Larry Bird vs Shaq

KingMeh · Post #1 » by **KingMeh** » Thu May 16, 2013 12:25 am

who do you think was the greater player and why?

Bodhi · Post #2 » by **Bodhi** » Thu May 16, 2013 1:28 am

I hope this doesn't get ignored because I'm not sure how to rank Bird all time. He seems to automatically get put ahead of the Duncan/Shaq/Kobe/Hakeem group and I'm not sure if that's true.

RayBan-Sematra · Post #3 » by **RayBan-Sematra** » Thu May 16, 2013 1:58 am

Shaq. Clearly.
Better Peak, Prime & Longevity and much more consistent in terms of production & impact over his playoff career.

Clearly the better playoff performer with the better playoff career.

There is zero logic in ranking Bird over Shaq and this is coming from a Bird fan.

Bird is awesome, had a GOAT Peak but his lack of consistency & longevity and the overlooking of some of his playoff failures leads to him being overrated.

He was insanely popular back in his day (kinda like Kobe is now) and I think that is why he got slightly overrated.

I rank Duncan over Bird also and think depending on how you judge Hakeems younger years he has a very good case also.

nikomCH · Post #4 » by **nikomCH** » Thu May 16, 2013 2:07 am

People overrate Bird because of his ties to Magic so they just assume he should be ranked near him

In reality he's closer to Hakeem-Kobe tier than Shaq or Duncan tbh

JordansBulls · Post #5 » by **JordansBulls** » Thu May 16, 2013 3:09 am

nikomCH wrote:People overrate Bird because of his ties to Magic so they just assume he should be ranked near him

In reality he's closer to Hakeem-Kobe tier than Shaq or Duncan tbh

Well many may rank Bird ahead of Magic because of a greater peak/prime.

ThaRegul8r · Post #6 » by **ThaRegul8r** » Thu May 16, 2013 3:17 am

JordansBulls wrote:
nikomCH wrote:People overrate Bird because of his ties to Magic so they just assume he should be ranked near him

In reality he's closer to Hakeem-Kobe tier than Shaq or Duncan tbh

Well many may rank Bird ahead of Magic because of a greater peak/prime.

Peak and Career are two separate things. For example, in baseball, Bill James said that Mickey Mantle had a higher peak than Willie Mays, but since his original Historical Baseball Abstract (last I knew, this was still the case, but I stopped following baseball since the strike, so I haven't read any more recent editions, though it isn't as if they've done anything new that should change his rankings), he's said Mays > Mantle careerwise.

The Infamous1 · Post #7 » by **The Infamous1** » Thu May 16, 2013 9:48 am

Shaq by far. Bird is the second most overrated player ever after bill russell

JordansBulls · Post #8 » by **JordansBulls** » Sun May 19, 2013 1:59 pm

ThaRegul8r wrote:
JordansBulls wrote:
nikomCH wrote:People overrate Bird because of his ties to Magic so they just assume he should be ranked near him

In reality he's closer to Hakeem-Kobe tier than Shaq or Duncan tbh

Well many may rank Bird ahead of Magic because of a greater peak/prime.

Peak and Career are two separate things. For example, in baseball, Bill James said that Mickey Mantle had a higher peak than Willie Mays, but since his original Historical Baseball Abstract (last I knew, this was still the case, but I stopped following baseball since the strike, so I haven't read any more recent editions, though it isn't as if they've done anything new that should change his rankings), he's said Mays > Mantle careerwise.

Yeah I think that is the thing to consider as well. Do you consider the player greater who had the better overall career or better overall prime/peak?