WHAT IF: Len Bias Played a Full Career

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Күн бұрын

Len Bias tragically died two days after the 1986 NBA Draft in which the Celtics took him #2. He was one of the best players to come out in the 80's and many thought he would be one of the greatest of all time. What would happen if he played a full career with no injuries and no major issues with the NBA.
As mentioned in the video, here is the article in which Larry Bird said he would have retired in 88 if Bias was on the Celtics:
www.basketball...

Пікірлер: 47

@ap1067 10 ай бұрын

If Bias was playing for the Celtics and his career took off like it did in college the Chicago Bulls wouldn't have six championships.

@Gregory-sm9pf 8 ай бұрын

And the Pistons never would have won a championship

@camoss3724 9 ай бұрын

Bias would have given the Celtics "juice." He was the guy who could steal a pass at half court and bring the crowd to its feet with a rim-rattling dunk. The Celtics had no one at that time who could do those kinds of things. His presence also could have helped preserve the likes of Kevin McHale, who played the second half of that 1987 season on what amounted to a broken foot. And best of all, Bias wouldn't have had to have been great right away. Unlike a lot of college players taken with the first few picks, he wasn't going to a rag-tag team; he was going to the best team in basketball. He could have started with about 20 minutes per night and upped his playing time as the season wore on, particularly when age, injuries and fatigue began to catch up the Celtics down the stretch.

@firepitsports 9 ай бұрын

Agree 100%

@GoldVibranium 9 ай бұрын

This is definitely the most likely scenario

@envyops 10 ай бұрын

It would have been so unfair for that team to get Bias at that time. Bird's Celtics would have been reborn into a new nightmare.

@terrencefields4115 10 ай бұрын

If you know anything about Celtics history it's all built on one unfair advantage after another that's why they have more championships than everyone else.

@ruminator3570 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for making this video. I appreciate the fact that you consider the outcome of Reggie Lewis playing with Len as well as Dee Brown. Yet I have to admit I'm surprised that you think that the bulls would still win as many championships as they did. One would have to be a fool to deny the greatness of Jordan even if these events were to play out. That does leave the what if scenario of Larry Bird not suffering the multitude of injuries prior to him playing a single NBA game. For that matter maybe Mchale does not get injured in 1987.

@johnnoone4323 10 ай бұрын

I am an LA Lakers fan. If Len lived, I don't think the Lakers would have won the championships in 1987-88 - those championships would have gone to the Celtics.

@firepitsports 10 ай бұрын

I agree

@dalecoughlin5124 9 ай бұрын

Yes, I do agree

@tom7471 11 ай бұрын

I can not remember a greater athlete of Bias's size, or any size, coming out of college (Jordan and David Thompson are close, though somewhat smaller). I think he would have had to improve his handle, but most players do after being in the NBA. Len Bias was a beast with the ball from fifteen feet on in. His highlight videos are scary...

@firepitsports 11 ай бұрын

I watched his highlights video. I don't remember him. I thought he was a Tim Duncan-like player but with a bigger inside presence

@PoliticusRex632 9 ай бұрын

Bird said in his book that Bias had a jumper equal to his.

@firepitsports 9 ай бұрын

@@PoliticusRex632 That's high praise right there... coming from a legend

@MrOctober44 8 ай бұрын

There's a million scenarios. If he didn't pass away, maybe he just has a drug problem that dogs him his entire career. Maybe he wants to start immediately and that caused friction. Or he's injury prone. People seem to act like had he not died that night he would have been a ten time all star, never have an on or off the court issue for his entire career. I'm not trying to insult the man. We'll never know. R.I.P.

@joeldriver-sp2rg 10 ай бұрын

I think he would have been similar to Carmelo Anthony because looking at his college stats he simply didn't pass the ball at all averaging only 1.3 assists per game. He also didn't put much effort into rebounding averaging only 5.7 per game. Melo ended up being more of a cancer to the teams he played on because he was a ball stopper. I witnessed it for several years when he was in OKC. He would have been a good player but those Celtics teams really shared the ball and I don't know how well he would have fit in there.

@seanhat4784 4 ай бұрын

His avg suffers from fr yr where he didnt play much.. bias in the nba woulda avg 7-8 rebounds a gm

@farquadshmoogle9120 9 ай бұрын

Bias was notva PF. BULLS already had a SF, Scottie Pippen. I think the Celtics wouldve made traded picks to get some players around Bias to keep them competitive.

@big8dog887 11 ай бұрын

If Bias is that good, there's no way the Celtics trade him to the Bulls unless they at least get Scottie Pippen in return along with draft picks. The Bulls were able to get Rodman fairly cheap because he was too much of a headache in San Antonio, they wanted to get rid of him. Asking price would have been much higher for what we imagine Bias to be.

@firepitsports 11 ай бұрын

My thought process was that if he's the only one they have, he would be their best trade asset, and they could get a lot for him, and Krouse would be willing to give alot. Now if the Celtics were building around him, then yeah.. they don't make the trade.

@miked5814 8 ай бұрын

Brad Daugherty of course. I remember because supposedly the Celtics spread rumors about Bias so the Cavs would pass him up and it worked. Daugherty was still a damn good player but I think Bias would have been better. And I seriously doubt Bird would have hung it up if they were still making the finals every year. Despite what he says. He's too competitive, I believe.

@firepitsports 8 ай бұрын

correct, sir.. and thanks so much for watching.. greatly appreciate it

@curtissmith2486 11 ай бұрын

Bias is the best college player that I have seen in my 51 years! He was as athletic or even more than Jordan! I remember where I was when I heard on the car radio that Bias had passed away. Brad Daugherty was the #1 pick in 1986. Thanks for doing a Bias video 🤙!

@firepitsports 11 ай бұрын

I had a blast doing it, glad you liked the video

@masjidtafsirkathir6094 10 ай бұрын

Celtics Would Of Beat The Lakers In 87

@johnnoone4323 10 ай бұрын

Agree with you - and also in 1988 - and I'm a long time LA Lakers fan (since 1965-66).

@damienkirksey7026 9 ай бұрын

I agree

@seanhat4784 4 ай бұрын

Very reasonable take

@Haruo-6768 9 ай бұрын

I have him and reggie on my starting 5

@cesarmedina7080 11 ай бұрын

The celtics almost made it to the conference finals in 92 with an injured Bird and no Bias. If Bias was there they could have beaten the Bulls. The idea they couldn't have beaten the Bulls with Bias in 92 is nonsense. The Bulls had problems with the Cavs in 92 conference finals. Pretty sure Boston with Bias would have been a bigger problem.

@firepitsports 11 ай бұрын

Fair point, i remember with the Bulls that the Suns might have actually been favored to beat them in the Finals. So if they were going to take one from the Bulls, then 92 would have been the year

@jaded9234 10 ай бұрын

Yeah, I think Larry Legend is kinda pulling our leg. If he get's a physical monster, like Bias, on the team and they get a realistic chance for a couple, possibly successive titles, I don't see Larry passing that up. Bias could pick up like 90%+ of the Bird's usual physical load while Larry's freakish IQ keeps him in the right spot without having to stress himself. Just imagine that duo for a second, then combine it with 'Torture Chamber' Mchale's post, you've got a high-octane motor-powered creature with grabby-ass long arms, the clutch-gene, a triangulating supercomputer in it's head and a 50/40/90 level shot output. Aurbach and Bill Russel and the rest would've lost their minds. But, we'll never know.

@firepitsports 10 ай бұрын

I tend to agree. It's easy to say it years later, knowing what happened, but while it was happening and Larry's seeing 2 or 3 more rings in his future, he would probably keep playing

@Gregory-sm9pf 8 ай бұрын

Absolutely Bird would have kept playing, he actually contradicts himself because in an interview Bird said if we land Bias, he's showing up at rookie camp, so what does that tell us,,, c'mon Larry!

@farquadshmoogle9120 8 ай бұрын

i wonder if someone can make a vid of Christian Laettner, if the TWolves had philosophy to build around him. Shaq got Penny. Alonzo joined LJ. who did Laettner get? he avg 18 ppg 8 rpg for his 4 years with the Wolves, with like 13 shots/game. but what would have been if the Wolves drafted better pieces around Laettner.

@firepitsports 8 ай бұрын

I will add that to my research list and see if I can put that one together for you