THE LARRY BIRD BIAS HAS TO STOP! Larry Bird ULTIMATE Mixtape!

[@pournflakes3096]

Le bron ain’t clutch I’d take bird of le bron any day

[@paulsullivan1650]

First of all youngster, Bird won three straight league MVP's. And LeBron plays in an era where if you fart on a guy they'll call a foul.

[@brasshound4442]

You won't truly know how special Bird and Jordan were unless you watched them every game. Bird was a good defender look up his steals and boards. Bird made the Celtics good, MJ didn't need a team, both of them end up doing the same thing in different ways. Keep in mind it was way harder in the paint back then and the 3pt line was new and not popular so nobody had practiced on it much.

[@agordon7369]

Your argument is a strong and good case but there’s a few things to also consider. 1. That era in my opinion was a harder and more physical era 2. One of only 3 players to have back to back MVP 3. 2nd highest win percentage 4. You can’t argue IQ and court vision (Bird hands down) 5. It’s never going to be about pure numbers or stats only but also what that player contributed to the team/league during their time. Just my opinion I’m almost 50 and have watched the old greats growing up Bird is always my #1 pick for GOAT. But I will give you props for making a great case based on pure numbers and stats

[@iconadams]

You compare apples to apples when it suits your argument and also compare apples to oranges when that suits your argument better. Can't have it both ways.

[@deanholmes1322]

Yeah, we're older. That means we are still watching basketball. The 70s and the 80s were the best Era in music. I can say that, BECAUSE I'M STILL LISTENING TO MUSIC

[@brendawalters3728]

What Bird was is a complete player and is in the top 250 NBA players of all time in these 8 categories Field goal % ,Free Throw %,Points per game Assists per game Rebounds per game, Steals per game, Blocks per game and Minutes per game Lebron isn't, Jordan isn't, Steph isn't, Kobe isn't, Durant isn't Dirk isn't, Magic isn't, Kareem isn't, Wilt isn't, Bill Russell isn't, and the list goes on and on. Bird is in the top 60 players of all time in 6 of the 8 categories.

[@marykuettner752]

First of all you need to watch a hell of a lot more bb. Instead of telling people what they they need to do watch. Stats in different era's mean different things. The floor is wide open now. Spacing is completely different. Everyone is trying to shoot a three. Bird and Magic were threading the needle with everyone in the paint. Bron is the best player in the last twenty years but twenty years from now people won't remember too much about him. Bird and Magic saved the league but also were very colorful characters. Most players that played against Bird have a story to tell about Bird's trash talk and ability to put a knife through your heart. You aren't going to change anyone's mind. I generally will watch a new reactor once to see what they know. Good Luck.

[@riffsthatkill2180]

LeBron is having a better career (really, better than almost anyone in the history of the game) but Larry is a better basketball player. Prime for prime, if one team takes LeBron and the other takes Larry, the team that took Larry is probably going to win (supporting cast being relatively even)

[@lgbfjbmaga3930]

Larry's worse free throw year was 7 points higher than LeBrons. Bird actually ranks higher than LeBron in defense and had multiple 50-40-90 seasons. Bird averaged 10+ rebounds a game. LeBron is 7

[@peppie0521]

Larry served up MJ extra crispy with a broom.

[@ldybozz]

Bird was playing his last 7 yrs with a career ending back injury. Double achilles surgeries. Broken face(cheekbone & eye orbitor). AND STILL DOMINATED. Has anyone else done that? Look at his stats from 85 - he retired. That's the year he broke his back. He started in the league with a mangled finger. He got right after he was drafted(he hadn't signed yet)to the Celtics. That changed the way the ball felt to him. He would have been a more deadly shooter than he was. He was the founder of the 50/40/90 club. Lead the league in defensive win shares for 5 yrs. There's video of Lebron, Kobe & KD putting Larry in their top 5.

[@riffsthatkill2180]

To follow your argument, then we can never say Jordan is "X for Y" against anyone, either....if its a team game. So then, how much better does each player make their team? Bird turned the Celtics around from being in the basement to being in the ECF the next year, with no Robert Parish and no Dennis Johnson, no Kevin McHale, no Bill Walton, no Danny Ainge....just Cedric Maxwell and an old Tiny Archibald and old Dave Cowens....all of whom were on the team the previous year when they were in the basement. Jordan didn't really turn the Bulls around at all. He had an old legend on his team too, in George Gervin if I recall. Orlando Woolridge, Oakley, and Paxson were all very good or solid players...although I think Jordan's was out injured when Gervin was on the team. Either way, there is very little "bias" towards Larry Bird. He's hardly mentioned or marketed today, most of the people talking about him just want him to be remembered for the BEAST that he was.

[@thenakedtruthri]

My Top 5 GOAT Team by position - Magic (PG), Jordan (SG), Larry Legend (SF), Bill Russell (PF) and Wilt (C). MVP Voting from 79-88 - Larry dominated the league. Arguably could have won 7-8 straight. Or maybe just name him MVP of the DECADE. 1979-80 NBA 0.068 (4) 1980-81 NBA 0.613 (2) 1981-82 NBA 0.588 (2) 1982-83 NBA 0.485 (2) 1983-84 NBA 0.858 (1) 1984-85 NBA 0.978 (1) 1985-86 NBA 0.981 (1) 1986-87 NBA 0.347 (3) 1987-88 NBA 0.659 (2)

[@Timberbeast30]

You said it yourself on the last Bird video. That last shot, " i would not want Lebron taking that shot". If the player is great you want them taking the last shot.

[@j20tower]

Larry Bird made the players in his team better. He made sure everyone got the ball. Jordan took the majority of shots. You don’t think Bird couldn’t score more points if he wanted to? As far as Lebron. Don’t go by what I say. Listen to the people that cover basketball. The so called experts and most pick Bird as a better all around player than Lebron. Better shooter, better rebounder, better free throw shooter, better 3 point shooter. People don’t give Bird enough credit for his defensive play. He’s a very good defensive player. Also who do you want to take the last shot in a game and most say Larry Bird. Pat Riley was asked who you would want to take the last shot and he said this. Who do I want to take the last shot in a game and he said Michael Jordan. Who do I want to take the last shot to save my life? Larry Bird”. Not saying that Bird is better, just saying Bird is right up there near the top. My opinion. Your entitled to yours.

[@jimmyboy131]

This is going to be a LOOONG post but it can't be helped. I totally understand your frustration and I totally agree that people need to listen to understand, not just listen to respond. But I still think your perspective is a bit lacking, though I appreciate that you're trying to be fair. This is a tough game to be completely fair because there are so many factors to consider over so many years. What I'm going to say below is for the sake of trying to give fair perspective to the argument, which tends to be lacking in these discussions. Again I understand your frustration. Larry fans need a reality check in some ways but on the whole they're not wrong when saying he has legitimate claim to be GOAT (not that he absolutely is but that a legit argument can be made). That said, I'm going to push back a lot in some of these areas. When people start saying "flop!", I agree that's not a valid argument for stats or abilities. It's an eye-test thing, which can be very subjective. We can say players like Lebron, or Chris Paul, were big floppers (they were) but that doesn't change how skilled they are or their high stat levels. Your top 3 top 4 lists, they're all solid. Mine would be similar, though I'm a Larry fan so for small forwards I'd place him at #1. But I get it if people want to go with Lebron or KD; those are legit too. Power forward is really tough. Karl Malone is #2 scorer of all time (unless Lebron has passed him by now) so that's tough to nail down. Now the push back. I'm a Larry Bird fan but I'll also try to be fair: If we want to talk about Larry as a defender, I don't think people tend to look at it fairly. I don't know where you're getting those stats but Larry was on the All Defensive team in '82, '83, and '84. In '83 he was third place in votes for Defensive player of the year. Is "All Defensive Team" different from "Defensive First team"? I don't know. In '85 Larry injured his back and was never the same again, which coincidentally was after the first year of Jordan being in the league. Talk about a horrible time to have a potentially career-ending injury. I agree that we can't say Larry is a same-tier overall defender as Jordan or Rodman or Pippen, or some others, etc, but I don't know of anyone except for trolls who are saying that in all honesty. It's generally acknowledged that overall defense was his weakest atribute but "weak" is relative compared to his overall game. Larry's 1.73 steals per game is not elite level but it is top 40 all time. By comparison Pippen and Jordan are top 15 all time. But Curry, Lebron, and KD are all further below Larry down the list. The Jordan vs Bird argument is still valid because it's always a team vs team situation. The same can be said about '90s era Bulls vs everyone else. Is it Jordan vs Barkley, or Jordan vs. Reggie Miller? No, it's the Bulls vs _______ though Jordan fans will like to say it was Jordan vs the world, or something like that. The reason people say Larry beat Mike is because that Celtics team wouldn't have had a chance without Larry. Honestly, I have not yet looked at each game and broken down Larry's and Mike's stats per game. But it would be interesting to do that. Regardless, it's safe to assume Mike's average points-per-game will be higher. In the other stats, I don't know. But for more context, look at the '79 Celtics vs '80 Celtics. They went from 29-53 in '79 to 61-21 in '80 (Larry's first year). The next year they went 63-19 and won the Finals. The next year 56-26. This a rookie and sophomore Larry Bird making that difference. Without him that team doesn't succeed. It's not like he had the mid-late 80s Celtics that could dominate everyone. Now look at the Bulls with rookie Jordan. '83 Bulls were 27-55. With rookie Jordan, 38-54, the next year 30-52, the next year 40-42, and they didn't win the finals until '91. Larry's Celtics were 23-11 against Jordan's Bulls. Even Magic's Showtime Lakers were 7-8 against Jordan's Bulls in the same 80s time period! The single biggest factor in all that was Larry Bird. Am I to believe, then, that Larry vs Jordan isn't a valid argument when the record shows what happens when you add those two players to separate teams? Some will say "well Jordan was a rookie", but so what, so was Larry, and both won Rookie of the year. People want to say that Larry could never hang with Jordan 1 v 1. First off, I disagree. That's a "what if" argument but it looks to me, going by the video we can watch, that Larry can score just fine against Jordan. Of course Jordan can also score just fine against Larry, so it's a matter of who scores the most. We've seen video of Pippen and Jordan together guarding Larry and he still scores on them. We've seen Larry block and steal against Jordan and Pippen. Etc, etc. So 1 v 1 I don't think Larry gets a fair shake in these discussions. According to Dominique Wilkins, who played his career against Larry after Larry injured his back: "In a half court scenario Larry was evil. You couldn't beat him." Does that suddenly vanish if you substitute Mike for Dominique? The evidence doesn't seem to support that. Even Mike has Larry in his top 5 all time and he would know; like Dominique he played against Larry more than most other players. And again, this is a "what if" scenario, not a real world scenario, so this is tough to try to weight this too much. For shooting, who's greater overall? KD and Larry's scoring and shooting stats look very similar, almost identical, so neither is better than the other in that stat line. Their highest per year average is both 29.9. Lebron's is 29.8. So all three are right there together with season scoring average. Shooting, both KD and Larry's % stats are pretty much the same and look better than Lebron's and Mike's. Both KD and Lebron are similar in rebounds and steals, but both below Larry. However both are above Larry in blocks. Mike's and Lebron's overall shooting stats are lesser than both KD and Larry. Concerning triple doubles, Lebron is behind Magic (#3 with 138) at #4 or #5 all time with 106. Larry has 59, Jordan has 28, and KD has 17. So that's another way of measuring effectiveness and contribution. For career win percentage (another team based stat), Magic is still #1 at 74.0% and Larry is #2 at 73.6%. Again this is a team based stat so make of that what you will. (The list I looked at is kinda suspect, though. Pippen is in the top 25 but Jordan is not, nor is Lebron, or KD. Klay Thompson is there but Steph Curry isn't. I don't know what's goin on with that list, though the career #1 and #2 are correct. In fairness, Magic, Larry, and Jordan have finished their careers, the others haven't.) Looking at the entire picture, Larry fans have a legit argument. But what isn't fair is to try to minimize anyone else by comparison, or to say Larry is the best in every area because clearly that's not true. The bigger picture is where he shines, lining up every legitimate stat and accolade, and taking the overall picture. As for the eye test, Larry looks great; you can't take that subjective test away from him. But To Lebron's and KD's credit they both have put up consistently high levels over their entire long careers. That's what puts them near the very top of goat lists. You can't do that if you're not one of the goats. They've both earned their accolades. But the same is also true of Larry and Jordan.

[@marleybob3157]

You have watched Larry Bird via clips on KZbin. I saw the man play live and on TV for the whole of his career (including college). I have done the same for Lebron. I'm telling as from an old man to a young one that I take Bird over Lebron ten times out of ten. It is close and that has to do with Lebron's longevity and how well he is playing into his old age. That said, it is close but on my all time list, I have Bird at #5 and Lebron at #6 {in case you are wondering - 1) MJ, 2) Magic, 3) Wilt and 4) Russell}. Where is Lebron better than Bird? He has longevity of career and is a better athlete. In every other category, I give it to Bird. He was a better shooter (2 pt, 3pt and free throw), rebounder, passer, team leader, lead-by-example-guy, motivator, clutch performer and I would argue defender. Look at the stats - For all his propertied defensive prowess, Lebron averaged 1.6 steals per game and 0.8 blocks per game in his career. Bird? 1.7 spa and 0.8 bpg! Bird was arguably a better team defender because he knew where to be and when to be there. Also I will point out that Lebron has perhaps the most sculpted body in NBA history (props to Karl Malone and David Robinson) and is a freak athlete. So, how is it that Lebron can't get better defensive ratings and numbers than Bird who is a slow, unathletic guy with no vertical? Frankly it is embarrassing for LJ. Also, Mr. James is notorious for playing selective defense, taking defensive plays off and caring more about offense. Nobody can ever accuse Bird of doing that. In fact, the rap on him was he went too far out and hurt himself when he didn't need to. And Bird played I a much more physical era where players didn't take games off for management or to rest up for the payoffs. Finally, I like to give young guys this challenge - think about Lebron's single greatest advantage over Bird. I'd say it is athleticism. Now, give that athleticism to Bird. What type of player would you now have? All I know is I'd want him on my team! Bird did everything he did as a terrible athlete. It doesn't really work the other way. Like I said, Bird is a better shooter, rebounder, etc., than Lebron, but it isn't dramatically so. Bird's IQ is off the charts but Lebron's is impressive as well. About the only thing I'd say is Bird had more hustle and determination but that doesn't mean Lebron didn't so anything I can give you for Bird won't dramatically improve Lebron. Bird. It's Bird. Sorry.

[@aramhamparian9641]

You are a young guy who gets it. My Top 5 at each position ( basing that I actually saw these guys play) PF: Duncan SF: Larry C: Wilt PG: Magic SG: Jordan Larry Bird is not the GOAT, but I have him at #3. No holes, clutchest baller ever. Averaged double digit rebounds in his career when the spacing was extremely tight. Not like today. Wilt is the GOAT. The NBA had to change the rules of the game due to his dominance, but even with those rule changes, he still dominated over them. Great vid.

[@marleybob3157]

That is my all-time starting five unless you allow me to put Bill Russell as the PF.

[@karportjunction3368]

Have you've ever watched Larry play? Don't use your age as an excuse. There's KZbin. Does the stats fully show how Lebron plays? Until you have watched Larry play. Your video doesn't mean crap.

[@rmcfete]

Lbron didn’t play in birds era. Bird could get forty to fifty every night if he wanted me to

[@kathieovercash8414]

In MJ's best year he still didn't beat Bird's stats. I don't think you can really compare Bird to anyone. There has never been a player that played at the high level Bird played at with the injuries Bird had. His sophomore year of high school he broke his ankle in two places and tore the ligaments in it in the first or second practice. He used that time to practice shooting left handed. After he was drafted and before he signed with the Celtics he shattered his index finger in a softball or baseball game. I forget which. Two major surgeries with clips and pins put in it but they couldn't straighten it out so it was shaped like a boomerang at a 45 degree angle pointing towards his thumb. He said he never had the same feel for the basketball after that. The night before that game against the Pacers when he fractured his right cheek he spent in the hospital in traction. His teammates said he struggled to get dressed out for that game. Broke his back in 85. This caused him to lose the structural stability in his spine. It took 4 to 6 hours to unlock his spine, realign it and do techniques to hold it so he can then play a basketball game. You can tell in some of the games when he was wearing a fiberglass body brace. He fractured his eye orbiter in a game and still finished the game shooting with double vision. He had a hole kicked in his face and after he finished playing that game he had to go to the hospital and they had to drill a hole in his face to pop the arch back out. He had a broken foot, bone spurs and double Achilles surgery in 89 and still went out and put up numbers some great players could only imagine. He didn't like to let anyone know he was hurt. He had a toe infection and before a game they had to cut 2 1/2 inches between his toes to drain the infection and he wrapped it up and played that game. His back injury was so bad he had to lay down on planes. And according to his teammates he never in his career took pills, shots or pain blockers. Today a player's uncle could get hurt and they'll set out the game. Larry Bird is in a box all alone. He said himself, If you get paid to go to work you've got to go to work. May I suggest you watch more Larry Bird videos and then see what you think. Danny Ainge said Larry was practicing before a game and Danny asked why he was shooting the way he was and Larry told him his Achilles tendons were bothering him so much his step back wasn't going to work. That was who he was. He was coming up with another game plan for a win. In one game after the first 3 quarters he was one steal away from a quadruple double and sat out the forth quarter. The coach realized it and tried to get him to go back in the game and he said no, that he'd already done enough damage. He cared about the numbers on the score board not the stats. He made his team better and the teams that played against him. His basketball IQ was off the charts. Larry Bird stands alone. They'll never be another player like Larry Bird. He absolutely is the GOAT.

[@psychopolka782]

Young kids. I tell ya.

[@williamroche3539]

I disagree with your assessment of Bird's defensive prowess. He finished 1st in defensive win shares 4 times and came in 2nd twice . That ties him with Hakeem and there are only 3 players in history that did better than that and it isn't Jordan or lebron. I watched Bird , Jordan and Lebron play. I think Bird was a better passer. He was a better rebounder and shooter than Lebron as well. If he played another 5 years I think there would be a different conversation going on. While I believe Bird was a better all around player than anyone else I don't have him at number 1. He also had a 26 inch vertical leap but people always say he couldn't jump. Then there's the intangibles. He made his teammates better , was a natural leader and is probably the most clutch player ever. I don't have bias on this , I just know what I saw.

[@redkat7406]

You need to stop with the Labronica bias think about you are telling people to stop the doing the exact thing you are doing

[@gibsalot]

my biggest argument aginst a stat for stat comparison like this is that none of them played the same amount of seasons that in itself causes it to be an apples to oranges comparison yes Lebron has more of this or more of those but he also had nearly 2X as long to get those achivments . for a real apples to apples comparison you need to convert each of those stats to overall career %'s not whole numbers. that will put every player on equal ground to be compaired to each other. 23% of Larry's seasons he won a championship , Lebron 20% . playoffs Larry 92.3% made it to the playoffs , Lebron 75% . all star games Larry 92.3% Lebron 90% . Longevity is a misnomer stat that has nothing to do with how good of a player some one is all it shows is that a player is ither very lucky and never been seriously injured or they played just well enough to not get the boot and warmed the benches for far to long. Lebron is absolutly a top 10 player i currently have him at my #6 spot he's moved down a couple of spots over the last few years mostly because his stats are starting to trend down over previous years and its starting to show just how far past his prime he is. he still has the ability to turn it on and go to work hes just not doing it nearly as much as he did in his earlyer years. the real GOAT is Wilt but he was alot like Jordan and tryed his best to take on whole teams by himself , the GTeamOAT is argubly the 86 Celtics much like Wilt vs Russell the Jordan Vs Bird playoff argument play's out the same a amazing individual vs a well oiled team like Russell, Bird was a great team Player

[@gibsalot]

my list is ( Wilt , MJ , Russell , Kareem, Kobe, Lebron, Bird, Magic, KD, Malone )

[@brandonford7148]

I believe Jordan is the GOAT, but he was 0-6 against Bird. You claim Bird had “more help,” but in a previous video you say that argument is invalid: “Winning is winning.”

[@venetoaward]

I listened to you but honestly I don't really care and it's not because of your opinions, which are very respectable and well thought. The whole conversation about who's the goat, who's better, comparisons, I personally find very stupid and useless. To me it really doesn't matter. Everyone has his goat/goats and it's almost never based on numbers, matchups or whatever, it's based on emotion. I believe basketball, like other sports, is really a form of art when played at certain levels. There's a craft behind which requires a real master degree. It comes from talent, training and personal background and these 3 things is what a person normally relate to when he thinks about his goat/goats. I can't tell you which one is the goat and you gotta accept it, it doesn't matter how well or in depth I think I reason, it's totally subjective. It's like comparing painters, it doesn't really make sense to me. I'm not really interested in this kind of videos, sorry (I appreciate the effort though). Cheers from Venice Italy

[@lawrenceconstantine7735]

Who is Lebron? Bill Russell is the goat. Then Magic and Bird paved the way for MJ and everyone else.

[@rmcfete]

Lbron can’t carry birds shoes

[@rmcfete]

Not if you cut off lbron at 23 years

[@deanholmes1322]

Where is the ultimate mix tape?

[@alfredoramos9782]

Curry is better than lebum,he is dedicated to his team and won championships,lebum even wants to play with the greats of these era not against them

[@deanholmes1322]

Dude , you got 18 likes in 1 months Time. That means, YOU ARE WRONG. TIRED OF YOUNG LEBRON FANS. If you were 60 like me, and actually seen Bird play ?

[@DBCOOP2009]

defensive winshare bird over bron. 9 steals in 3 quarters and the record is 11. only a GREAT defender can do that . if not for injuries there wouldnt be any question about defense . even a broken back larry played harder on d than brons roided ass does. mj is on another level defensively than both .

[@trhansen3244]

Listen to respond? Lol

[@richsalzer2556]

Wrong. He was 2-0 v Jordan in the playoffs. What bias? How about the anti-Bird like you.

[@regolf.d6519]

MJ never defended Bird and Bird didn’t defend MJ. You use the “team win” argument and it’s a TEAM game man. Wtf do you even mean?? Bird made the players around him better, plain and simple.

[@rmcfete]

He scored)3 and lost

[@billdemas8712]

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