At his peak, LB was a 15 on a scale of 1 to 10. And no other player in NBA history could consistently sink last-second game-winning jumpers with as much confidence and authority as LB, who was the quintessential clutch shooter in the 1980s. Also, LB was a first-rate inventive passer, as good and accurate as Magic Johnson was in high-pressure situations, and probably the greatest passing Forward the game has ever seen. He could even improve the performance of all of his teammates better than every other player in NBA history, with the exception of Michael Jordan, since LB possessed some magically motivating intangibles.
Back in the mid-1980s, LB was the best all-around basketball player the world had ever produced, while simultaneously being as selfless and consummate team player as any who made the commitment to put team before personal glory. In this way, LB transformed the NBA after the 1970s, contributing to the overall progression of the game. Yes, Larry Bird was a rare superstar!
Larry Bird was a rare player who could talk with the best of them while still backing everything up. Is he the best player of all time? No. However, this does not exclude him from being the most renowned. We’ll never see someone like Larry Bird again. Talking trash could have been Bird’s finest skill. For example, he once informed Sonics forward Xavier McDaniel that he was going to shoot a game-winning shot over him. Bird collected the ball about 10 seconds later and sank a jumper from the right elbow—the place he’d indicated—over McDaniel’s outstretched arms.
His ascension began with his on-court rivalry with Magic Johnson, which began when the two were in college at Indiana State and Michigan State, respectively, and continued into the NBA, propelling the League back into living rooms throughout the country. Jordan may have converted the League into the behemoth that it is today, but he would not have been able to do so if Bird and Magic had not saved it first. Bird’s feathery jumper is still one of the smoothest strokes in basketball history. The cliché eyeballs at the back of his skull could have been invented just to describe his incredible passing and court vision.
Larry Bird was a 12-time All-Star, three-time NBA champion, three-time MVP, and twice a member of the elite 50-40-90 club.
