NBA Legends Explain Why It Was So Hard To Guard PRIME Larry Bird

he took off his top yet I see he took off his top I tell you it's hard to shoot out the bird and he gets the two-pointer that boy he can play man he's going to have to put it up he does and hits up the buz yes I miss Bird by year but somebody was telling me that bird was the biggest smack talker in the game bird for three bird for three with 4 seconds to go just this was this muscle here the one between his ears yeah that was his best you know goes to bur he's open because he he made the three-pointers it's not yet clear this is a three-pointer and he had assist by Bird right down and rebounded there's Aral bird har bird nice touch steals going to give the ball to Detroit bird steals it Johnson lay up Boston 1 second left he was always at the right place at the right time on the court yeah now you can quickly first jump good you know one of the great players you know I had the opportunity to play again bird smother goes up anyway MVP three letters that sum up dominance excellence and the spirit of reaching the height of individual greatness out of the many many awards a player can win the MVP award is the highest honor of them all and out of the tens of thousands of guys who have laced up to play an NBA game only 36 have won an MVP award and of those 36 only nine of them have won the award at least three times and of the nine players with three or more MVPs only three have won the award back to back to back Bill Russell Will Chamberlain and the most reason to do it Larry Joe bird in 1998 nearing the end of his days with the Boston Celtics Larry Bird had reached legendary status on the court he was widely recognized as not only the NBA's most ruthless and fearless competitor but as the greatest small forward to ever play the game in 88 bird was third in scoring at 29.9 points per game was first in free throw shooting and three-point shooting and finished second in the NBA MVP vote at 31 years old but as crazy as these numbers sound you have no idea just how dominant this man really was so why not ask the players who saw his greatness up close and personal trust me I don't care how good you think bird was the man was even better but Larry Bird was cold I don't think nobody ever could get out with him that was the first time bird ever talked trash to me as my rookie season my first game I ever played against him what' he say and he's coming down the court and I'm guarding him he looks at him he said I don't know why they have to guard me homes and he shoots the three now I wasn't upset he made the three I said but this son gun just call me hes the last play he says uh to James Worthy he say you guys don't have to worry about it I'm going go right over that that corner he said they going to set a screen for me we taking the ball out he said I'm going to curl right over and he's telling us to play he's telling us to play before they even take it out he said I'm going to go right over to that corner and I'm going catch it I'm going shoot it and I'm I'm going tie the game or win the game whatever the case may be you know bird talked a lot of trash um and that's in New Orleans that's in New Orleans and that game we're on the free throw line and he's like he literally said um left side over across the three and you're listening to him that's that's a tough feeling now as made up and completely fictional as Doc Rivers Larry Bird Story sounds doc was actually speaking all facts and when I say this was Next Level I really really mean it on March 12th 1985 the reigning League MVP Larry Bird walked into New Orleans to take on the Atlanta Hawks and apparently he had a lot on his mind coming into that game things you probably wouldn't expect from a white guy with an average physique and on the other side of the ball was a young and upcoming high flyer by the name of Dominic Wilkins the same Dominique Wilkins that would go on to become one of the faces of the NBA in the 1980s after Larry bir and Magic Johnson but this wasn't just your ordinary Larry Bird game this was bird at his very best but before we go any further if you're looking to up your game in sports betting meet today's video sponsor OD Jam your Ultimate Ally in the world of datadriven wagering with over 260 Sports books under its belt odds Jam is the goto platform for Savvy betters here's how it works odds Jam's Arbitrage tool scans the market in real time spotting differences in betting lines across various Sports books this means you can lock in risk-free profits by betting on both sides of the market but that's not all odds Jam also provides a positive EV calculator to optimize your bets and a handy bet tracker to monitor your profit so by using odds Jam you're not just betting smarter you're betting responsibly for long-term profitability and here's the kicker they offer a 7day free trial ready to give it a shot use code unlimited for a 35% discount on your first month secure your Bets with confidence and make informed decisions with odds Jam all right back to the video while those highlights looked alltime special there was something much much more interesting going on between the lines a moment that would go on to be talked about for years and years is one of the coldest blooded trash talking moments you'll hear about in sports history now remember how Doc mentioned that bird kept shouting who wants it each time he came down the court well that moment was so jaw-dropping that the dudes Larry Bird was dropping 60 points on were cheering his shots as they fell even as bird pointed at all the guys on the opposite bench while he scored and was flat out disrespecting them they were so in awe of his greatness that they all just kept quiet and continued watching number 33 light it up I think it's safe to say that we're not going to see a more coldblooded trash talker ever again in the NBA I mean this guy was the baddest white dude to ever lace him up have a play out of bounds play I'm taking it out and um Larry says I'm going to bust off the play and I'm just going to come out and I'm going to shoot a three and I'm like we're down two I'm like no don't do that I'm like just let's shoot a two please go to the hole try to get fouled let's just get into overtime see if we can't win this game and Larry says no I'm I'm just going to bust this on him I'm like oh my gosh so he tells the tells the Phoenix bench um tells the coaches yeah I'm just fixing a bust the three on you guys and just go home I'm tired of this and he gets the ball jumps out busts the play comes out gets the ball at the slot shoots the ball as the ball's in the air he kind of turns towards the Phoenix ban Told You So St running to the locker room and and it went in and I I just started laughing I was like oh man then you got that arrogant cocky Garett Larry Bird trash talking all the time and was he really arrogant was he really really arrogant well yeah he and he could back it up so uh when you're arogant and you can back it up you're not arogant you're just good and uh and Larry was good and yes he was arrogant and yes he absolutely backed it up in 1984 Larry Bird was at the peak of his basketball Powers he was in the midst of one of the greatest seasons of all time and on one night two unlucky things happened to Future NBA Hall of Famer Julius Irving number one his team Drew bird Celtics and number two he had to guard the maniac that was Larry Bird and this matchup got intense it began in the third quarter when bird was getting the best of Irving bird said quote I was up 38-6 that's how I summarize it I don't want to get into the details but I wasn't happy with the way things were going yeah that's who Larry was even as he was kicking the beeh of one of the game's best players he still wasn't satisfied so what did Larry do well he started trash talking Irving and that's when things got heated during one trip down the court bird and Dr J got a little tied up bird fell to the ground and Dr J just kind of trotted back down to the other end of the Court well Larry Bird did not like that so he got up and got in Dr J's face according to Danny a who was Bird's teammate on the court that day Larry had scored like 35 on him like halfway through the third quarter and he was just jogging back down the court and said quote man you need to retire and it was just like that Dr J lost his mind and that's where that story started just think about this bird really told that man to retire from his job during a game he said that in the face of one of the greatest players ever I mean the audacity of this man was something else it ended in an absolute melee with Irving Landing a few punches on bird while he was being held from behind by Charles Barkley and Moses Malone Barkley tried splitting the two up but Dr J had already landed a couple punches and honestly I'd be heed too that was huge disrespect anyway it all ended in both bird and Dr J being ejected Larry's always call me cheesy right he's like cheesy who guard me and I was like you know I got Kelly got lamb I got I got Benson he's like you ain't got no brothers he's like like you he's like you disrespecting me that's what he said that's exactly what he said he said hey man you keep putting no white dude on me that is straight disrespect so all of a sudden we playing and I'm D him up and he slow ball me that's where I got the slow ball put you back to the back like this and his back was bad during his time so he went right to that corner and I'm up on him I'm undering and he said Young what did I tell you I was going to do and he turned around raised up we looked around it was all draws and I said [ __ ] I ain't going to mess with you no more it was a Sant on the court like just a Sant like two plays ahead on everything and so um I I was just talking about this uh maybe three or four days ago how hard it was to go into Boston and be the team when bird is in his prime Dumars is absolutely right playing bird Celtics in Boston was was one of the hardest things to do for any NBA team especially the Detroit Pistons and I don't know if it was Detroit's nastiness or their grit or trash talking but there was something about those Pistons teams that brought the very best out of number 33 from 1981 to 882 or Larry Bird's age 25 season until bird was 31 years old in 1988 the Celtics were 26 and9 against the bad boys in Detroit and to give that some context other Powerhouse teams like the Philadelphia 76ers were just 22- 17 against Detroit during those years Houston was just 5 and9 and Milwaukee was just one game above 500 with a 21-2 record against Detroit but bird was just different in those 35 matchups during those seven seasons bird averaged 27.2 points 10.4 rebounds and seven assists and the next pup that tells you that Larry Bird wasn't anything special or all that skilled show him this game November 1985 bird goes for 47 points the sixth highest scoring game by a player that season on 55% shooting and a perfect 13 of13 from the free throw line but here's where it gets even more impressive this dude Larry Bird dropped 47 on zero yes zero three-pointers made or attempted can you guess how many players during the past 2023 324 season scored at least 47 points in a game with no three-pointers just one bird in a physically Relentless era was dropping nearly 50 points on all mid-range jumpers and by finishing among the trees in the paint but going back to what Dumar has said about Bird's IQ he wasn't joking around when he said that watch bird here as he seals his Defender and signals to teammate Dennis Johnson with his eyes to throw the ball off the glass I mean it's just the subtle things like this that made bird from another planet you know and this was mid 80s right 98% of guys were not thinking outside the box like this bird knew that if he posted up and called for the ball like most big players do they would have a mismatch Detroit's defense would swarm him and probably triple team him but no bird was several steps ahead of the game it's why defensive juggernauts like Detroit couldn't manage to win more than nine games in Seven Seasons against Larry bird but this Larry Bird game nearly 40 freaking years later doesn't get talked about as much as it should here we had a top 11 defense in the Atlanta Hawks on their home court versus Larry Bird number 33 by himself outscored the other four Celtic starters combined and similar to the theme of his 47 against Detroit bird dropped 60 on just one three-pointer now throughout NBA history there have been 89 in instances of a player having scored at least 60 points in a game and Incredibly enough seven of those 60 plus point games happened just this past season but of the 89 times a 60-point game has happened in history only 49 times has it happened with a player making either just one or no three-pointers at all which you're probably thinking sounds like a fair amount right well if you take out Mr broken record himself wi Chamberlain who had 32 of these 49 games that number drops to only 17 so Will Chamberlain notwithstanding only 17 times in NBA history has there been a 60 plus Point performance with a player making no more than one three-pointer so bird 60 in 1985 is far more impressive than you probably previously thought on him shooting a basketball right that's got to be intimidating for me I like that because I knew the pressure was on them more than me mhm uh I mean I just looked there I was really just teasing like I looked around and everybody was looking at me who's coming in second bir in the corner double fake jump good I don't think me and coach and I would had a problem cuz I never had a problem with my coach got 3 seconds to bur a runner it's good you guys are champions you guys have won at the highest level let me tell you re I don't think about the wins I always think about the Los okay oops at the bird a runner it's good it's good and the celic Win It third hits in the celic Kevin there he's talking bad about what I said Kevin tell him what you told me he goes what's that I said you you're going to kick his butt tonight he go hey Alvin I'm gonna kick your butt out Kevin's a rookie stuff like that bird working he's triple teamed he leans in what a shot by Larry Bird on the Baseline you know I always knew how good I was right I didn't care what you thought of my game out I knew in the majority of the games I played with the team I had we're going to win most of them mhm I had that kind of confidence back in the oh my goodness oh my goodness I like it's open because guys can show more of their skills and the shooters will always be Shooters top of the key Larry spins Drive got it you see the fundamental difference between some of the greatest players of all time like Kareem magic Duncan LeBron Steph and many more versus Larry Bird is that other players greatly respected these alltime greats but they were downright haunted by the thought of playing Larry Bird they're intimidated by guys like Kobe and Jordan but they are in awe of Larry Bird I mean among the thousands of players who have ever played the sport of basketball they unanimously see bird in a territory a space a breath of his own of all the players you've heard from whether they competed against him watched him play or even play played with him they were all in sheer amazement all of these players competed at the highest level all of them reached massive success in the NBA yet none of them see bird as their peer they put him in his own category and truly there will never be another Larry Bird in the NBA not being guarded it goes to bird bird up fakes bird takes the shot it's God oh my goodness I can't believe it all right that's it for this one let us know what you thought down in the comments don't forget to like And subscribe and share and we'll see you in the next one thanks for watching

Channel: Players Unlimited - Basketball

Views: 53,409

Keywords: Larry Bird

Id: 4V6V6n-T-Z0

Length: 17min 7sec (1027 seconds)

Published: Thu May 23 2024