Give LeBron, Larry Bird's athleticism... Is he still a future HOF?

[SHAQisGOAT]

Larry Bird was plenty athletic. Him not being athletic is part of the myth because he's white. This made for the white underdog story but it was bullshit. He was quick and fast enough and although he didn't dunk a lot, he could jump just fine.

Bird's supposed lack of athleticism gets overstated.

He was very slow....late in his career after the injuries took a toll on his body. Watch him in the 1991 series against Indiana when he came back from that ugly crash against the hardwood floor. Bird was slow as a snail by that point (yet still had a great game and put up impressive numbers until the end of his career).

Watch the Bird of 1984. He wasn't slow, his speed was average at worst.

He couldn't jump a lick.....later in his career when the injuries and mileage were taking its toll. His jumping ability for his first several years was okay. I found it pretty amazing that was he was putting up 20 and 10 at the end of his career when he seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Athleticism isn't just being fast and jumping high anyway.

Hand-eye coordination is very important in an athlete. Bird's hand-eye coordination was outstanding. So was his vision, and stamina. He was physically strong for his size. He had good balance.

Things like stamina, strength, and balance can be worked on, and Bird most likely worked on them, but I doubt he was some guy that lacked in all these areas and only made it there by working hard. He was probably born with those talents and improved on them. You can't polish a turd.

And that's the truth right there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX8ipponmSc

[DrunkenDave]

Whats with peoples obsession about why somebody is Good. Does it matter if one guy is good because he's ridiculously physically dominant or because he's skilled? Give me Shaq over chris paul any day.

Shaq wasn't great because he was that huge, he was great because he was incredibly skilled for a guy that huge.

Also, what most people in these swap bodies scenarios forget is that the small guy doesn't look as skilled in a big body anymore. Nate Robinson wouldn't run circles around people anymore.

[pauk]

You think the ballhandling, passing/vision, scoring arsenal/shooting, intangibles/IQ on both ends of the floor that includes rebounding/defense will vanish with Larry Bird's athleticism?

Bird was also very athletic anyways at his peak/prime, didnt have a great vertical, but he was very strong, quick and agile..... and had one of the GOAT cardio's at his peak/prime, probably better than Lebron....

There has been extremly many with Lebrons athleticism.... that crap doesnt matter if you dont have skills.... you Lebron cynics need to stop being so delusional....

The only reason Lebrons athleticism stands out is because he exploits it so well with his SKILLS....... even when you see him "just bulldoze" he actually uses his IQ to first to read the defense and then initiate his ballhandling with footwork to slither through and spin and then finish of very unpredictably, either a reverse, hook with left or right hand, finger roll, tear drop, runner, sometimes of a euro-step, sometimes 360 layup, sometimes pass it to himself of the glass, sometimes.... dunk....

This is not Gerald Green, Harold Miner, James White.....

We HAVE seen players Lebron size move like him and/or even better and do whatever, but what we have not seen is somebody have that GREAT ALLROUND SKILLS AT THAT SIZE..... well, ofcourse there is Magic Johnson..........

[andremiller07]

Impossible to say he would be a completely different player, if he grew up not as athletic as he is.

[pauk]

Impossible to say he would be a completely different player, if he grew up not as athletic as he is.

Considering Lebron looked like Magic/Penny on steroids in highschool (played PG), was drafted Point-Guard, STARTED Point-Guard almost his entire rookie year.... it means his passing skills & ballhandling was so great that his athleticism/size and scoring abilities/potential was a much lesser priority at SF, it was avoided for the sake of playing Point-Guard in the NBA trying to exploit something which scouting reports say even when he was just 17 years old: "Only maybe 5 players in the NBA (2002-03) can pass like Lebron"...... THATS where Lebron was headed even WITH his athleticism, he actually transitioned into a SF/scoring SF from a PG really.... without the athleticism he probably would have been a fulltime PG....... and where would he head? See Magic Johnson (which he was compared to and even coming into the NBA as "The next Magic Johnson"), potentially....... his PG skills always were & are that good....

So yes, he would be different, more of a full-time PG.... but still would be a HOF i believe..........

[pauk]

I have been saying this since his debut, i believe Lebron is a true PG inside even to this day, if he didnt have any athleticism whatsoever i believe that would "help" headed him towards being fulltime PG, i mean that was always his natural instincts/mindset offensively, its not that he is just a great passer/has great vision/ballhandling but that he also is a very traditional unselfish PG, he always cared to much about teammates offensively.... the problem is he just so happens to be an amazing scorer aswell..... and there is his conflict today, not a bad conflict, but still a conflict at times............. most often it isnt, but sometimes it is, as it actually can work against him if he choses wrongly WHAT to do some games/scenarios.... like sometimes he can take a shot/heatcheck/whatever and fail when he could have passed to a wideopen teammate instead and hate himself for it.... or he goes into passing mode when he should have been trying to score instead (see 2011 Finals) and hate himself for it.....

It is a conflict because he is so great at both passing & scoring and asked to do both 24-7..... because if you are out there set to do mainly only ONE thing offensively then you can live with the results any time, its just so much easier.... see Jordan, Kobe, Carmelo, Durant, those guys pass only out of double teams or just "to improve passing", those are pure scorers out there to mainly score.......... and see Magic, Nash, Rondo with the opposite mindset.......... but when a team wants you to do both at that level 24-7 its much tougher, but if done successfully, its more impactful, obviously..... Bird was kindof like that aswell offensively....

It explains Lebron completely.......