Among the best basketball players to have ever played in the NBA is Larry Bird. Even now, many people recognize the Boston Celtics legend as one of the all-time great players. The man insisted that his main goal was winning, even though he detested being referred to in this way.
One of the greatest competitors of all time, Bird is known for his trash talk to opponents. Legends abound about this incident. Bird was never afraid to tell the players he was playing against that he was usually the best player on the court.
Bird was frequently compared to players like Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and most notably, his legendary opponent Magic Johnson. Even though Bird acknowledged that he was one of the greatest of all time, it was obvious that he had no desire to surpass his peers and predecessors in order to be crowned the greatest of all time.
However, Larry Legend, as he was known, did a great deal of winning, and his record speaks for itself. Three-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and three-time League MVP, he retired. Throughout his career, he was named an All-Star twelve times and was able to make the All-NBA First Team nine times.