I can think of just three reasons. One reason why guys stayed in college back then was that it took players several years as opposed to nowadays. The injury is evident. Even after suffering a back injury, he was still an all-star player, usually finishing the season with an average of about 20/11/7, give or take. That is a cleaned-out Larry with a bad back, and it’s pretty darn good. For a long, it was believed that Bird was just an exceptional marksman. Although it’s possible that bad back Larry was more of an outside shooter, he was still a beast in the post and the most underappreciated passer in league history.
Thankfully, YouTube has made it possible for many young children to see just how much more of a player he was. As I mentioned earlier, he is arguably the greatest passer of all time; at worst, it’s just him and LeBron from the forward position. Gimme Bird, though. He racked up assists in a time when teams ran a traditional OFF with traditional PGs & it wasn’t positionless basketball. I find it amusing when people try to argue that he couldn’t play today. Sure, he handled teams like the Pistons, Bulls, Bucks, Hawks, Rockets, Sixers, and Lakers in his prime, but he’d be screwed today, lol.
People trying to claim that Bird isn’t able to play today are ridiculous. Sure, he played against the Pistons, Bulls, Bucks, Hawks, Rockets, Sixers, and Lakers in his prime, but he would be completely outmatched today, lol. In fact, his style of play is tailor-made for modern games; just look at Markkanen. If Bird were a hybrid of Luka and Jokic, he would have all of their advantages and none of their weaknesses. Which brings me to my final point, which is that Bird wasn’t as successful due to injury and a shorter prime.
Bird was every bit the player Magic was, but he was a far better OFF player, and those Lakers teams were great from top to bottom. Although Larry was a greater scorer and the shooting comparison is absurd, Magic is a flashier passer and they are both as good as it gets. I respect Magic more than I do just about anyone, since I rank him in my top 3. Larry playing today, imagine that. He would murder smaller men. Lift them and put them back down. Take advantage of double teams by passing. Bigger players would be cooked by prime Bird if you shot three ova smaller men.
