How Would Larry Bird Rate Against Todays' Players?

[Marrrcuss]

Is there any player about as quick as MJ was? He used to make Bird look like he was in slow motion.

Yet Bird was still the best player in the league in his prime and put up 27/9/6 on amazing percentages and the Bird Celtics dominated the Bulls prior to Bird getting injured.

Right, bird looked like the better player in that series. I forgot.

[The Rebel]

The comparisons to Luka and Jokic are weird.

If anything he would be the equivalent of KD.

Even though I have not seen enough Doncic, I have seen enough Doncic to know the comparison makes sense.
Even though Jokic is bigger and is carrying arround some fat in addition to being a larger framed man The Bird Jokic similarities are blatantly obvious.

These comparisons are not weird and they make more sense than a Bird Durant comparison.

You re right they are no weird if you are racist. If you watch the players and the way they play they do not make sense.

Other than being white Europeans what are the similarities between Jokic and Doncic? That whole comparison makes no sense considering their offensive and defensive games are nowhere close to similar.

Jokic and Bird make sense as they have similar games.

Doncic plays nothing like Bird.

[SNPA]

Let me put this Bron Bird business in perspective.

Bird - better shooter, rebounder, passer, off ball defender, higher IQ (both sides), massively tougher and more physical, better teammate, vastly superior mental game (trash talking to get in opponents heads) and Larry is more clutch.

This post is the thread in a nutshell. You can prefer Bird without tying to have him win every category. Who told you Bird has a higher BBiq. Why is there always this kind of silent stereotyping when Bird is compared to others. Lebron is also tougher physically, let's be real, he might be a flopper but his tolerance for injuries and physicality is amazing. The mental stuff is subjective but Bird enjoys a reputation that has people ignoring some of his playoff flameouts. I think the worst assessment was having him as a better offball defender. Lebron almost won a DPOY off of offball defense and has a crowning peak achievement of coordinating a hopeless defensive team to help shut down the Warriors offense in 2016, a feat very few actual DPOYs have on their resume. Lebron's offball defense is anchor level good.

You're going to especially have to explaining having Bird as the better offball defender. Passing is a wash. Stop looking at volume. Bird played in the 80s with breakneck pace that bumped everyone's volume up. Lebron by contrast had half of his career stats overlap the stat suppressed 2000s. If you're going to compare their passing let's go facet by facet where Lebron is an all time great passer in addition to being an all time great game manager and an all time great situational pass creator.

No one told me Bird has a higher basketball IQ (although those he played against say it). I watched. Bird is a basketball savant.

James is absolutely not as physically tough as Bird. Bird broke his face, played later in the game. Bird played to the point there were worries he’d end up paralyzed. Bird would throw blows at 80’s goons. This one is not close.

Off ball defense is closer but I’ll remind (and I’m not a big advanced stats guy) that Bird lead the league in defensive win shares…4 times. Early 80’s Bird is a top level defensive player for a forward.

Passing isn’t close. Savant vs manufacturer.

[The Rebel]

Is there any player about as quick as MJ was? He used to make Bird look like he was in slow motion.

Yet Bird was still the best player in the league in his prime and put up 27/9/6 on amazing percentages and the Bird Celtics dominated the Bulls prior to Bird getting injured.

Right, bird looked like the better player in that series. I forgot.

The better player never won a single game, so maybe he wasn't the better player at that time? Fact is Jordan didnt become the goat until he learned to play with his teammates.

[trickshot]

Let me put this Bron Bird business in perspective.

Bird - better shooter, rebounder, passer, off ball defender, higher IQ (both sides), massively tougher and more physical, better teammate, vastly superior mental game (trash talking to get in opponents heads) and Larry is more clutch.

This post is the thread in a nutshell. You can prefer Bird without tying to have him win every category. Who told you Bird has a higher BBiq. Why is there always this kind of silent stereotyping when Bird is compared to others. Lebron is also tougher physically, let's be real, he might be a flopper but his tolerance for injuries and physicality is amazing. The mental stuff is subjective but Bird enjoys a reputation that has people ignoring some of his playoff flameouts. I think the worst assessment was having him as a better offball defender. Lebron almost won a DPOY off of offball defense and has a crowning peak achievement of coordinating a hopeless defensive team to help shut down the Warriors offense in 2016, a feat very few actual DPOYs have on their resume. Lebron's offball defense is anchor level good.

You're going to especially have to explaining having Bird as the better offball defender. Passing is a wash. Stop looking at volume. Bird played in the 80s with breakneck pace that bumped everyone's volume up. Lebron by contrast had half of his career stats overlap the stat suppressed 2000s. If you're going to compare their passing let's go facet by facet where Lebron is an all time great passer in addition to being an all time great game manager and an all time great situational pass creator.

No one told me Bird has a higher basketball IQ (although those he played against say it). I watched. Bird is a basketball savant.

James is absolutely not as physically tough as Bird. Bird broke his face, played later in the game. Bird played to the point there were worries he’d end up paralyzed. Bird would throw blows at 80’s goons. This one is not close.

Off ball defense is closer but I’ll remind (and I’m not a big advanced stats guy) that Bird lead the league in defensive win shares…4 times. Early 80’s Bird is a top level defensive player for a forward.

Passing isn’t close. Savant vs manufacturer.

Do you have Bird higher on your all time list than Lebron?

[Profound23]

The comparisons to Luka and Jokic are weird.

If anything he would be the equivalent of KD.

Even though I have not seen enough Doncic, I have seen enough Doncic to know the comparison makes sense.
Even though Jokic is bigger and is carrying arround some fat in addition to being a larger framed man The Bird Jokic similarities are blatantly obvious.

These comparisons are not weird and they make more sense than a Bird Durant comparison.

You re right they are no weird if you are racist. If you watch the players and the way they play they do not make sense.

Other than being white Europeans what are the similarities between Jokic and Doncic? That whole comparison makes no sense considering their offensive and defensive games are nowhere close to similar.

Jokic and Bird make sense as they have similar games.

Doncic plays nothing like Bird.

They are both white so that's the comparison to use I guess

[The Rebel]

This post is the thread in a nutshell. You can prefer Bird without tying to have him win every category. Who told you Bird has a higher BBiq. Why is there always this kind of silent stereotyping when Bird is compared to others. Lebron is also tougher physically, let's be real, he might be a flopper but his tolerance for injuries and physicality is amazing. The mental stuff is subjective but Bird enjoys a reputation that has people ignoring some of his playoff flameouts. I think the worst assessment was having him as a better offball defender. Lebron almost won a DPOY off of offball defense and has a crowning peak achievement of coordinating a hopeless defensive team to help shut down the Warriors offense in 2016, a feat very few actual DPOYs have on their resume. Lebron's offball defense is anchor level good.

You're going to especially have to explaining having Bird as the better offball defender. Passing is a wash. Stop looking at volume. Bird played in the 80s with breakneck pace that bumped everyone's volume up. Lebron by contrast had half of his career stats overlap the stat suppressed 2000s. If you're going to compare their passing let's go facet by facet where Lebron is an all time great passer in addition to being an all time great game manager and an all time great situational pass creator.

No one told me Bird has a higher basketball IQ (although those he played against say it). I watched. Bird is a basketball savant.

James is absolutely not as physically tough as Bird. Bird broke his face, played later in the game. Bird played to the point there were worries he’d end up paralyzed. Bird would throw blows at 80’s goons. This one is not close.

Off ball defense is closer but I’ll remind (and I’m not a big advanced stats guy) that Bird lead the league in defensive win shares…4 times. Early 80’s Bird is a top level defensive player for a forward.

Passing isn’t close. Savant vs manufacturer.

Do you have Bird higher on your all time list than Lebron?

I do and most people I know that watched them both have Bird as being better as well.

[trickshot]

No one told me Bird has a higher basketball IQ (although those he played against say it). I watched. Bird is a basketball savant.

James is absolutely not as physically tough as Bird. Bird broke his face, played later in the game. Bird played to the point there were worries he’d end up paralyzed. Bird would throw blows at 80’s goons. This one is not close.

Off ball defense is closer but I’ll remind (and I’m not a big advanced stats guy) that Bird lead the league in defensive win shares…4 times. Early 80’s Bird is a top level defensive player for a forward.

Passing isn’t close. Savant vs manufacturer.

Do you have Bird higher on your all time list than Lebron?

I do and most people I know that watched them both have Bird as being better as well.

It's okay, I have no intentions of vilifying anyone's all time list. It would actually be insane to prefer Bird and rank him lower. That's where the contention would have come. One thing though and on a concluding note, if most people who saw them play had Bird being better, it would be consensus among the older media. Don't get me wrong they are mostly casuals but so are the majority of people we know in real life. Your take means more here tbf.

[Lalouie]

Let me put this Bron Bird business in perspective.

Bird - better shooter, rebounder, passer, off ball defender, higher IQ (both sides), massively tougher and more physical, better teammate, vastly superior mental game (trash talking to get in opponents heads) and Larry is more clutch.

not enough likes on this post for my taste

the lebron takes have all fallen in love WITH THE PACKAGE.

ie, massively huge frame + nimble + smarts + athleticism and i'll admit he's certainly THE franchise player "of his era".
but what he had to do to manipulate his way through to his rings, three of which are totally overstated anyway(which btw i don't think any player will have the power to do such a thing again) doesn't make up for what he lacks in oh sooo many areas compared to the true goats of the game. they should stop gawking at the package and look at all the faux hardware.

[Pablo Escobar]

He'd get cooked on the defensive end.

[Ayt]

He'd get cooked on the defensive end.

There is a lot more to defense than being a run/jump athlete.

[slick_watts]

he would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes. no kelly tripuckas around to style against, either. comparing him to lebron is ridiculous; he wouldn't be nearly as good.

[DavidSterned]

he would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes. no kelly tripuckas around to style against, either. comparing him to lebron is ridiculous; he wouldn't be nearly as good.

Haha superior athletes to guys like Nique, who Bird dropped 60 on? Or Drexler/Kersey who he used to regularly destroy, including a 49 point triple double at age 35 with a broken back? Or Dr. J/Bobby Jones/Charles Barkley, who he dropped 42 on in two and a half quarters on before getting tossed. Okay.

The contention that Bird was just lighting up stiff slow guys is hilariously wrong.

[Norm2953]

Don't forget about work ethic. Bird, Magic, and Jordan would all be great, but slightly different than their former selves.

Bird's vision and BBIQ would set him apart in today's NBA. His shooting would be better than it was due to spacing. His assist numbers would be higher with the ball always in his hands. His scoring would be higher due to the volume 3pt shooting. However, his rebounding would probably take a hit due to the volume 3pt shooting.

Take all of that and add his killer instinct and you have the MVP today. Game on the line? You always just assumed he would make the shot. Often he told you he was going to do it and you still couldn't stop him.

Would he hide behind fake Twitter accounts? No.

Would he join a super team? I doubt it. Players might come to him though.

I wish I could see Larry in today's game.

Imagine a team with Bird and Luka on it?

[formula 400]

he would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes. no kelly tripuckas around to style against, either. comparing him to lebron is ridiculous; he wouldn't be nearly as good.

bird would get killed by guys like herro or luca. put luca or herro in the 80s and watch them elevate to bird status

[DroseReturnChi]

Let me put this Bron Bird business in perspective.

Bird - better shooter, rebounder, passer, off ball defender, higher IQ (both sides), massively tougher and more physical, better teammate, vastly superior mental game (trash talking to get in opponents heads) and Larry is more clutch.

larrys problem is his longevity sucked and he isnt like luka/lebron getting 1st all nbas before 20. i trust bird in clutch than lebrick but that doesnt mean hes a better player.

[slick_watts]

he would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes. no kelly tripuckas around to style against, either. comparing him to lebron is ridiculous; he wouldn't be nearly as good.

Haha superior athletes to guys like Nique, who Bird dropped 60 on? Or Drexler/Kersey who he used to regularly destroy, including a 49 point triple double at age 35 with a broken back? Or Dr. J/Bobby Jones/Charles Barkley, who he dropped 42 on in two and a half quarters on before getting tossed. Okay.

The contention that Bird was just lighting up stiff slow guys is hilariously wrong.

can you read? i said bird would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes.

[bwgood77]

#1

[DavidSterned]

he would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes. no kelly tripuckas around to style against, either. comparing him to lebron is ridiculous; he wouldn't be nearly as good.

Haha superior athletes to guys like Nique, who Bird dropped 60 on? Or Drexler/Kersey who he used to regularly destroy, including a 49 point triple double at age 35 with a broken back? Or Dr. J/Bobby Jones/Charles Barkley, who he dropped 42 on in two and a half quarters on before getting tossed. Okay.

The contention that Bird was just lighting up stiff slow guys is hilariously wrong.

can you read? i said bird would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes.

Style against? Sounds like it would be a real struggle for him. Unless he's defensively styling now?

Don't walk back with your tail tucked between your legs because you made an asinine comment. Just own it, clown.

[slick_watts]

Haha superior athletes to guys like Nique, who Bird dropped 60 on? Or Drexler/Kersey who he used to regularly destroy, including a 49 point triple double at age 35 with a broken back? Or Dr. J/Bobby Jones/Charles Barkley, who he dropped 42 on in two and a half quarters on before getting tossed. Okay.

The contention that Bird was just lighting up stiff slow guys is hilariously wrong.

can you read? i said bird would have trouble playing defense against today's superior athletes.

Style against? Sounds like it would be a real struggle for him. Unless he's defensively styling now?

Don't walk back with your tail tucked between your legs because you made an asinine comment. Just own it, clown.

the contention that bird was just lighting up stiff slow guys -- i said nothing of the sort. asinine comment? of course.