Larry Bird - Rare Highlights vs. Sixers (1982)

4/11/1982: Off-shooting night for LB.
www.basketball-reference.com/...
That never stopped him from impacting a game though.
This was Philly and Boston's final H2H before the playoffs - as expected, it came down to the wire.

[@HereIsRick]

Larry must have been so fun to play with. Not only are you in the presence of greatness every night, but you also get to have fun because he is unselfish.

[@jonathanhassen6664]

He did it all too. Him & Scottie Pippen were great all-around SFs. Grant Hill was too but unfortunately he was hurt for much of his career

[@krissanders987]

Damn, this is the most clear footage I’ve ever seen from this old games. Never seen bird in 720p lol

[@Denis-cr4bs]

For someone who was supposedly slow and couldn't jump Bird grabbed some time rebounds and led a ton of fast breaks.

[@purplemonkeydishwasher4241]

When Bird was younger his quickness and athleticism was underrated. Especially considering his size.

[@SteveBalbonisHammer]

Bird played smart and hard on both ends of the court

[@jjs777fzr]

What’s impressive here is Bird came away with a win despite Chris Ford and Rick Robey trying to help. All these years later and I still get that horrible feeling in my gut when I hear the name Andrew Toney aka The Boston Strangler.

[@michaelosborne7140]

Beautiful video. Bird is still my favorite player ever. There will never be another Larry Bird.

[@paulazzar8936]

Bird coming off the bench as the 6th man takes over and wins against the mighty 76ers. GOAT.

[@newerafrican]

Man, this is some of the finest quality video of Bird. Especially from 1982. I was young and sharp then but video, not so much. Now the video is sharp and I... forgot where I was going with that.

[@toscodav]

Yes. Rare to see Bird highlights with this quality. Even late in his career you won't find any with this quality. Can you imagine watching bird in HD.

[@danielbass2895]

Who am I??

[@nomooon]

if you were young and sharp in 1982 then you are not even that old right now...

[@newerafrican]

@@nomooon Thank you! The guy looking back at me in the mirror sure looks different than in '82, though.

[@redskins1523]

Shits better then 95% of early 2000s videos lol

[@MerkinMuffly]

Holy shit, this is incredible quality for back then

[@breauxcewayne1971]

I know!!! This shows what I’ve always said if you could see highlights from games from the 80s and early 90s in the same type of quality as today then you would realize they were a lot more athletic than people think. Plus if they were wearing more modern NBA uniforms. Those uniforms from the 80s make it hard to look athletic lol I think the uniforms in the 90s were the best. But yeah man I’ve never seen anything from 1982 that was this clear.

[@personne7542]

My earliest experiences with the NBA were watching it on CBS, and I swear, CBS had superior cameras and microphones or something. This is a great example that hasn't aged much. It just wasn't the same later on with NBC.

[@JakeStine]

0:56 Dr J was about to do his famous cradle dunk and Bird says "No thanks, I'm not going to be in your poster."

[@RandyWRodrifuez]

best quality ive ever seen of back then

[@davidhardy879]

This is back in the day when it was a TEAM Sport and NOBODY wanted to lose !!! Every game was a " Fight to the finish " !

[@RiruKrypto_]

Bird passing was just perfect and you gotta have good awareness if you are his teammate to get those passes.

[@andybilakshow260]

Best part, Larry gave you the pass exactly where you'd naturally have it while in route to the hoop. Parish / McHale = awesome receivers no doubt.

[@MerkinMuffly]

Don't tell me they didn't play defense back in the 80s, anytime Celtics met Sixers back then, it was war.

[@lawrencekokjr.1376]

Some of the best games ever were early 80s Sixers vs Celtics. Like a hot saturday afternoon in the park.

[@j34xalphaking87]

Larry LEGEND!! Baddest man to ever play the game. #Greatness

[@TheWolferinDenver]

Birds shot is butter. So smooth.

[@bellazoe1]

Dennis W. Mueller passing too. He was the GOAT. There was nothing like him

[@TheWolferinDenver]

@@bellazoe1 He was a once in a lifetime player.

[@gamefan145]

@@bellazoe1 I would Take Larry Legend anyday over LeDrama James..

[@bethdeguzman8839]

@@gamefan145 and Michael jordan

[@irishgrl]

@@bethdeguzman8839 Yes.

[@fiatvoluntastua9183]

This was the real rivalry of the 80’s. These two teams hated each other.

[@gogetter5137]

YUP! I still think that the early 80's Celtics -Sixers rivalry is the greatest in NBA History. The outstanding play and the atmospheres that surrounded their regular season battles....unfortunately, you just don't see it anymore.

[@rali2233]

@@gogetter5137 Everybody is everybody's friend now! :D

[@jjs777fzr]

trha2222 - well the rivalry was better Celts vs Sixers because we faced them more than the Lakers. And I still get a sick feeling when I hear the name Andrew Tony aka the Boston Strangler. This video quality is amazing.

[@rolexmarcelo3218]

The roar of the crowd was alsò much more ferocious. And it was constant. Scary for the visiting team

[@RiruKrypto_]

Nobody can compete with the Celtics other than the Sixers, it was always a treat to see which team came out of the East.

[@Dave_B33]

Love seeing this. Bird was just incredible. Check out 00:58, the Doctor was planning something there...people use to hold their breath watching him wind up. These highlights are great, thanks for posting.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Bird sacrificed himself to stop him 🙂

[@susanbloodgood3572]

My favorite era- the 80’s especially the early 80’s !

[@drogetti72]

Fantastic post & quality. Judging by the boxscore, Larry "only" had 20 points. That's why there are intangibles though. Measurables only gauged by watching film. Look at the timely passes, fast breaks, and offensive rebounds. The purity of off-ball movement. Doc said it best: Bird played chess while everyone else played checkers.

[@ramdel7818]

Fue Isahia Thomas I , quien lo dijo.

[@cindyknudson2715]

@@ramdel7818 Actually Tommy Heinsohn, but obviously they all agreed.

[@stevelamberto5424]

Imagine how many points bird would average in the crappy nba today he would average 50 a game the way they play defense today

[@sportsfanatic1936]

Steve Lamberto No he would not and I think he’s top 2 all time

[@Iwillnotbepushed]

Steve Lamberto MC Hammer would say “Hoop there it is”

[@chestercopperpot2219]

One of the best shooters of all time would actually be taking three pointers. Imagine that. He said he never practiced the shot in his career. It wasn’t a big part of the NBA until much later.

[@SULLYtheSojourner]

Bird could have led the league in scoring every year if he wanted. But larry was the ultimate teammate and focused on winning while getting all his teammates involved.

[@neweddard9358]

He scored a ton of points in an era when a defender can put his hand on his man. He scored a ton of points against the Bad Boys of Detroit. He would have no problems today.

[@CoreyT127]

Only dude who could score 30 points only dribbling twice all game

[@samuellee2108]

Klay

[@swishman7175]

Crazy how the NBA posseses this awesome quality of all the games, yet it is so rare to see this clips from Bird, Magic, Julius Erving and all of the 80's, 90's and maybe even older stars. If they really want people to appreciate how good were players back then and not letting us think actual basketball is much better than before, devaluating as years goes on and on the previous eras, they better release the footage. Don't know what they're waiting for!

[@cindyknudson2715]

They want people to prefer today's game. They don't want them to know what they're missing.

[@andybilakshow260]

@@cindyknudson2715 Yes, but it may be deeper than that

[@cindyknudson2715]

​@@andybilakshow260 How so?

[@waltwilliams7063]

see bird punch the air at the end? he was INTO it. his greatest game was 1986 game 6 nba finals. 29-11-12-3. 11-12 from the line AND I WAS THERE! no lie.

[@mrbanjopete]

Holy crap I’ve never seen such quality video from this era! Thanks for sharing.

[@leoderosia9279]

Bird had blocks on Dawkins and toney....Larry, bill Russell and magic were the ultimate team players, Celtic fan. These sixer games from 80 to 84 were real wars

[@rafikz77]

The GOAT

[@matthewmartinez140]

Wow did u see that play..?? The one where Dr.J was about to do that same dunk he did to Michael Cooper, but it was Bird about to get dunked on .....Bird gave him a solid foul so he couldn't continue his dunk...dam that was gonna b a high light rite there...Bird made sure it didn't happen..

[@6DoctorJ]

Unbelievable picture quality! Thanks for the upload!

[@Gaderelli]

GOAT

[@radar0412]

This looks like an original Television station broadcast tape, and not just somebody's home VCR recording. I think.

[@davidbrandel4128]

Back when the zone defense was still illegal. The NBA was so much more watchable in those days. Allowing the zone ruined the NBA.

[@sportsfanatic1936]

David Brandel No it didn’t. It allowed teams to slow down post play and it was too much iso

[@toscodav]

Bird was a BAD BAD man.

[@robertromero4674]

This is beautiful footage

[@layneaic2076]

The video quality is superb

[@ritualee10]

At 0:55 in this clip Bird commits the single smartest foul of his entire career. Had Doc finished this thought we'd be watching this highlight in perpetuity. It would have been the defining image of Doc vs. Bird. However, Larry's no dummy. He wanted no part of that poster.

[@kenarthur6253]

Bird and Dr. J on the court at the same time is worth any price of admission

[@nhlombardi6946]

4:36 that pass...

[@axilmar254]

How come this video is so clear and has such a high quality? it's the best video quality-wise from that era in nba I have ever seen.

[@personne7542]

I swear CBS had some kind of alien technology back then, because their sporting events always looked/sounded better than their rivals ABC and NBC.

[@TheStapleGunKid]

Great picture quality for 1982.

[@ahoo5753]

Shows what a lot of pros have forgotten or just don't want to do.ITS A TEAM SPORT.you can tell they polish these moves down the court,but be ready for a unexpected pass from bird

[@fourscore1964]

This is dope, love good quality bird vids

[@MarkFreeman-kd2hz]

Momma there goes that man!!! Larry Bird was the shiznit I'm so glad I got to see him play. This younger generation doesn't really know how great Larry Bird was because we live in a p.c. society and Larry legend doesn't fit the narrative. Just my opinion. 🖕🖕🖕😎

[@ivangray5864]

Los primeros partidos que vi de la NBA, ahora entiendo porqué aluciné con Bird y me hice fan de los Celtics. El Dr.J era cosa fina también. Desde Bcn xxxx

[@MichaelSmith-or8kt]

Great stuff! High quality, good variety of camera perspectives. Back when teams truly battled for rebounds. Different arenas seemed to have their own unique lighting back then. Now the various arenas seem a little more uniform in experience.

[@melodynote333]

I'm on in 83 and in the late 80s Larry Bird was my favorite 3 point shooter until he retired.

[@mf5202]

Don't remember why Bird was coming from the bench. Am a Boston fan but I always respected Mo Cheeks. Definitely one of the most underrated point guards ever; great defender and passer and if he needed to score, he did. Very smart player.

[@paulgeorge9228]

probs to conserve energy or he injured maybe

[@cindyknudson2715]

Bird received a fractured zygomatic arch from the elbow of one of the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the season. He was out for a few games with that. When he was healed, the team was on a winning streak, and the coach didn’t want to alter the starting lineup, so he had Bird coming off the bench for a number of games. Bird still played his usual minutes, even being 6th man.

[@doogert8594]

Regular season game and they were pumped to win!

[@johannesswillery5146]

That Sixer team was great!

[@jamolina72]

Amazing video quality! Congratulations

[@riffsthatkill2180]

Pretty decent video quality compared to what else is available on KZbin for this era!

[@bb.cute.channel]

Bird is awesome!!!! 💪💪💪💪

[@montimiller2743]

Before Bird & Magic the NBA was about dunking, shooting, playing fast break ball, after they arrived both dominated with the triple double threat, as well as both being the best passers in the league by far and put both Boston & Lakers in 9 of the 10 Finals in the 80's!!!

[@joekunis9986]

The obvious question is where was a game from 1982 ever broadcast in HD quality? In other words, what is the source of this???

[@johnflanagan9153]

480i resolution was the broadcast standard in 1982; HD was only a concept back then, with an actual prototype HD camera debuting in 1994.

[@4EyedAnimation]

@ezank46374545363830 We are all more knowledgeable thanks to JF

[@sugarnads]

This looks like film not video. Most of what we see in here from back then is from domestic quality video tape. It doesnt survive well and the resolutin wasnt great anyway.

[@greatomeister675]

Doesn’t the NBA app have all the classic games in 480?

[@tomscerbo1588]

Bird had fantastic eye hand cordination! 😮

[@MichaelMurphy-kj3xf]

Love the reaction of the ball boys at 5:25. They really wanted to beat Boston!

[@franciscovazquez2334]

We need the Whole game Pleeeeeeease

[@nandyrojas9457]

Jajjajajsjsj bird the best ever

[@maynardferguson9599]

I don't know if anybody told you this but....we maybe seeing these same two teams in the Eastern Finals.

[@Noname-ni1dy]

I miss real basketball. Used to watch 100’s of games every year, now I don’t remember the last time I watched a complete game. Just can’t stand the game as it is now played.

[@insomniac1173]

I don't think I've ever seen Larry bird miss a free throw.

[@Iwillnotbepushed]

I miss this era and these kind of ball players.

[@pere13]

Now this is entertainment

[@Steve_SF]

Great video quality!

[@MerkinMuffly]

0:59 No posters tonight J

[@MrDidaxi]

Amazing quality!

[@franciscosamir5256]

0:57 no one is going to say something about this best dunk of all time attempt????

[@cindyknudson2715]

The one that was thwarted by Bird?

[@franciscosamir5256]

@@cindyknudson2715 can you imagine if he made that dunk sssssshiet

[@susanbloodgood3572]

My favorite era, the Early 80’s

[@fuehdnsjwisj8097]

The video quality makes this look like it happened in 2003 instead of 1982.

[@SuperDetroit9]

If Jordan arrived in the N.B.A in the early 80s he would've been mortified by The Boston Strangler!!

[@scottdanielson9795]

I love this era of basketball they had one game a week on usually on Sundays!!! And when it was Philadelphia against Boston they were usually great games

[@CoreyT127]

Quiet its kept, this is the real rivalry of the 80s!

[@jjs777fzr]

Cant believe Ainge was already on the team by 82.

[@MrWinklbauer]

Insane footage.

[@BasketballJones48021]

Great stuff!

[@andrewbaroch2141]

He wasn't going to be denied.

[@johnbrownwasright]

As a trained professional digital archivist with a focus on audiovisual material, this is the cleanest analog-to-digital transfer I've seen on KZbin for NBA footage from this era. Was this transfer made from the original U-Matic tape?

[@ezsmith3765]

Roby just STUNK as a pro

[@brgreg8725]

Bird off the bench? No wonder Fitch was gone in less than a year and a half

[@toscodav]

Yes. He did the same bullshit with McHale and Ainge. Goodbye.

[@eboooo]

He was coming back from injury and the team was hot. He didn't want to hurt their rhythm Larry was behind it apparently.

[@cindyknudson2715]

@@eboooo Was this the season that Bird got the zygomatic arch injury?

[@DetroitLove4U]

Intense game - 1 point difference. The pixel image quality of video is stupendous!

[@rmsmith2396]

lot rougher than the game is played today

[@rmsmith2396]

Not sure what you are saying. One play? Got bumped? Are you saying basketball is as rough a game as in the 70's and 80's? I'm not criticizing today's bball but there is no comparison to old time for roughness.

[@greysonG10]

@@Red4350 There's absolutely nothing "rough" about basketball in today's game. Hah, just stop man. You can't even gently feather a dudes jersey without a whistle, and every tiny altercation is a flagrant. It's pathetic, but then again.. Most sports are becoming soft, I blame the liberals.

[@Red4350]

@@greysonG10 fuck it alright i'll admit there was more roughness back in the day as i just watched alot more clips...but also there was alot of soft shit liek MJ's ghost calls...they had no zone defense...and most of the roughness was fights that broke out... and the reason the rules changed cause dudes took advantage of the rules and tried to bully their way into a win...the 2nd half wasn't even basketball anymore

[@sportsfanatic1936]

Okay? Today is more skilled and more athletic better shooters better ball handlers. Shit isn’t gonna stay the same forever

[@cindyknudson2715]

​@@sportsfanatic1936 They carry, palm and travel. That *isn't* "more skilled."

[@viviandarkbloom100]

Larry Legend. But I LOVED those Sixer teams. Especially '83. Fo-Fo-Fo

[@Kickingit06]

1:48 😂😂 That organ music narrating the play. 😂😂

[@lgbfjbmaga3930]

🐐

[@EsotericDave]

What a shot by Cedric Maxwell at 2:28.

[@fedthefup2823]

Bird proved speed can be overrated, but being where your suppose to be is not.

[@70sfan]

Any possibility of making Julius video with such a great quality? He had really good game stats-wise. Anyway, thanks for this video.

[@twaflyer1]

If you are talking Julius Irving, LOL. A major hot dog who thought personal dominance was the most important factor! Could never measure up to Bird, IMO.

[@70sfan]

@@twaflyer1 No, I'm talking about Julius Erving - one of the best basketball players ever who was selfless teammate and could fit into any team without any ego problems.

[@twaflyer1]

@@70sfan.. You must be a hometown supporter that's all I have to say! There is a reason Julius Erving hated Bird so much, and that was because, IMO, Larry was a better all around player that Julius was? Julius was a HOT DOG and everybody but you knows it! He called himself "SUPER HUMAN" on one interview, LOL. Just because he can jump higher than the Rim doesn't make him super-human? Anyone at that height, 6'-6"/6-7 can make fun of the low rim, 10 feet, and perform a fancy move! Sorry but your bias does not rule here!!! The guy was a Jealous child who wanted to deprive Larry Bird of his publicity and greatness? Don't forget that Larry won the most valuable BNA player for three years in a row, with Julius and other Racists seething hatred on the sidelines! If you condone those things, you are just as bad as he and the other Jealous players are IMO?

[@70sfan]

@@twaflyer1 I forgot that I shouldn't start discussions on YT. They are worthless.

[@MinneapolisLegend28]

@@70sfan lol this dudes argument is calling Dr. J a hot dog wtf😂

[@jingqi9106]

Bird is the 🐐! 💪

[@rkf304]

Everybody says MJ is surgical and make no wasted movement. Bird was the original one.

[@leoderosia9279]

The lane was so clogged back then and it was really hard to get a easy shot near hoop unlike now.

[@onlythewise1]

wow bird help his team mates score to

[@Huffnutz17]

April 11, 1982. Bird had 20 pts, 15 rebs and 7 assists, along with a steal and 2 blocked shots. Maxwell had 25 and McHale also had 20. Parish was injured, didn't play.

[@cindyknudson2715]

Bird did everything well.

[@lawrencekokjr.1376]

I wonder how many times he scored the last points in the game?

[@giovannilazzarotto5032]

Ball movement! Was this more common back then than now or was this game an anomaly?

[@chrisb3738]

Yes. Passing was much better back then as were the transition games of teams like the Celtics, Sixers, and Lakers.

[@cindyknudson2715]

The Beautiful Game - 1986 Celtics ❤️. It's a great video.

[@mikegazanchyan2423]

Six fairies didn’t like this ??

[@tarikdebarge]

Crystal clear but sound is too low!

[@bigdanko4484]

El birdos

[@bigb8862]

Announcer said 8th leading scorer in the nba at 23.2, hmmm coulda sworn the words on the screen said 23.5 lol

[@andrewbaroch2141]

How come Bird gets the rebounds SURROUNDED BY BIGS?

[@paulgeorge9228]

0:32 he was swatting air lol