The most remarkable shot is still the one that didn’t count 35 years later. As he told it, Larry Bird hit it while vanishing into the trainer’s lap. After being fouled, Bird made a shot that was so amazing that it left several Hawks players on the opposing bench in disbelief.
When Bird released the bucket following the whistle, one of the officials waved it off. Nevertheless, Bird scored 60 points that night, a career high, to cap off the performance. It also left a lasting impression—the kind that, even after all these years, still makes witnesses shake their heads. John Sterling, a renowned play-by-play commentator for the Yankees, described the action that night as the best shooting performance he had ever seen while working Hawks games.
Compared to other players, Larry Bird does not receive as much praise or acknowledgment. This is due to the fact that he lacked some of the modern athletes’ agility and quickness.
Another formidable opponent for Bird was Magic Johnson, a player with the opposing Lakers.
The Celtics and Lakers won eight titles between them in the 1980s, indicating their dominance in the decade.
In fact, Bird and Johnson faced off in the 1979–1980 NCAA tournament championships.
Like many other NBA players throughout history, Bird is not the owner of any significant all-time scoring records.
He is the only player in NBA history, though, to have finished a career with an average of twenty points, ten rebounds, and five assists.
Find out what made Larry Bird so great in this post!
The skill of Larry Bird on the court
Bird made up for his lack of athleticism with effort, technique, mental tenacity, and inventiveness.
He did not merely pass, shoot, or catch. If he could tap or bat the ball to a teammate, he did it without hesitation.
Bird was adept at getting into your head as well as beating people with the basketball!
Numerous anecdotes exist of Bird predicting his opponents’ moves on the court, following through on those moves, and then commenting on the play afterwards.
This was most famously demonstrated in the 1988 three-point competition.
He questioned each of his competitors beforehand who they thought would take second, and he won the competition without even pulling off his warm-up.
It’s not as though Bird wasn’t skilled at winning three-point shootouts either.
Remember that Larry Bird was the only winner of the three-point contest in its existence at the time, and it was only in its third year.
