The Ultimate Larry Bird Video

the world is a much different place than it was 10 years ago as there is more constant information at our fingertips than ever before any single play action or moment can go absolutely viral in an instant within a matter of minutes the entire Sports World can be made aware of a significant event and before you know it everyone is chiming in with their thoughts and emotions but NBA basketball hasn't always been this way many things have happened in years past that were jaw-dropping developments and if those same developments were to take place in today's world they would absolutely break the internet one of the most shocking and insane events of basketball history took place nearly four decades ago on November 9th 1984 the two favorites in the Eastern Conference were meeting up for their first matchup of the regular season the defending Champion Boston Celtics and the previous Champions the Philadelphia 76ers at this point in history Boston and Philadelphia had one of the fiercest ongoing rivalries as the 76ers represented the old guard with their battl tested veterans and the Celtics were the youthful Rising power in the conference every time these teams met up an epic battle was expected not just because of the immense Talent on both sides but also because of the intense physical nature of both teams and neither side was willing to back down just recently before this game was a preseason game the Celtics Cedric Maxwell and Philly's Moses Malone got into a violent fight which was soon followed up with another intense fight between Larry Bird and Mark iveron which resulted in ejections again this was the intensity of the two team team meeting in a pre-season game now this upcoming game on November 9th was nationally televised and was one of the more highly anticipated regular season games of NBA history not just for the Rivalry the star power and the fact that they had won the previous two championships but it was also for the fact that both of these teams were undefeated the two phases of the Eastern Conference Larry Bird and Julius Irving found themselves in a heated individual battle anytime to Superstars Clash on the basketball court is sure to Garner attention but it's something else entirely for those two stars to get into an actual heated fight now up to this point both of these Superstars actually got along pretty well as friends and highly respected one another's abilities you wouldn't know it though based on how things unfolded on the court the game was now underway and to the surprise of absolutely no one the physical intensity was extremely high now at this time in NBA history only two referees were assigned to work each game famous referee dick bavetta was one of them for this game but he was a relatively new NBA referee at this point so because of this he was assigned to ref the game with a more experienced veteran official Jack Madden early into the second half the Boston Celtics guard Dennis Johnson Dove after a loose ball and accidentally slid into Jack Madden's legs this Collision broke the veteran official's leg on impact and as as a result he had to be carried out of the game on a stretcher and now the less experienced dick bavetta was left to officiate the game by himself there were absolutely no Reserve referees waiting in the wings in an attempt to gain control of a chaotic basketball game beteta pulled both of the team's head coaches into a huddle and asked them to keep themselves and their team on their best behavior since he was all alone to ref the game both coaches agreed but only with their words and not with their actions as bavetta had to give out numerous technical fouls after the Huddle only a couple minutes into the second half bavetta ejected Philadelphia's head coach Billy Cunningham after he gave him what he thought was his second technical foul the thing is Jack Madden had given Philly's head coach a technical foul in the first half but then decided to resend the tech and gave it to a Philadelphia player instead which means dick petta wrongly ejected a coach with only one technical foul after a couple minutes beteta learned of this error and had to send a staff member to get Cunningham out of the locker room so he could continue to coach the game to put it simply this game was already a messy circus and emotions were obviously extremely high but no one knew just how much worse things were about to get it was a close game halfway into the third but on an individual level Larry Bird was destroying Julius Irving on both ends of the court with 6 minutes left in the third quarter Larry had a whopping 42 points on 74% shooting compared to Irving who only had six points on a terrible 23% shooting and of course you guys know Larry Bird he was letting Irvin hear about it every step of the way trash talking him as he buried jumper after jumper at the rap bird was going a 70o knight was looking like a very realistic outcome all while Irving was experiencing one of the worst performances of his entire career understandably this whole process was incredibly frustrating to Irving so when the two stars were battling for position down the court Irving got right up against his body when bird swung his elbow towards Irving and what appeared to be an attempt to clear some space Larry was whistled for an offensive foul for the elbow and he was Ira at the call and started letting the referee hear about it according to Julius Irving he extended his arm towards bird in an attempt to restrain him from from the referee Larry didn't like that very much and before you know it a gesture that was made in an attempt to keep the pece turned into both players literally choking each other after the two stars had each other by the throat Larry then took the first swing at Irving and it was on Moses Malone and Charles Barkley of the 76ers grabbed a hold of Bird from behind and held him in place with a headlock as Irving repeatedly punched the trapped bird in the face by the time time the chaos had finally been put to a halt both players had been ejected out of the game eventually each star was fined $7500 a piece for their part in the brawl the Celtics went on to win the game 130 to 1119 and remained undefeated if you feel like the NBA is the same today as it was in the'80s all you need to know in order to change your mind is that neither of these players were suspended for this vicious altercation and Irving went as far as continuous ly punching a defenseless player in the face and yet neither of them missed a game bird was even playing against the Washington Bullets the very next day on the second game of a backto back now take a moment to imagine something like this happening in the modern NBA the last two championship teams meeting in the biggest game of the year both teams being undefeated and two of the biggest stars in the league get into an incredibly gruesome fight it would kind of be like Giannis and LeBron getting into a brutal fight and naturally social media would be exploding at the event imagine if LeBron was consistently punching a defenseless Giannis in the face while Anthony Davis held Giannis in place and then on top of that LeBron doesn't even get suspended obviously this analogy doesn't totally work as they weren't the last two Champions and they were never close to having an undefeated matchup this season even by the most crazy hyp hypothetical modern comparison it still doesn't match up to the gravity of that fight in 1984 in some ways it really was like the Wild West in the 1980s now here's the thing these two legends had to meet up again in the regular season just one month later this time on December 12th 1984 the rematch took place in the 76ers home building in Philadelphia obviously everyone watching was waiting to see if there was yet another fight in store for their Legend and Dr J for the most part everything was pretty cordial between the stars but if Irving was hoping that this would be his revenge game where he would get the upper hand on bird then he was left awfully disappointed once again Larry methodically picked Julius apart as he once again dominated the matchup dropping 34 points nine rebounds and five assists on 57% shooting compared to Irving who only dropped 16 points on 39% shooting from the field field at this point Boston had firmly established their mental Edge over the 76ers and when these two contenders later met up in the Eastern Conference Finals bird once again had the upper hand as the Celtics comfortably eliminated the 76ers in just five games although Irving might have dealt the most punishment to bird when they physically fought bird never stopped abusing Irving That season in terms of the actual basketball first off Larry Bird who ruined the Legacy of Sydney montree all of you know who Larry Bird is he was a three-time NBA champion a three-time MVP an all-around skillful threat everywhere on the court and simply one of the top 10 greatest basketball players of all time let's be real this 69 assassin doesn't need much more of an introduction on the other hand there's Sydney monrie this 64 guard was one of the great two-way players of NBA history as he was actually the first offensive player of the year in 1983 and he's the only guard who's ever won the award multiple times at his Peak he was averaging more than 22 points per game and he was a perennial Allstar earning a selection in five straight Seasons he was the leader of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise throughout the majority of the 1980s as they were talented enough to be considered as frequent title contenders unfortunately for Moncrief he was playing on an Eastern Conference Contender at the same time that a prime Larry Bird was and more often than not when their paths crossed Birds show no mercy whatsoever things started off looking bright for the bucks though the two teams met up in the 1983 Eastern Conference semi-finals and the Bucks brought their best effort as mon creef put up these strong averages over the course of the series on the other hand Larry was hindered by an intense case of the flu that actually caused him to Mis game to at the end of the day the second seated bucks stunningly swept the third seated Boston Celtics and Larry Bird said it was a massive embarrassment that he would never forget for the rest of his life well it would seem that bird took that moment personally because he would never let Moncrief and the Bucks ever defeat him again in The Following Season both teams appeared to be even stronger as the first seated Celtics met with the second seated bucks in the 1984 EAS Conference Finals the series wasn't nearly as competitive as many expected it to be as bird was on an absolute Mission and over the course of the series he dropped these monstrous averages leading the Celtics entire team in points rebounds assists and Steals on remarkable efficiency the Celtics comfortably eliminated the Bucks in five games and obviously this prevented montree from making his first trip to the NBA finals two years later the teams met up again in the 1986 Eastern Conference Finals bird had a series for the ages as he nearly averaged a triple double on absolutely goofy efficiency splits Milwaukee never stood a chance as Larry and the Celtics swept them in just four games with an average margin of victory of 15 points this was now the second straight season that bird kept monrie from reaching the NBA Finals the following year the two teams met in the playoffs for the fourth time in just five seasons and it was in the 1987 Eastern Conference semifinals with the recent acquisitions of Jack Sigma and John Lucas Milwaukee was poised to put up a greater fight than the previous season and they did just that facing elimination in game six Sydney monrie produced an epic performance as he dropped 34 points six rebounds four assists and three Steals on 55% shooting they pushed bird and the Celtics to a seventh game in Boston but at the end of the day Larry Legend was once again too much as he put up 3010 and 8 in the decisive game and the Celtics took home the win with a final score of 119 to 113 yet again bird had a dominant series filling up the stash sheet across the board in my opinion monrie is already regarded as one of the most underrated players in basketball history but because of bird he was denied several trips to the NBA finals and he may have even gone on to win an NBA championship which would have certainly made him a legendary figure in the city of Milwaukee to this day many young basketball fans have never even heard of Sydney montree but I promise you that wouldn't be the case if Larry Bird never existed it is widely accepted that Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time and even sneaks his way into the goat debate among many basketball circles the thing is I personally rank Larry Bird higher than most people do as he's currently sitting in the sixth spot on my all-time list and I even have him ranked slightly ahead of Magic Johnson which is certainly a more Uncommon opinion I think there's some major misconceptions to Bird's game that result in him not getting quite as much credit as I believe he deserves and by the end of this video I think that I can convince some of you that Larry Legend is in fact underrated before we get into some misconceptions let's start with what most people already know about bird and I'll elaborate upon it over his 13-year career Larry averaged 24.3 points on a stellar 56.4 true shooting percentage despite their talent heavy history bird is the Celtics all-time leading playoff score so whether it was in the regular season or the postseason he was always an efficient and lethal threat he was obviously a legendary scorer four and an incredibly efficient shooter Larry is objectively one of the greatest three-point Shooters of all time as he's tied with Craig Hodes for the most Three-Point Contest won in a career with a total of three the thing is Hodes participated in a total of eight three-point competitions while bird only participated in a total of four so he literally did the same amount of damage as the other all-time leader in half the amount of time on top of all of this you really could make the argument that bird is the most all-around efficient scorer of NBA history if that seems like a stretch then consider this during some of his prime years Larry went on a 5-year stretch where he had 50 40 90 percentages only nine players in NBA history have achieved at least one season of 50 40 90 percentages yet Larry did it over a 5-year stretch while putting up just about 28 10 and 7 each night the only player who has come close close to that all-around efficiency over such a long period of time is actually Steve Nash but the thing is Nash was never primarily a score and average roughly half the amount of points that Larry did during his stretch to efficiently score that many points on that kind of volume of allaround shot attempts is something that no one else has ever done as well as Larry Bird did again maybe some of you didn't know the extent of how lethal Larry was as an all-around efficient scorer but I do feel feel like that's probably the most commonly understood aspect of his game now for the misconceptions and the details that definitely make Larry an underrated player there are a lot of people especially younger basketball fans who believe that Larry was a subpar Defender this is incredibly inaccurate as bird wasn't just a good defensive player but a great one as a 69 small forward he definitely had the size and length to frustrate the offensive opponent sure there is the narrative that Larry was a slow and unathletic player and thus it affected his defensive play this is true to a certain extent but it's also grossly exaggerated what Larry did have are the most important traits of a great defensive player which are Hustle Heart intelligence effort and availability Larry was never lacking in any of these areas he always put in the work and he was incredible not only at reading the defenses but also at anticipating them Larry made three NBA all defense teams throughout the course of his career and even finished as high as third overall in the defensive player of the year running in 1983 he wasn't just a solid on Ball and help Defender but he was also a terrific pickpocket as Larry averaged a fantastic 1.7 steals per game over the course of his 133-year career his best evening in this area came on February 18th 1985 against the to Jazz when Larry dropped 30 points 12 rebounds 10 assists and nine steals in only 34 of play due to them absolutely destroying the Jazz bird didn't play a second of the fourth quarter to this day the NBA record for the most steals in a single game is 11 so not only could he have easily been only the second player to ever achieve the quadruple double but if bird had played the fourth he might have been the record holder for the most deals in a game you have to be a great defensive player in order to be in a position to seize that record on top of all of that bird led the entire NBA and defensive win shares a total of four times that's the fourth most in NBA history the only players ahead of him on that list are Tim Duncan George mikin and Bill Russell that is a remarkably short list of great defensive players I'm not trying to say that bird was on the level of someone like Dennis Rodman or Scotti Pippen but to call Larry anything other than a great defensive player is either completely ignorant or is just plain disrespect towards his game the other key area where people underappreciate bird was his rebounding ability as Larry was simply one of the greatest rebounding small forwards that the game has ever seen he was aggressive and tenacious as he got as high as 11 rebounds per game in 1983 qualities that I mentioned earlier like his size hustle and intelligence are also things that helped him as he battled on the boards over the course of his career Larry averaged a whopping 10 rebounds per game and when he was starting specifically at the small forward position he averaged 9.5 rebounds per game that's the third highest average among primary small forwards in NBA history the only players ahead of him are Billy Cunningham and elen Baylor who both played in the 1960s which was easily the most inflated rebounding era of basketball history so not only is bird an underrated rebounder not only is he objectively one of the all-time great rebounders but he's also arguably the greatest rebounder ever at his position along with all the other skills I talked about Larry was also a remarkably gifted facilitator but I won't delve into that much because like his shooting I also think that's an area that a decent amount of people have a strong appreciation for ultimately I think it's his solid defense and his Elite rebound that people underestimate which is why I think he's underrated regardless of the fact that people still refer to him as Larry Legend I got to be real with you guys I have to monitor how much time I spend on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter because some of the basketball takes on there are seriously awful for my mental health the amount of disrespect thrown around to various different generations of basketball is truly astonishing one of the most common disrespectful and ignorant narratives that I constantly see being thrown around is that players in the 70s and 80s were basically just plumbers sometimes they'll even go as recent as calling dudes in the 9s plumbers the idea is that guys like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan took advantage of a bunch of unathletic skinny looking players I hate this narrative because it's overly simplistic and it doesn't accurately represent the league as a whole during those eras so let me tell you what is true yes generally speaking players in the80s for example didn't look as physically fit as players in today's NBA this difference in appearance is mostly made up of muscle mass today players fitness routines are completely different from players in previous generations modern players have their own physical trainers they have advanced fitness routines and training methods and better technology today the average player is 6' 7 in tall and weighs 216 lb 40 years ago the average NBA player was also 6' 7 in tall but they weighed significantly less at only 205 lb I believe the majority of that 11 lb difference is made up of muscle mass the thing is although players didn't have as much muscle mass and definition there were still players all over the league who had tremendous speed and roughly 40-in vertical leaps the problem with the differences in build is how people automatically equate this to a lack of athleticism for example Kevin Durant weighs about 8 lb soaking wet yet you would be crazy to say that he was unathletic and despite being as skinny as he is he's one of the greatest players of all time Michael Jordan is another decent example although he put on tons of weight and muscle mass during the early '90s arguably the best version we ever saw of Jordan was in 1988 when he was still extremely skinny yet he won the MVP the defensive player of the year and he put up the best all-around numbers of his career this takes us to the modern player who is the focus of this video Nia yic The Joker has been hit with this quote unathletic tag constantly throughout his career as critical analysts and basketball fans continue to make this claim sure he may not be the fastest runner or the greatest leaper and he doesn't have almost any muscle definition but he greatly makes up for it with his incredible core Vision with his size and wingspan with his solid footwork with his High basketball IQ with his stamina and with his efficient shooting all over the court yic isn't close to being the greatest track and field athlete in the game today but he is the best basketball player in the NBA today the beauty of the game of basketball is that it's a form of Art and you don't have to be the most athletically gifted player to Excel on the sport you just have to be in incredibly skilled and know how to play if athleticism was the main separating factor between the average players and the great players then a guy like Shannon Brown would have been dominating the NBA throughout the late 2000s some of you may not even know who Shannon Brown is but if you were a Laker fan during that era then you definitely do that guy was providing a jaw-dropping highlight just about every other night although he had the Speed strength and leaping ability to jump out of the gym he simply lacked the skills of an Elite basketball player and before he reached the age of 30 he couldn't even find a spot on an NBA roster I'll give another example this time of an older player Orlando Woolridge was a remarkable athlete and honestly a very quality basketball player much better than Shannon Brown that's for sure Orlando was a 69 small forward who was incredibly strong with tremendous muscular definition he was also quick and and was one of the highest leapers in the entire league regularly oooing and awing crowds with his insane displays of athleticism fun fact he was also the first player to ever make an East Bay dunk in the NBA's dunk contest with that being said he didn't quite have the overall skills to be one of the best players in the league as he never made a single NBA All-Star team and a far less athletic guy Like Larry Bird regularly cooked wool Ridge almost every time they matched up against each other speaking of Larry Bird I believe he's one of the Legends who becomes the most validated by nicoa yic success yic is only 2 in taller than bird but both guys had Elite Court Vision both guys were Elite rebounders both guys were fantastic Shooters and both guys were fundamentally sound like jic bird certainly had the size to compete in any era but from the day he was drafted into the league bird was constantly making a full out of anyone who doubted his basketball abilities he could handle the basketball he could misdirect the opponent he could hit a shot from seemingly anywhere on the court and he facilitated as if he had eyes in the back of his head due to his Timeless skills if Larry Bird played in the league today I believe he would dominate the Eastern Conference just like he dominated the east in the 1980s if Nia yic can do it then so could Larry Bird nicoa yic is a living breathing example of stereotypical athleticism being extremely overrated in the minds of the basketball Community if I still haven't got my point across then consider some of the recent events in NBA history in 2016 a player who struggles to dunk a basketball became the first unanimous MVP in NBA history in 2017 a player who was only 5'9 in tall average nearly 30 points per game in 2018 Kevin Durant won his second straight Finals MVP P award and he was the guy at the draft combine who couldn't even do a single rep of the minimum weight bench press and over the last 3 years a player nearly won three straight MVPs while looking like he spends more time in his Pantry than in the gym now let me be clear my intentions are not to be disrespectful to today's modern players but rather I'm leveling the playing field between today's players and generations past no matter which NBA era you look at you will find guys who were insanely gifted athletes but just weren't great NBA players and you'll also find guys who were not very gifted athletically yet were some of the best players in the game being extremely athletic or at least appearing to be doesn't automatically give you an advantage over the seemingly less athletically gifted players this was true in 1963 it was true in 1993 and it's still true in 2023 I'll say it again basketball is a form of Art and your knowledge your discipline and technique is way more crucial than your god-given athleticism listen I don't throw this phrase around much and I honestly think people probably call each other casuals way more often than it's warranted but if there's one opinion that makes someone look like a casual basketball fan more than anything else it's when people are quick to belittle an entire generation of basketball players simp because they appear to be quote less athletic look no further than the man who's ruling the NBA today building a legacy for himself while reaffirming the legacies of many greats before him today our matchup is the Man known for his magic on the court Irvin Johnson versus Larry Legend Larry Bird both Legends spent the entirety of their career with one of the most prestigious franchises of NBA history magic played 13 Seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and bird played Seasons with a Boston Celtics magic was a 69 point guard who weighed around 215 lb Larry was a 69 small for/ power forward who weighed around 220 lb two men who were each accredited with saving the NBA in the 1980s two men who each have an argument of being the greatest player of their era we'll compare these two greats with five major categories which sometimes vary in categories depending on positions and play Styles in this video for these two icons of basketball the categories are scoring facilitating rebounding defense and accolades first off scoring Magic Johnson was a much better scorer Than People typically give him credit for especially when you consider how he's one out of only two players to average over 10 assists per game for his career despite the fact that his number one priority was usually to get his teammates going he still managed to consistently get his as he averaged 19.5 points per game over the course of his career he was a great finisher around the rim and he managed to get himself more clean looks than most since the defense always had to be on their heels because of his ability to find the open man this led him to be extremely efficient throughout his career as he shot 52% from the field over his 13 Seasons which is almost unheard of by point guard standards he also was a tremendous free throw shooter hitting 84.8% of his attempts over his career and even led the league an overall free throw percentage in 1989 now bird on the other hand is immediately known for his scoring he was also a 69 small forward with a high release point on his jumper so contesting his shots was quite difficult with his fantastic footwork his underrated handles his finesse around the basket and lethal parameter shooting he averaged 24.3 points over the course of his career he never led the league in scoring but unlike magic he was right around the top of the list on several occasions as far as perimeter scores go bird has an argument for being the most efficient scorer in NBA history he led the league in free throw percentage four times and he also had two 50490 seasons in his career which is the second most in NBA history the only player with more 50490 seasons was The Hall of Famer Steve Nash but Nash was never close to being a near 30 points per game scorer Like Larry was several seasons so the fact that bird was able to maintain that efficiency as a perimeter score and at such a high volume of shots is pretty much unprecedented magic gets some bonus points for being a capable and efficient scorer even while being an all-time leader and assists but even with that being said it's still not enough to close the gap between him and the all-around the court threat that is Larry Bird scoring goes to Larry Bird second up is facilitating now I alluded to this in the previous topic but magic is arguably and probably considered by most as the greatest passer of all time he has the highest assist per game average in NBA history at 11.2 and he led the league and assists four times it's easy to Simply look at the numbers and say that magic was the best passer on his team but he was so much more than just that magic was the engine that drove the showtime Lakers high octane offense magic was obsessed with pushing the tempo nearly every time the Lakers gain possession and it resulted in many easy buckets for his slashing teammates his ability to make smart split-second decisions is unmatched and his court vision would have you swearing that he has eyes in the back of his head with the passes he was consistently making on top of all of that he was a 69 point guard so interfering with some of his higher passes was nearly impossible for many of his smaller Defenders now bird was a much better distributor than most people realize he started his career as a power forward and if he had remained in that position then he would probably be known today as the greatest passing power forward of all time he shared a similar ability to Magic in terms of their incredible Court vision and he's been praised by Magic on numerous occasions for that exact skill he averaged 6.3 assists on his career averaging as high as 7.6 in 1987 he was usually not among the assist leaders of the league but he was consistently among the leaders at his position the same way magic got bonus points in the scoring category bird also gets bonus points in the facilitating category as it was remarkable that bird assisted his teammates as often as he did when you consider the fact that bird chose to shoot the ball nearly 50% more often than Magic Johnson did still unless you're a gold medalist and mental gymnastics facilitating clearly has to go to magic as his incredible ability to make his teammates better is simply One of a Kind Third up is rebounding now this one can be a little bit tricky since I'm making the case for different positions one is typically more of a perimeter player while the other plays more in the interior and naturally the advantage goes to the interior player where most rebounds are available especially in an era like the 80s where less perimeter shots are taken all things considered magic was a pretty good rebounder especially by point guard standards he successfully used his Superior height and frame to his advantage over smaller guards and he was often hungry to get the ball as quickly as possible so he could then push the fast break on offense he averaged 7.2 rebounds over the course of his career getting as high as 9.6 in 1982 now Larry Bird averaged 10 rebounds per game over his career getting as high as 11 in 1983 one thing no one ever questioned about bird back then was his hustle and heart it was common for him to play the game with a physical and tenacious approach and doing so continuously with 100% effort these are qualities that naturally benefit a player's ability to secure the boards this has resulted in bird having the 50th highest rebounds per game average in NBA history most of the players on that list are either primarily power forwards or centers though which Larry was not he played mostly as a small forward among primary small forwards Larry has the third greatest rebounds per game average in NBA history when you consider the positions this one is extremely close but for me the slight Edge goes to L bird not just because of his higher numbers but it's about how he played to get those numbers as bird was known for a more grit and grind type approach which is a great quality when you're banging for the boards in the80s fourth on the list is defense magic was never considered as an elite Defender as he didn't make any all defense teams in his career but he was certainly a capable one his sheer size made it somewhat difficult for opposing guards to score over him or to get into a favorable position with physicality magic had a high top speed that he always used on offense but his lateral movement wasn't the quickest on defense which made it sometimes difficult for him to stay in front of the quicker smaller guards his hands were decently quick and he was pretty good at jumping the passing Lanes which resulted in him leading the league in steals twice including the 1981 season where he averaged an incredibly strong 3.4 steals per game he also averaged 1.9 steals over the course of his career although he didn't have a strong vertical leap and was never a good shot blocker as he only averaged 0.4 blocks over his career and never averaged at least one per game in a season which is pretty surprising considering his height and length advantage over almost every opposing guard Larry was known to be slow and he wasn't the most quick or athletically gifted player but I do think he's somewhat of an underrated Defender compared to how he's perceived by the general public the Boston Celtics were a consistently Elite defensive team and Bird's High basketball IQ was a significant help in that area bird made three all defense teams and averaged 1.7 Steals and 0.8 blocks over his 13 Seasons bird could be a bit of a pest on defense as his effort and tenacious attitude was never lacking due to his slower and less athletic frame it wasn't uncommon for him to need help defensively if he was guarding some of the athletic and talented Wings in the league like Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins for example with that being said bird was good at communicating with his teammates trapping offensive players and forcing turnovers as a result this one is somewhat close but at the end of the day bird has the slightly better individual defensive numbers he's the more accomplished defensive player and he was the team leader of the consistently better defensive team throughout the decade defense goes to Larry Bird last on the list of categories is accolades and both of these Legends had a ton of them Magic Johnson won five NBA championships three finals MVPs and he won three League MVPs he made 12 all-star teams and 10 all NBA teams he was a four-time assist champion and a two-time steals champion in his 13th Seasons he averaged 19.5 points 7.2 rebounds 11.2 assists 1.9 Steals and 0.4 blocks on 61 true shooting percentage Larry Bird won three NBA championships two finals MVPs and three League MVPs he made 12 all-star teams 10 all NBA teams and three all defense teams he was also the 1980 Rookie of the Year and was a two-time 50490 player in his 13 Seasons he averaged 24.3 points 10 rebounds Downs 6.3 assists 1.7 Steals and 0.8 blocks on 56.4 true shooting percentage based on this list I think magic has the slight advantage on accolades now as far as how these players compare as a whole as usual it's extremely close and the only reason I'm picking between these two is because I have to for the sake of the series but for myself personally Larry Bird is the more complete player and ranks higher on my all-time list I think most of the time people rank magic slightly higher because of his Edge in championships over bird but you have to also consider that basketball is a team sport and although both Legends were blessed with the tremendous Supporting Cast also keep in mind that the East was definitely the stronger conference throughout the80s which meant it was even more difficult for the Celtics to get to the NBA finals in the first place although I do think bird is the slightly better and more complete individual player I do think there is a strong argument for magic but I think that argument goes beyond the stat sheet and leans more into the Nar narrative that no one has ever made their teammates better than Magic Johnson did which is probably true and if that's enough for him to be your choice then I respect that the 1985-86 Boston Celtics they are universally recognized as one of the greatest teams of NBA history although the 80s were defined by super teams and rivalries the 86 Celtics were never seriously threatened by any opposition That season they steamrolled the league Boston's starting five was one of the greatest ever on both ends of the Court the 64 dentist Johnson started at point guard beside him was Danny a at the two guard spot then you had Larry Bird at small forward and Kevin mccale and Robert Parish down low beyond their fantastic starting five was their death leading the bench unit was the 611 Bill Walton who was that Year's sixthman of the Year winner then you had guys like Scott wedman Jerry seing Rick Carlile Sam Vincent Greg kite and David thirdkill looking at the results of this group we see that the Celtics finished with the league best 67 and 15 record they they had the third best defense and the number one ranked offense that season they beat teams by an average of 9.4 points over the course of the season they dominated the playoffs with a 15-3 record and they had that season's MVP Larry Bird their head coach was Casey Jones who often doesn't get enough attention for the success of his team he took over the Celtics in 1983 and spent 5 years there in these years they went to the NBA finals four out of those five seasons and they won the championship twice he had this team playing hard defense and the chemistry was off the charts Larry was basically their verbal player coach and leader it's often said that groups take on the image of their leader and in this case it's very true if I had to describe them in a word I would call them unselfish the ball movement of this team was incredibly beautiful to watch whether it was on the fast break or halfcourt sets Boston was always looking to make the extra pass speaking of their leader Larry Bird won his third straight MVP That season with averages of 25.8 points 9 .8 rebounds and 6.8 assists on 49.6% shooting this was not among Bird's 50490 Seasons but he wasn't Incredibly Close something that people often forget is how Larry was also a very capable Defender who made three all defense teams in his career their consistent second scoring option Kevin mccale also had a monster season he was almost always a sure thing whenever he was in the post and had his back to the basket he had an incredibly High offensive IQ some of the best footwork in the game and amazing length with an incredibly High release point on his shot when Mel was in the post his teammates often called it the torture chamber due to the fact that he was so difficult to stop that season he averaged 21.3 points 8.1 rebounds and two blocks on 57.4% shooting Nill was also First Team all defense that year speaking of Defense where they really Stand Out Among the all-time great teams is their interior defense bird was 69 male was 610 and Parish was 71 it wasn't just their height but even more so their length we don't have a recorded wingspan for Parish but it looks like it was at least as long as a 7' one height male on the other hand had a freakish 8T long wingspan assuming that estimate is completely accurate that would give him the second longest wing span in NBA history coming off the bench was another 6'11 big man Bill Walton who averaged 1.3 blocks and only 19 minutes played per game between Parish male and Walton you have solid Rim protection for all four 48 minutes of the game this aspect was crucial to their success in the 1986 NBA Finals the Houston Rockets were just coming off of beating magic Kareem and Worthy's 62- win Lakers Houston eliminated Los Angeles in only five games with that being said basketball is a game of matchups and as good as the Twin Tower tandem of Ralph Samson and AEM elijahwan were You're simply not going to beat the 86 Celtics with size and Boston handled them in six games one of the less talked about starters from the Celtics was Dennis Johnson Dennis was the starting point guard and over time he's actually become one of the more underrated and overlooked players of NBA history he was a former Finals MVP winner back when he won the championship as a member of the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics he was averaging 15.6 points this year with the Celtics but he had got as high as 20 points per game during his career Johnson's final All-Star appearance was just prior to the 86 season and he received five All-Star Selections in total he was also the Celtics best perimeter Defender defer who they relied heavily upon to slow down the great scoring guards in the league those years he was second Team all defense that season and in total DJ received nine all defense team selections over the course of his career he was also known to be a big game performer and had a smooth mid-range jump shot you could say that their 6-4 shooting guard Danny a was the worst player in their starting five but he was certainly far from a bad player Dany averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 assists through the season and he was actually very efficient in his contributions as he shot 50% from the field 36% from three-point range and 90% from the free throw line Danny was also incredibly Scrappy he was a big trash talker and one of the OG floppers of NBA history which can easily be seen as a negative but I can tell you as a Lakers fan who watched him play there were plenty of times where Dany knew how to get under the offensive player skin and would get the ref to make the crucial calls when they mattered most it was super frustrating to me but only because he was good at it the Celtics were never seriously challenged in that postseason run despite a 49 and 63o performance from Jordan they swept the Bulls in the first round after that they easily handled Dominique and the Hawks in just five games then they swept Sydney montree and the Bucks in the Conference Finals as I mentioned earlier the Rockets did push them to six games in the NBA Finals but the Celtics got up to an early 3-1 lead and the series was never really in doubt what makes the 86 Celtics so dangerous is that they could attack you in so many ways offensively while being so versatile defensively there isn't another team in NBA history that I could put against the Celtics in a seven game series where I would feel like the Celtics wouldn't do well against them on offense they could run the fast break but they could also slow it down and run things through the post they could pick and roll you all day with their bigs they could punish you from the outside with the all-time great shooting of Larry Bird or they could simply run the isolation through mcale which is always a good option Boston natives know this already but for the rest of you it's important that you recognize the 1986 Celtics have a legitimate case for the title of greatest team of all time during his prime Larry was known for filling up the stat sheet but one game sumed that up better than any other in a blowout Victory Larry Legend put up a total of 30 points 12 rebounds 10 assists and nine Steals on 59.1% shooting the thing is Larry didn't even play in the fourth quarter even crazier than that he only played played 33 minutes only four players in NBA history have ever achieved the illustrious quadruple double but none of those players did it in three quarters at that point in history only one player had achieved the quadruple double not only could he have easily been only the second player to do it if he had simply played in the fourth quarter but he had also tied the NBA record for the most deals in a game with nine just one more steal would have secured the record as his own but Larry truly only cared about winning so he passed that up too it was the night of December 12th 2002 in Oklahoma City a man by the name of Eric torpy and his two buddies drive past a Little Caesar's pizza restaurant it's at this moment that Eric and his buddies decide that it would be a good idea to rob the employee in the store Eric's buddy shoots a couple employees and Eric ditches the scene but unfortunately for Eric he dropped his hat police find the hat and a few months later Eric's DNA is traced back to him and he ends up in prison sentenced to 30 years Eric was was a loyal Celtics fan and a Larry Bird fan and bird wore the jersey number 33 so Eric did what any logical Celtics fan would do and request the judge to extend his sentence to 33 years to honor his favorite player the judge was feeling accommodating that day and granted Eric the extra 3 years Eric has now been in prison for 15 years and now says that he regrets his decision unfortunately when Larry was asked about Eric's commitment to his honor bird declined to comment Larry's debut game also came on October 12th 1979 and what was simply an incredible day in the NBA it may seem hard to believe but there was once a time where Larry had to earn his minutes although it certainly didn't last very long as he efficiently filled up the stat sheet in only 28 minutes with 14 points 10 rebounds and five assists on 50% shooting unfortunately there is very limited footage available of this game online but what you need to know is that Larry was his usual Larry self and as Celtics got the W over the Houston Rockets 114 to 106 Bird's farewell performance came on May 17th 1992 in game seven of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at this point Bird's athletic body was deteriorating fast as he was now 35 years old and had been dealing with severe back problems for roughly half a decade not only that but Magic Johnson's HIV announcement and absence from the league took a major toll on bird of motivation which resulted in Larry deciding to hang it up when he still believed he had some game left in the tank due to his chronic back issues Larry missed roughly four of the games that series but he did play in the deciding seventh game Larry had a modest contribution but an efficient one as he dropped 12 points five rebounds and four assists on six of n shooting from the field it wasn't nearly enough as The Talented CFS closed out the series with a blowout as the final score was 122 2 to 104 Hawks and Celtics in the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals this is easily one of the greatest solo duels that the league has ever seen as Dominic Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks was extremely hot while Larry Legend refused to be deny down the stretch to this day this game is famously referred to as the duel The Human Highlight film was basically Unstoppable right from the opening tip off as he was efficiently hitting everything from the field Le leading the offense for his team Larry waited until the fourth quarter to really start heating up though as both Superstars continued to trade difficult baskets Wilkins scored 16 points in the final quarter but bird proceeded to show his legendary clutch Gene as well as he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone on a remarkable 9 of 10 shooting from the field the lead continued to go back and forth in the final minutes and it all came down to one possession Dominique had a chance to tie the game with a three-point shot but Danny a wisely intentionally fouled Wilkins forcing him to shoot two free throws instead Wilkins made the first and then proceeded to miss the second on purpose but the Hawks couldn't recover possession and the Celtics won the game 118 to 116 on the night Wilkins dropped 47 points five rebounds and three assists while his teammate Doc Rivers had 16 points and 18 assists Larry Bird finished with 35 Four Points six assists and four rebounds as he added this epic performance to his already legendary resume the 76ers and Celtics in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals this was an epic matchup between the two best players in the Eastern Conference Larry Bird and Julius Irving at one point the Celtics were down three games to one in the series yet they had stormed back to Force's seventh game as Larry Bird was determined to win his first championship ring with a trip to the NBA finals on the line both of these extremely talented teams put forth their best efforts in total seven Hall of Famers were competing in this fantastic game once again this game was a prime example of referees putting away their whistles and letting the team settle the score for themselves the game was fast-paced but it was also quite intense from a physical standpoint neither team was lacking in the energy Department as the hustle plays were clearly on dis play from both sides this game was also a block party as a total of 16 shots were rejected on this evening as no one was willing to give up any easy baskets there were constant lead changes throughout the contest and the energy in the building was some of the best playoff atmosphere that I've ever seen Larry Bird was a beast defensively and the Celtics needed a couple of clutch stops down the stretch the game was tied at 89 with only a minute remaining when Larry got a crucial stop on Daryl Dawkins bird then got the rebound and stormed down the court where he hit the game-winning basket and what was one of the most clutch sequences and playoff history on the night Dr J had 23 points eight rebounds five assists and four blocks while Larry Bird got the win with 23 points 11 rebounds five assists and five steals in this new Ultimate Team Series I make the best team I believe possible picking players from all eras of NBA history history it isn't just about how talented the teams are but I'm also trying to build teams that would gel and execute well together today we're looking at the ultimate Celtics team before I get started here are the rules you need to know to build each franchise's Ultimate Team I will be picking a starting five a second unit representing each position and then three additional rotation players at any position I choose in total there will be 13 r spots it's worth mentioning that I will not simply be building these teams based on how talented each player is but I'll also be factoring in how well these players would do together as teammates so without further Ado let's get into it starting at the point guard position is the 6-1 four-time Allstar Rajan Rondo I think a lot of people forget just how good this guy was in his prime that's partially because of this weird dynamic where he was way younger than the Celtics big three so as Pierce Garnett and Allen were all declining Rondo was only getting better for a few years he was actually sneaking his way into the conversation of the best point guards in the league as he led the NBA in assist per game on three separate occasions getting as high as 11.7 in 2012 he was also an elite defensive player who was regularly among the league leaders in steals per game and he earned four all defense team selections don't forget how he was one of the most clutch players in the entire league regularly putting up jaw-dropping stat lines in the playoffs with so many offensive weapons in this starting lineup they'll all be eating well with a prime Rondo doing the orchestrating starting as shooting guard is the 65 Legend John havich this former superstar is certainly worthy of a spot on this starting unit as he was an eight-time NBA champion a 13 time Allstar and made 11 all NBA teams he was also the very definition of a two-way player as he made eight all defense teams while filling up the stat sheet on offense specifically in 1971 he averaged 29 Points 9 rebounds and seven assists on 45% shooting from the field simply put he had allaround offensive skills that were way ahead of his time and Bill Russell often leaned upon havich to carry the offense for the Celtics he was also quite the clutch performer and was even the finals MVP in 1974 Rondo will certainly love feeding this Legend the basketball on a frequent basis starting at the small forward spot is of course Larry Bird what is there to say about this legend that you guys don't already know bird was excellent at just about everything on the court he was the epitome of efficient as he was regularly getting around 50 40 90 percentages he was was an elite scorer he was an all-time great rebounder he was one of the greatest passing forwards in NBA history and he was an underrated defensive player making three all defense teams including third place in the dpoy race in 1983 so far every single player in this starting unit is basically the definition of clutch which shouldn't be totally surprising considering how many championship banners they have starting at Power Forward is the man they called the torture chamber Kevin mcale you could certainly make an argument for a different starting power forward but due to his chemistry with bird I thought he'd be perfect with this group the 610 male probably had the greatest footwork for a big in league history by any player not named Hakeem elijuan in the post with his back to the basket he was nearly Unstoppable and he was ridiculously efficient as he had the highest single season scoring average in NBA history for any player who shot at least 60% from the field and 80% from the free throw line continuing the theme of this squad so far he was a remarkable two-way player as is rumored 8ot long wingspan made him an intimidating defensive force and the pain and because of that he actually earned six all defense team selections in his time in Boston starting at the center position is The Game's ultimate winner Bill Russell as if this team didn't have enough defense already in comes Bill Russell who led the league in defensive win shares in 10 out of his 13 Seasons along with the fact that he was probably the greatest defensive player of all time he was also a top three rebounder who would regularly dominate the boards thanks to his tremendous strength IQ and His World Class leaping ability he was also a solid passer and a remarkably unselfish team player which will be fantastic for this ultimate Squad with plenty of talent and plenty of egos I know this word is getting redundant but Russell was about as clutch as it gets as he won all 10 of the game sevens he participated in which is a major reason why he got his 11 championship trophies now let's move on to the second unit the backup point guard is the Man known as the Houdini of the hardwood Bob Koozie this Legend from the 1950s and 60s was the mesmerizing floor general of his time even with the more restrictive dribbling rules of his era he had a fantastic handle of the basketball and incredible Court Vision he actually led the NBA an assist per game for a whopping eight straight Seasons which is easily the most in NBA history his one major flaw was actually a flaw of his era and that was the fact that he had a terrible field goal percentage as the general basketball player was learning proper mechanics of the jump shot and sometimes they didn't even jump because of this Koozie would not look to be a scorer in this second unit but that won't be a concern as he'll have plenty of elite offensive weapons to facilitate two the backup shooting guard is the Celtic scoring Superstar Paul Pierce when people think of Pierce at his absolute best they usually think of his finals MVP performance in the 2008 finals but the thing is that was actually well after his individual Prime as the younger Piers had much more speed and explosiveness he got as high as 26.9 points per game in 2006 getting the majority of those points as a one-on-one nightmare for opposing Defenders the truth will provide this second unit with some all-time great slashing and great three-point shooting while being a solid go-to option in late game situations the backup small forward will be the modern 68 Superstar Jason Tatum for any reason if the ultimate Celtics ever need a scoring spark Off the Bench this man will be a lock to provide it as he was a 30 points per game score in the 22 to 23 season alongside of Paul Pierce second unit defenses will be completely overwhelmed by this perimeter attack Tatum also gives Koozie another decent three-point shooter to facilitate two which will be a tremendous help for spacing for this squad the backup power forward is the one they call the big ticket Kevin Garnett this guy will be battling with Kevin mccale for the majority of the minutes at the four spot and mcale will certainly have his hands full trying to keep his starting spot as Garnett was the defensive player of the year immediately in his first season with Boston kg will provide a tremendous amount of energy intensity and Leadership on the defensive end of the floor but he'll also be making a tremendous impact on the boards although his prime days were certainly in Minnesota there's no question that the Boston version of Garnett was still a massive Difference Maker the backup center will be the 1973 MVP Dave cins this 69 Beast was averaging around 20 points and 15 rebounds throughout his prime as he did a solid job of taking the torch from Bill Russell as the anchor of the team down low now on this ultimate unit he'll be doing more of the same as he'll be taking over the center position and the rare instances where Bill Russell actually has to go to the bench in total CN was an eight-time All-Star with the Celtics and he made three all defense teams further bolstering this team's greatest strength now onto the three rotation spots and let me tell you narrowing down these three final roster spots was incredibly difficult the first rotation spot goes to one of the greatest Shooters of all time Ray Allen I absolutely hated the fact that Allen wasn't a starter or in the official second unit but if anything that just speaks to the ridiculous depth of the wings for the ultimate Celtics if there's ever a time where Boston is desperate for Effective perimeter shooting then Allen will come into the game absolutely gunning it he'll always be an option whenever the team is looking for ways to open up the floor and create more scoring opportunities the next rotation player is the 64 shooting guard Sam Jones imagine winning 10 championship rings as often the number one scoring option on your squad yet you're reduced to a rotation spot on the ultimate Squad that is the depth of this Celtics team Jones was so far ahead of his time as he had a smooth pull-up jumper and absolutely love to run the pick and roll with Bill Russell on several occasions Jones would explode for 50-point games in the playoffs which allowed the all-time great Bill Russell to focus all of his energy on defense and rebounding on a team that has no shortage of Defense Jones will be a massive boost of offense Off the Bench the last rotation spot goes to the nine-time allstar Robert Parish this 7' 1 in Star was a pivotal part of the Celtics Dynasty in the 1980s at his best in 1982 he was averaging nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds and thanks to his consistent contributions he was able to win three championship rings with the team he's going to have a hard time finding minutes with Bill Russell and Dave cowens ahead of him but with a few opportunities he'll get the painted area will be in good hands so here's a final look at the complete roster of the ultimate Celtics team the defensive strength on this roster is utterly terrifying and the IQ and experience on this team is insane as well as they're loaded with winners and clutch performers when it's all said and done this may just be the greatest Ultimate Team of them all but we'll have to finish this series before anything becomes official here is my long list of honorable mentions for this franchise I got to admit it kind of makes me sick to my stomach that guys like Dennis Johnson and JoJo White had to be left off the roster but seriously who the hell was I supposed to replace it's simply a near impossible roster to happily finalize but with that being said let me know how you would shake up the roster if the decision making was up to you so what do you guys think will any Ultimate Team be able to beat this one I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below thanks for watching as always make sure to like And subscribe for more basketball content and I'll see you guys in the next video

Channel: Jonny Arnett

Views: 69,499

Keywords: Larry Bird, Basketball, NBA, GOAT, Celtics, Boston Celtics, Highlights, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird Mix, Boston, Jxmy Highroller, Andy Hoops, Dom2k, Mike Korzemba, Chris Smoove, afunkydiabetic, BSolz, Legend of Winning, Basketball Time Machine, Austin Sweatt, Nonstop Sports, Secret Base, Swish Out, Heat Check, Golden Hoops, First Take, Undisputed, Jayson tatum, Kevin Garnett, Bill Russell, Paul Pierce, Nick Smith NBA, Flight Mike, MDJ, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James

Id: TRzvUQ3iY7U

Length: 64min 25sec (3865 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 05 2023