15 NBA Legends Who Were Terrified Of Larry Bird

Anyone that's ever actually seen Larry Bird play.... I do not understand how they can say the man was unathletic! That guy was all over the court... he was 2 or 3 steps ahead of everybody else on every play ...give me a break!

Pat Reilly said it best: if you need a basket to win the game, pick Micheal Jordan if you need a basket to save your life, pick Larry Bird.

OMG I hated Larry and the Celtics back then BUT anyone that says he couldn't play...never saw him play. Dude was unstoppable. Could do everything!! Defense or Offense, he played HARD!!!

I LOVE the Magic Johnson story when he was hurt. Larry said something along the lines of "It's OK. I'm gonna put on a show for you!"

I took my 11-year-old son to Larry Bird's very first basketball camp. When I first saw Larry I shook his hand and watched my hand disappear into his hand as if it were a major-league baseball glove. They say he is 6-9? I always thought he was at least a bit closer to being 6-10. Anyway, we proceed through this [maybe, and very likely] the only basketball camp, LB ever did? And at this time, maybe, 1984, did we have any idea how super-great this man already was in the NBA ? Not a clue but I tell you now,, we both know it now and we feel so blessed to have spent 2 or 3 weeks with LB at his original [gift] basketball ball camp.

Oh my God I still think the funniest story about Larry Bird is when he says that they are being disrespectful by putting a white guy on him😅😅😅😅

Larry was athletic in a sneaky way. He was quicker than he looked and he had phenomenal hands. Plus he was probably the smartest player ever to play.

I never get tired of Larry Bird stories. His entire life story is such an inspiration. I think part of why I love it is that I live in Indiana, went to ISU, and live in Terre Haute. Basketball in those years was everything in Indiana from high school on.

Rodman said Bird couldn't play in today's NBA lol.a prime Bird would dominate in today's NBA

Kareem said it best. Bird wasn't the fastest or most athletic, but the muscle between his ears was constantly maxed out. Also going back to what Dumars said he was a Savant on the court.

He wasn't referred to as "Larry Legend" for nothing.

Bird playing against rodman in regular season averaged 24.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists. in playoffs Bird averaged 20.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists. rodman's stats against Bird regular season 10.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists, post season 6.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists guess that says it all. No wonder Rodman's jealous

Larry Bird was incredible person. He was successful af also as a coach. He brought the Indiana Pacers to the NBA finals with aged Reggie Miller against the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. They lost but what was incredible is he was the first coach who used the "Hack a shaq " tactic. He didnt let the Lakers take those wins easy. He tortured Shaq on the free throw line. He won Coach of the Year that year easily and too bad he coached only 2 seasons. Real Shame- I think he would have been one of the most decorated coaches out there if he was given a better team. Larry is one of those human beings that understood basketball like very few human beings ever did.

Where is this "He wasn't that athletic or fast" coming from? Has anyone seen him play?? They say he was always there, you couldn't make a mistake... that means he was just as athletic and fast as everyone else. And my God, just look at his career!! The man is a legend. He helped save the NBA. He could shoot that ball, and he was a team player. He knew how to be a team player, but he also knew he was a star. He was arrogant. Sure. But he could back it all up. When he's standing telling you what he's gonna do and then proceeds to do it while you just try to keep up... Don't say that's not an athlete. He ran full force every game. Never stopped. He was a power house. He was, in my opinion, the best player that's ever lived. Followed very closely by Jordan and then Magic Johnson. The rest of the list would take serious pondering.

As others have said, Larry's best muscle was the one between his ears. Jordan was flashy and made you look slow, but Larry made you look stupid.

Saw Celtics against the Knicks at Madison Square in the early 80's. There was a breakaway. Bird dribbling up the middle and another Celtics guy trailing up the left side. One Knicks defender backing up in the middle, focusing on Bird. Larry got the Knicks guy to commit to him and just then, Bird threw a perfect, behind the back bounce pass to the guy on the left for an easy layup. Knicks guy was flabbergasted. Doesn't sound like much as I write this, but it was kinda a bang bang play and Birds pass was unbelievable. One bounce, crosscourt - hit the guy in stride. Wow.

Thanks for sharing this video. Only thing I want to say is that Dr. J is mistaken about Bird's rookie year. Bird went to a 29 win team and with 1 player change to the roster in ML Carr and a new coach in Bill Fitch, Bird was the main reason Boston won 61 games = a 32 game turnaround and the biggest 1 season turn around in NBA history!!

I met Larry once when I was 10 years old. He was playing a game in a larger city next to mine. We were in the smaller city bordering the one he was going to play in that evening. We were sitting in a McDonalds eating and he walked in alone by himself and sat at the table just across from us by himself (no one else with him). We couldn’t believe how tall he was and also didn’t know who he was. He saw us kids and looked over and said, “Yes I play basketball” and smiled at us. He told us that he liked our little town, and he chose to come here to eat, because in the big city local people and news crews would not leave him alone. That evening is when I saw my first NBA game and saw him play. It was years later that my stepbrother and I said that we should have got an autograph, but at 10 years old that’s not what kids our age even knew about. He was extremely polite and was a very funny guy, we talked, ate together, and when we were done eating, we went our separate ways. I just told my stepbrother that; at the very least we could tell people that we had dinner with Larry Bird.

The shot from behind the back board is the best shot in NBA history

Larry Bird was the Greatest forward to ever play . I grew up watching him and saw him live at Boston he scored 48 pts . He was the most electrifying player ever . He played with all heart and was smart and could shoot a shot anywhere and hit it .