to Birds career to say its not even close.

 

[100Percent]

i) You can't just go by surface stats (especially rebounds - since they're meaningless in this context)
ii) Defense is better today than it was in the 80s, by a considerable margin:

Bird's best seasons ('83-'88) the league average pace was - 103, 101, 102, 102, 100, 99
LeBron's best season ('05-'13) the league average pace was - 90, 90, 91, 92, 91, 92, 92, 91, 92

LeBron was playing in a league with 10-13 less possessions per game yet he was still putting up more production than Bird. Can you imagine the difference in their #s if LeBron had the advantage of playing in an era with 10-13 more possessions a game. Dude would be approaching Wilt numbers.

I compare players by how they played during their era, its an all-time list after all. Birds stats during that time was praised comparably to Lebrons stats now. If we're using toughness/pace of an era to discredit older players there wouldn't be anyone before the 90s on these lists.

 

[Jplaya2023]

LeBron is ahead of Bird and it's not even close. It shouldn't even be an argument anymore.

Lol your crazy. Bird is 1. Lebron is 2. Bird was a killer who had lebrons all around game then some. Larry had no weaknesses offensively teams could exploit like lebron

 

[Supercoolmayo]

List needs context

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Lol your crazy. Bird is 1. Lebron is 2. Bird was a killer who had lebrons all around game then some. Larry had no weaknesses offensively teams could exploit like lebron

Even despite LeBron's so-called weaknesses, he still put up better numbers than Bird. Go figure.

 

[Jplaya2023]

Even despite LeBron's so-called weaknesses, he still put up better numbers than Bird. Go figure.

Bron is 27 7 7 bird is 24 10 6 basically identical. Bird has superior shooting numbers across the board and had no offensive weakness. Bron is the better defender and more athletic. Had bron won that 2011 finals they would be dead even to me

 

[Brozay]

Honestly this thread should just be locked

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

He averaged more than everyone you names except Jordan on much better efficiency. Now he isn't an elite defender when he wants to be? We must be talking about two LeBrons.

No such thing as an 'elite defender when you want to be'

Either you are a good defender consistently or you aren't.

Lebron losing to the Warriors and Maverikcs....people say it's 'bullshyt' that Bird played in a harder league. Bird was playing the SHOWTIME LAKERS with 4 Hall Of Fame players. Not the children of marginal players

 

[Malta]

Bron is 27 7 7 bird is 24 10 6 basically identical. Bird has superior shooting numbers across the board and had no offensive weakness. Bron is the better defender and more athletic. Had bron won that 2011 finals they would be dead even to me

Better shooting numbers across the board? They both shoot exactly .496 from the field


And LeBron has actually hit almost twice as man threes as Bird

 

[Cyber]

I would have put Pierce on my list, he will always be underrated imo. I'd still give Baylor the nod over KD but I can see putting KD above him because of superior prime/preak and good longevity, KD needs more longevity and preferably a ring or 2 before I move him over Dr.J, same for Bird but he definitely needs at least one ring for me to even consider that.

Melo will probably be in that 8-10 range when it's all said and done but the fringe top 10 SF (Wilkins, Dantley, Worthy, Melo, etc) are very close prime/peak wise so you're really splitting hairs with them. Melo just needs some more longevity and he'll get more considerations, of the guys I listed only Worthy has less points and he's got postseason factored in which the others don't so Melo needs more great seasons and/or a better postseason resume to move on up.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Bron is 27 7 7 bird is 24 10 6 basically identical. Bird has superior shooting numbers across the board and had no offensive weakness. Bron is the better defender and more athletic. Had bron won that 2011 finals they would be dead even to me

27 ppg/7 apg and 24 ppg/6 apg are not basically identical - especially if we take into account Bird had the advantage of playing during an era which averaged 10-13 possessions more per game. Bird DID NOT have superior shooting numbers across the board -

Bird's career percentages - 49 FG%, 56 TS%, 37 3-pt% on 1.9 attempts per game
LeBron's career percentages - 49 FG%, 58 TS%, 34 3-pt% on 4.0 attempts per game

Stop lying nikka

 

[Brozay]

People still can't understand the difference between better player and better aggregate career

Simply put, KDs career to this point doesn't elevate him past someone like Pippen and certainly not Bird

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

People still can't understand the difference between better player and better aggregate career

Simply put, KDs career to this point doesn't elevate him past someone like Pippen and certainly not Bird

Who's arguing that KD should be ranked ahead of Pippen and Bird in here, at this stage?

 

[1/2OfDaBruinz]

Better shooting numbers across the board? They both shoot exactly .496 from the field


And LeBron has actually hit almost twice as man threes as Bird

I don't have a dog in this fight (Great debate actually) but I think that's probably do to the how much the 3 point shot is utilized today.

 

[Brozay]

Who's arguing that KD should be ranked ahead of Pippen and Bird in here, at this stage?

Plenty of people have quoted me or dapped posts supporting it

@Versa just did