He might wind up overestimating today’s NBA talents, Larry Bird hinted.
Larry Bird has always flaunted his abilities in a special way. Larry Legend put a lot of competitive and haughty players in their place throughout his Hall of Fame career. Nevertheless, despite his obvious skill, Bird stated he would never presume to outplay or defeat someone without really going up against them. That’s precisely what he thought when asked how he would compare to the NBA studs of today.
“I’m not concerned about it. Saying things like “I was the best” and “our era is the best” is something I can say with ease. However, I believe we might compete and perform pretty well; you never know until you try,” Bird stated to Andscape in 2019.
Bird on competing in the NBA today
Bird doesn’t really enjoy voicing his opinions in public, unlike some of his contemporaries, particularly when it comes to fictitious games and matchups. But “The Hick from French Lick” acknowledged that he had put himself to the test multiple times during his career and that most of the time he had misjudged his competitors.
Regarding how he would have performed in the NBA today, Bird stated that he most likely would have used the same approach. The legendary Boston Celtics player said that while he would have recognized the level of play displayed by today’s NBA players, there’s a good chance he would also come to the conclusion that it’s not as hard as he had thought.
I say that because after playing against players that I had assumed were extremely talented when I first entered the league, I would conclude that they weren’t that good. And I believe it stems from the mindset I had when I was a younger player at a small high school: you play against no one, but I’d score a lot of points and get a lot of rebounds,” said Bird.
“The experience at Indiana State was the same. But as soon as I started working with pros, I started wondering: Can I really do this? I felt it was very easy once I was in here,” he continued.
