Remembering Larry Bird

[Trolliver]

It was 20 years ago this week that Larry Bird retired from basketball. Over at CSNNE.com, they have done a fantastic job this week of remember him and what he meant to the Boston Celtics and the city.

Here’s a highlight video of Bird (if you want more, there are countless more on the Web). What I take away from this was two rememberances. First, the guy had every shot in the book. Three pointer, spin move in the post, running floater, whatever it was he could hit it. It was the hours spent in the gym practicing shots nobody else thought of.

Second, has there ever been a better shooter of a contested jumper in the game’s history? He had the footwork and game to create space for himself, but he didn’t need much because he was tall enough to shoot over you and drain it.

Just a reminder of his career numbers: 3 NBA championships, 3 time league MVP, 2 time finals MVP, 10 time All-Star, gold medal, Dream Team member, Hall of Famer. The man who, along with Magic Johnson, revitalized the game, saved the NBA and cleared the path for Jordan and all that was to come.

And that’s the short list

[Avster]

larry legend.

kinda interesting to see that his career accolades (minus rings) are nearly the same as lebrons already dayum

[emperor penguin]

lol the title made me think he was dead

[Trolliver]

lol the title made me think he was dead

same thing happened to me srs

[4321]

RIP. He will be missed

[JMEWLS]

Guy was a beast. People think he's better then Magic?

[X]

I think he has a case in being better then Magic. It is one of the biggest rivalries in sports history. I just could not get over his smarts and clutchness as a player though. He would literally change the game with his defense. So many clutch stops he made back in his day to win the game. And as a shooter... We already know.

I do not think we will ever find a similar player to bird in our lifetimes.

[JMEWLS]

I'd probably still take Magic over bird.

[HyperYellow]

Magic certainly had his strong points, but when you talk about having the ball on the end of a string, Larry personified it.

[shortyman920]

Watched the Magic-Bird documentary a few weeks ago. Never knew the back affected him that much. Anyway I got loads of respect for him. He's not athletic, not super tall or anything. The guy just wins with attitude, work, and plays the right way. Whatta baller