Without him, Bird said, he wouldn’t have scored half his points. Larry Bird said the best player he ever played with was Dennis Johnson From left, Boston Celtics Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, and Larry Bird share a laugh during a game against the Phoenix Suns at the Boston Garden, Jan. 30, 1994. Larry’s Competitive Nature. Our oldest son Chris, who was probably nine or ten at the time, would go out and shoot before games and be an honorary ball boy at the Garden. Larry would get in a little shooting contest with him and never lose to anyone. He would do his best, but Larry would beat him. Don Nelson: “He’s the best player ever to play the game.” ever, ever be another Larry Bird.” - Earvin Johnson at the 1993 retirement ceremony for Bird in Boston Garden. Bird got his 3rd 2nd team all defense in 84, it’s not like he was slouch on that end, even if Lebron was the better defender. Bird won 3 MVPs in a row, 2 rings, and 2 finals MVPs in that stretch, plus was 2nd and 3rd in MVP voting in the 2 years he didn’t win MVP in that stretch. LeBron was definitely a better player. In Larry’s early days under Knight, the future Celtic scrimmaged against older players. Bird thought some of those Hoosier veterans mistreated him — Benson being the worst offender. Benson was a 6-foot-10 center who was eventually drafted No. 1 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1977. He became an average player in the league. Larry Bird was a co-star of one of the greatest college basketball national championship games ever – Bird vs. Magic, when the undefeated Indiana State Sycamores took on the co-Big Ten champion Barry, the son of a basketball coach from Elizabeth, N.J., was voted the 27th-best player as part of The Athletic ’s NBA project documenting the top 75 players in league history. He was 1966 NBA Does Larry Bird have an argument as the 3rd best player ever, above Kareem? Larry in my eyes is the only truly "flawless" player. He was incredible at every facet of the game. Scoring, rebounding, playmaking, shooting, he was even great at defense (3x All Defense) despite his reputation. Not only that, but his career was during arguably the In an interview from “The Dan Patrick Show” dating back to 2015, Bird shed some light on his high school days and early career, as well as what it was like to play in the NBA in the early 1980s. So, if you want to know a little more about the formative years of one of the best to ever play the game, watch the video embedded below to get the 56hQri.

larry bird best player ever