Five Reasons Larry Bird Was Better Than Michael Jordan!

[East_Stone_Ya]

while I don't agree with him, he still makes some interesting points in the article.



http://sports.yahoo.com/news/five-re...184600401.html

I admit that Bird was a better shooter than MJ but the rest is debatable

Bird's shooting form is legendary in basketball circles for good reason. He may very well be the best pure shooter the game has ever seen, especially for his size. In 12 seasons, Bird finished in the top 10 in 3-point field-goal percentage seven times, sinking an amazing average of 41.4 percent of his attempts from 1984-1988. In contrast, the average 3-point field-goal percentage in Jordan's four best shooting seasons was only 38.2 percent and his career average was a low 32.7 percent. Additionally, Jordan never managed to finish among the 10 best 3-point shooters in any of his 13 seasons.
Bird was also a better free-throw shooter. Over his career, Bird made 88.6 percent of his free throws, compared to Jordan's 83.5-percent career average. Bird also led the league in free-throw shooting four times and finished in the top 10 amongst all players 11 times. Jordan never led the league in this category or even managed to end a season in the top 10.

[Electric Slide]

I'll be surprised if he isn't fired by the end of the day.

[JtotheIzzo]

Bird is usually underrated on these forums, but this is a bit too much in the other direction.

Jordan > Bird.

But lets not forget one thing about Larry, he was the hands down best player in the league when a lot of other top 15 all time guys were in the league and either in their prime or close to it.

[dr.hee]

while I don't agree with him, he still makes some interesting points in the article.



http://sports.yahoo.com/news/five-re...184600401.html

I admit that Bird was a better shooter than MJ but the rest is debatable

What a stupid article. Not because of the whole who's better debate in general, but because his "reasons" are just dumb.

Bird was a better shooter

So are Steph Curry, Mark Price, Drazen Petrovic, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic and Ray Allen. The point being?

Unlike Jordan, who primarily played on the perimeter and stole most of his rebounds away from other guards, Bird spent a lot of time in the post fighting for boards with some of the NBA's best rebounders.

So a SF/PF is playing more in the post than a SG? Thanks for the information, didn't know that. Pretty shocking stuff.

Jordan was a great defender, but Bird could guard players at almost every position

So? That would make Bird a more versatile defender at best. But how does this matter to the topic?

Bird could score in the post

Yeah, the lack of post scoring ability was really holding MJ back. The same with Kobe by the way. I often wonder how good Kobe would be if he had a low post game. Maybe he should try to develop, I don't know, better footwork and some moves. What about adding a fadeaway to his game?


Bottom line, I don't care about Top 10 rankings and sh*t. That's subjective. But how can an adult human being with a working brain write such an article and think it's good enough to share it with the world?

[East_Stone_Ya]

But how can an adult human being with a working brain write such an article and think it's good enough to share it with the world?

because he is a Celtics homer

Justin Haskins is a New England native and journalism student at Regent University. He has been obsessively following Boston professional sports for 10 years and has been published in numerous online publications and websites.

[Millennium X]

jordan was better than bird if you think there's more to the game of basketball than just offense. bird's defense was a joke compared to mj.

and sure, he may have been a better 3-pt shooter and passer, but so was steve nash. who cares? jordan was a much better offensive player and scorer overall. bird never dropped a 41 ppg finals avg or 55 in a finals game. he was easier to stop than jordan.

[pauk]

All i can say is that Larry Bird is the most skilled player i have ever seen in my life.

[JellyBean]

Wow. Gotta loved how the writer just threw Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley under the bus. Bird was a better shooter than Jordan...that is about it. Bird was terrible on defense. He never guarded the other teams best player. He never guarded all positions on the floor. Bird was great. But that was in the early stages of his career.

[Sarcastic]

[jzek]

Not better than Jordan but he is the GOAT SF!

[pudman13]

The weakest part of this article is the bit about defense. Bird is a better defender than he gets credit for, but Jordan was better.

I notice that most of the top 10 lists on this forum underrate Bird, generally listing him a few notches below Magic. The fact was that throughout their careers it was generally accepted that Bird was the better of the two players, and Magic only seems to get the overall nod because his career lasted a bit longer. I'm not going to argue too much on this one; I say it's a tough call between them, but I think they belong side by side on any best list.

Jordan is better than Bird--I won't make that argument, and when picking a top 10 I'd suggest that Kareem should rank higher too, but I can see a legit argument that Bird could be #3.

[Nuff Said]

His arguments were stupid. He arbitrarily hand picked his own skill sets that make Larry look better, completely ignoring all the other aspects to the game. How can anyone take this guy seriously as a writer?

[ILLsmak]

The weakest part of this article is the bit about defense. Bird is a better defender than he gets credit for, but Jordan was better.

I notice that most of the top 10 lists on this forum underrate Bird, generally listing him a few notches below Magic. The fact was that throughout their careers it was generally accepted that Bird was the better of the two players, and Magic only seems to get the overall nod because his career lasted a bit longer. I'm not going to argue too much on this one; I say it's a tough call between them, but I think they belong side by side on any best list.

Jordan is better than Bird--I won't make that argument, and when picking a top 10 I'd suggest that Kareem should rank higher too, but I can see a legit argument that Bird could be #3.

I think Bird could be GOAT. There is an argument. As said, it comes down to era. Bird's main downfall was how short his career was, but he did a lot in it.

Kareem was on a super talented Lakers team with another top 10 (or maybe 5) all time great in Magic. That allowed him to play longer and get those records. I flipped on NBA TV the other day and saw the Lakers vs the Mavs and the announcer was talking about Kareem chasing West's playoff point record. This was in 84 mind you, and he was like "Yeah he still needs 700 points, so it's doubtful." Little did he know dude was gonna play 5 more years.

However, on the flip, if you want to give Kareem credit for his college career (and I'm one of the people who think that matters in determining someone's greatness), you have to put him as indisputable GOAT.

Again MJ's stats and accomplishments are sexier than Birds, however, if LeBron somehow won 7 titles, what would people say when compared to MJ? Some people would say GOAT, but others would say "weak era." MJ did play in a pretty weak era, too. NONE of the teams other than the Bulls from 90 to 98 (including his lockout years, the Rockets teams) could have won a ring in the 80s. In the 80s it was Boston, LA, that 76ers team that was no joke, and the Pistons at the end. All better than what MJ faced. That's completely a subjective statement, but there is truth behind it. I can't prove it; you'll just have to think.

However, it's like taking an intelligence test. Most tests cap out, some cap higher than others. Bird's test was a higher cap, but MJ aced his in a way Bird didn't. We'll never really know who is better, but looking at it, it seems like Bird at least has an argument.

-Smak

[Scholar]

First, I'd like to give my condolensces to this man's credibility.

Now that that's out of the way, I just want to emphasize how much I hate when people talk about Jordan's lack of deep Playoff runs in the '80s. Look who he played with, & then look at the Celtics or Pistons or 76ers. How is Jordan by himself supposed to compete against them?

Jordan showed he's among the GOAT by dropping 63 on the Celtics. I have that game on DVD & I love watching it from time to time. It's not MJ's fault he didn't have actual championship contending teams until the '90s.


People reach too much. Every elite player gets scrutinized for not being able to lead garbage teams far, but when they do win rings, those same haters say dumb shit like, "It's because his teammates are doing all the work." GTFO

[HorryIsMyMVP]

Bird was a sick defender as well.