Was it clear on the court that Jordan was better than Magic and Bird?

[iamgine]

I know there were some quips from Magic or Bird saying Jordan was god disguised or something like that.

But did anyone watch them face each other, maybe around 87-88 ish before Bird sharply declined...did you feel like this Jordan guy was clearly better?

[SouBeachTalents]

Bird was busting Jordan's ass for a while, not just team result wise but individually too

I mean just look at the '87-'88 stretch where they matched up 10 times in the season and once in the playoffs. Both were healthy and MVP caliber players so no excuses for either player...


11/14/86
Bird - 37/10/5 (13/25 shooting)
Jordan - 48/5/1 (17/33 shooting)

Celtics win, I'd say it's a wash though.

01/02/87
Bird - 37/8/9 (61.1%)
Jordan - 34/8/3 (41.9%)

Celtics win, Bird easily wins the matchup. Highlights of the game here:


27/01/87
Bird - 24/14/3 (39%)
Jordan - 30/6/4 (38%)

Celtics win. Wash.

28/01/87
Bird - 26/5/9 (65%)
Jordan - 27/4/4 (48%)
Celtics win. Bird wins matchup.

27/03/87
Bird - 41/7/7 (58.6%)
Jordan - 22/7/7 (39.1%)

Celtics win. Bird easily wins matchup.


17/04/87
Bird - 38/8/7 (59%)
Jordan - 17/4/8 (33%)

Celtics win. Bird easily wins matchup.

12/01/88
Bird - 38/9/8 (58%)
Jordan - 42/4/6 (53%)

Celtics win. Bird wins matchup.

18/03/88
Bird - 19/10/6
Jordan - 50/9/5

Bulls win. Jordan finally wins head to head.

20/03/88
Bird - 33/7/8 (67%)
Jordan - 26/4/7 (56%)

Celtics win. Bird easily wins matchup. Highlights:


21/04/88
Bird - 44/10/3 (65.5%)
Jordan - 39/3/8 (51.5%)

Celtics win. Bird wins matchup *yawn*


Bird's record in this stretch? 9-1 while outperforming him in nearly every game. What makes this worse? Bird made Jordan look like a child when Jordan tried to guard him. Meanwhile the possessions I saw Bird guard Jordan, he defended him quite well (definitly wasn't gambling for steals to leave him open in the post).

- fatal9

[SATAN]

Michael Jordan lost a game of one on one vs a 5'5 investment banker

[tontoz]

In his second season Jordan dropped 63 on the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, a record that still stands. Bird said that was the best team he ever played on and they won the title that year. That was when Bird said he was God disguised as Jordan.

He he wasn't really seen as the consensus best player until he won a title. There was a lot of talk about him being too selfish.

There was one guy saying he was the best early on. Bobby knight coached Jordan in the Olympics. Ironically Knight's team eliminated Jordan from the NCAA tourney. After the Olympics Knight said Jordan was the best he had ever seen.

[j3lademaster]

In his second season Jordan dropped 63 on the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, a record that still stands. Bird said that was the best team he ever played on and they won the title that year. That was when Bird said he was God disguised as Jordan.

He he wasn't really seen as the consensus best player until he won a title. There was a lot of talk about him being too selfish.

There was one guy saying he was the best early on. Bobby knight coached Jordan in the Olympics. Ironically Knight's team eliminated Jordan from the NCAA tourney. After the Olympics Knight said Jordan was the best he had ever seen.

Thanks for the insight.

[tontoz]

Here is a vid of the 63 point game. Keep in mind Jordan missed most of that season with a foot injury. The team wanted to sit him out for the season. He accused them if trying to tank to get a better draft pick.

He was on a minutes restriction when he came back which pissed him off. Krause threatened to fire the coach when he played Jordan too many minutes and in fact did fire him after the season.

[Thenameless]

Actually, it was pretty clear that Bird was better than Jordan, up until his decline.

[j3lademaster]

Here is a vid of the 63 point game. Keep in mind Jordan missed most of that season with a foot injury. The team wanted to sit him out for the season. He accused them if trying to tank to get a better draft pick.

He was on a minutes restriction when he came back which pissed him off. Krause threatened to fire the coach when he played Jordan too many minutes and in fact did fire him after the season.

Unwinnable situation right there. I would've sided with the guy signing my checks, but trying to coach at the highest lvl with a pissed off star doesn't sound fun either.

[jlip]

I honestly would take any praise from Bird with a grain of salt. Bird would flip flop, hand out superlatives, and GOAT proclamations based upon whatever the last great/ dominant performance was or whatever was going on in his mind at the time.

[tontoz]

Prime Bird was really incredible. his size, IQ and variety of skills were quite a show. However his defense wasn't great and he had a finger injury which hampered his shooting throughout his career. He said he was a better shooter in college.

. “Bird laughs a little bit and holds up his right index finger,” John Papanek recounted in a 1981 Sports Illustrated story. “‘This,’ he says. The finger is shaped much like a boomerang, permanently bent toward his thumb at a 45-degree angle. Two operations have failed to straighten it; he can bend it only halfway to his palm. ‘I didn’t have this in college,’ he says.”

For all of his time on the hardwood, the forward didn’t even sustain the injury playing basketball. Bird bent it trying to field a line drive during a softball game and never straightened the finger again. Despite his eventual NBA success, that fateful finger became a “what-if” about his legendary career.

https://www.sportscasting.com/larry-...y-bent-finger/

[CTbasketball92]

Bird was busting Jordan's ass for a while, not just team result wise but individually too

I think a lot of these matchup wins are nominal and don't mean much. It doesn't really matter if Bird had 44 points and MJ had 39, etc. Bird always had a much better team and was in position to do less.

Mind you, I did not see them live so not saying Bird couldn't win a matchup, but I wouldn't call this him busting MJ's ass.

[insight]

Actually, it was pretty clear that Bird was better than Jordan, up until his decline.

I STRONGLY disagree, I WATCHED all those games between the Celtics, Lakers and Chicago. The Celtics and Lakers had the better teams but NO ONE could stop Micheal Jordan. He was moving at a different speed than everyone else and it was obvious. What Micheal was critized for back then was not playing team basketball or winning basketball but skill wise Micheal he was on another level.

[Axe]

I STRONGLY disagree, I WATCHED all those games between the Celtics, Lakers and Chicago. The Celtics and Lakers had the better teams but NO ONE could stop Micheal Jordan. He was moving at a different speed than everyone else and it was obvious. What Micheal was critized for back then was not playing team basketball or winning basketball but skill wise Micheal he was on another level.

He wasn't leading the bulls anywhere until they got scottie pippen. Hence, 1-9.

[FKAri]

You have to realize that conventional wisdom about a guard back then was quite different than now. A guard was one of the less important positions on the team. You built around a star big man or at worst a star forward. MJ redefined what was possible from the position. Since the early Bulls teams were so bad, it took people some time to conclude that this wasn't just an exciting flashy player. This guy was unstoppable and can run off championships with the right cast.

Also, in the 80s there were doubts over his ability to play within a team, leadership skills, blaming him for his shit team, etc, the usual young superstar treatment from the grumpy old heads. This is what Bird and Magic had over him(since they were vets on stacked teams). By the 90s MJ answered those questions and with his superior physical talents, he was able to surpass them. Though Bird and Magic also had fairly abrupt ends to their prime which made this a pretty short transition.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Bird was much MUCH better than Jordan. That isn't even close to me. No question Bird was better than Jordan at pretty much everything... smarter, tougher, and more clutch as well

Love me some Jordan but Bird was far superior.