Larry Bird is among the greatest players ever to play in the NBA. Even if he lacked elite athleticism, players like Patrick Ewing knew they could not stop him from making an impact.
The NBA has had many icons in its illustrious history. One of the very few players who truly dominated the sport was Bird. The Boston Celtics icon was an unassuming athlete, but he was always a star on the court.
Despite his sterling reputation, some thought he was not as good as advertised. That changed whenever they watched him play.
Ewing had friends back home talking trash about Bird, which changed when he humbled them with a big-time performance.
The Celtics legend might have had a shorter career than expected, but he stamped his legacy as an all-time great.
Ewing was the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. At that time, Bird was already arguably the best player in the league.
Despite that, not everyone saw him as the clear-cut best player. Some people even felt he was not the real deal, including Ewing’s friends back home.
When Ewing got to the league and played against Bird, he immediately knew that he was special. He even went back to his friends and told them that they were wrong for judging Bird’s game too early.
With his combination of scoring, playmaking, and basketball IQ, Bird was unstoppable. Even if he was not the most explosive athlete, he always found ways to help his team win. For any basketball player who sees that up close, they would recognize his talent.
“When I got to the league, I called all my friends back home and said, ‘You know, all the trash you were talking, you gotta squash all of that, this man is great,’” Ewing said on The Dan Patrick Show.
“This man is great. Whatever you were saying, for a guy who can’t jump, he’s demolishing everybody. He’s doing it against the best defenses in the league.”
Despite retiring decades ago, Bird is still an all-time great basketball player. He was a fantastic player who deserved all his accolades, which included being a 12-time All-Star, three-time champion, three-time MVP, and a Finals MVP twice.
The most prominent physical trait that set him apart as a player was his height. However, outside that, he was mostly an unassuming person. He did not look like an elite athlete, but he kept proving everyone wrong.
Players like Ewing and Magic Johnson were immediately impressed by Bird’s talent. He was the real deal, as he left an undeniable mark on the NBA with his three-point shooting, playmaking, and trash-talking.
Thankfully, people recognize him as one of the greatest in NBA history, and no one can erase his impact. He is a legend, and he will continue to be an icon for the foreseeable future.
