Phil Jackson says Larry Bird was better than Magic Johnson

[SamuraiSWISH]

Jordan > Kobe
Bird > Magic
LeBron > Durant
Shaq > D12

My opinions, and basically Phil's as well.

[3ball]

more off hand

do you mean shooting with his left?.. i mean, i'm speechless.. you should watch this kenneth... seriously - take 12 min out of your day..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vBc395dSg4

on a scale of 1-10, jordan's a 10 finishing with his left, and kobe is no higher than a 6... seriously, jordan had way better hands.. it's not close really.

if you mean dribbling with his left, then that's more of a debate, but again - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5btsDbkBonA

[1987_Lakers]

Of course, people hijack my thread and change it to Jordan vs Kobe. Typical ISH.

[plowking]

Bird better than Magic? Nothing new.

Every player that played then seems to agree as well. As well as public perception while they played. Magic only gained ground after both their careers were done and he stayed in the spotlight while Bird was the more private of the two.

Payton agreed too by the looks of things.

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

do you mean shooting with his left?.. i mean, i'm speechless.. you should watch this kenneth... seriously - take 12 min out of your day..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vBc395dSg4

on a scale of 1-10, jordan's a 10 finishing with his left, and kobe is no higher than a 6... seriously, jordan had way better hands.. it's not close really.

if you mean dribbling with his left, then that's more of a debate, but again - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5btsDbkBonA

I took him to mean that too because Jordan was unbelievable at finishing with his left.

But even still, let's give Kobe these finer points just to appease Kenneth -- what point is he trying to convey? That if you look harder enough, you can find things that Kobe was better at, by infinitesimally small margins?

OK, fine. But Jordan is still so much better as a basketball player that it renders it inconsequential and the comparison doesn't warrant serious debate.

[SamuraiSWISH]

The only thing Kobe has on Mike is range on his 3-ball. That is literally it. Everything else is MJ remix. Sans the athleticism, defense, IQ, off the ball skills and leadership. Someone claiming otherwise is lying through their teeth, or never saw Jordan play.

[PejaTheSerbSnip]

The only thing Kobe has on Mike is range on his 3-ball. That is literally it. Everything else is MJ remix. Sans the athleticism, defense, IQ, off the ball skills and leadership. Someone claiming otherwise is lying through their teeth, or never saw Jordan play.

Yup, and even then, the 3-ball simply wasn't incorporated into his arsenal. It gained prominence league-wide as an offensive weapon after he hit his stride and he never nurtured that part of his game.

BUT -- if you sleep on him from long-range, he burned you on the big stage in a way Kobe NEVER did. He basically drilled those 6 threes in the '92 finals on sheer will alone, because the media dared to question his capacity to shoot the 3 ball.

He also burned Don Nelson the time he asked his team to back off MJ from the perimeter, and he lit them up for 6 threes, all the while laughing at them for giving him that much breathing room.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Yup, and even then, the 3-ball simply wasn't incorporated into his arsenal. It gained prominence league-wide as an offensive weapon after he hit his stride and he never nurtured that part of his game.

BUT -- if you sleep on him from long-range, he burned you on the big stage in a way Kobe NEVER did. He basically drilled those 6 threes in the '92 finals on sheer will alone, because the media dared to question his capacity to shoot the 3 ball.

He also burned Don Nelson the time he asked his team to back off MJ from the perimeter, and he lit them up for 6 threes, all the while laughing at them for giving him that much breathing room.

[CJ Mustard]

So? Everyone back then had Bird over Magic (except Magic fans), its nothing new.

Yup. Revisionist history and longevity makes it seem like Magic was as good or better. The fact is, no version of Magic was ****ing with Bird in his prime.

28/10/7 on 50/40/90 between 84-88, with 2 championships, 2 Finals MVPs, and three league MVPs. Truly one of the most dominant primes ever.

[Straight_Ballin]

Jordan > Kobe
Bird > Magic
LeBron > Durant
Shaq > D12

My opinions, and basically Phil's as well.

Why would this ever be questioned. It's spot on.

[LAZERUSS]

Yup. Revisionist history and longevity makes it seem like Magic was as good or better. The fact is, no version of Magic was ****ing with Bird in his prime.

28/10/7 on 50/40/90 between 84-88, with 2 championships, 2 Finals MVPs, and three league MVPs. Truly one of the most dominant primes ever.

Hmmm...

H2H...Magic.

Titles...Magic.

FMVPs...Magic.

Post-seasons:

Bird: '81, '84, '86.

Magic: '80, '82, '83, '85, '87, '88, ... '89, '90, '91.


BTW...let's compare AGES:

Age 23:

Magic: 3 Finals, 2 Rings, 2 FMVPs.
Bird: Zero, Zero, and Zero.

Age 24:

Magic: 4 Finals, 2 rings, 2 MVPs.
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVP

Age 25:

Magic: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVPs

Age 26:

Magic: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVPs

Age 27:

Magic: 6 Finals, 4 rings, 3 FMVPs, 1 MVP
Bird: 2 Finals, 2 rings, 1 FMVP, 1 MVP

Ag 28:

Magic: 7 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 1 MVP
Bird: 3 Finals, 2 rings, 1 FMVP, 2 MVPs

Age 29:

Magic: 8 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 2 MVPs
Bird: 4 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Age 30:

Magic: 8 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 3 FMVPs, 3 MVPs
Bird: 5 Finals 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Age 31:

Magic: 9 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 3 MVPs
Bird: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Bird would play until age 35:

5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

[CJ Mustard]

Hmmm...

H2H...Magic.

Titles...Magic.

FMVPs...Magic.

Post-seasons:

Bird: '81, '84, '86.

Magic: '80, '82, '83, '85, '87, '88, ... '89, '90, '91.


BTW...let's compare AGES:

Age 23:

Magic: 3 Finals, 2 Rings, 2 FMVPs.
Bird: Zero, Zero, and Zero.

Age 24:

Magic: 4 Finals, 2 rings, 2 MVPs.
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVP

Age 25:

Magic: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVPs

Age 26:

Magic: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs
Bird: 1 Final, 1 ring, 0 FMVPs

Age 27:

Magic: 6 Finals, 4 rings, 3 FMVPs, 1 MVP
Bird: 2 Finals, 2 rings, 1 FMVP, 1 MVP

Ag 28:

Magic: 7 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 1 MVP
Bird: 3 Finals, 2 rings, 1 FMVP, 2 MVPs

Age 29:

Magic: 8 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 2 MVPs
Bird: 4 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Age 30:

Magic: 8 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 3 FMVPs, 3 MVPs
Bird: 5 Finals 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Age 31:

Magic: 9 Finals, 5 rings, 3 FMVPs, 3 MVPs
Bird: 5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

Bird would play until age 35:

5 Finals, 3 rings, 2 FMVPs, 3 MVPs

You're really listing a bunch of team accomplishments to prove that the guy who played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is better than Larry Bird? Not to mention all the injuries the Celtics dealt with during that run.

[Cali Syndicate]

Bird > Magic

Jordan >> Kobe

[LAZERUSS]

You're really listing a bunch of team accomplishments to prove that the guy who played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is better than Larry Bird? Not to mention all the injuries the Celtics dealt with during that run.

Oh, the "injury excuses" again.

Please tell me what an "injured" McHale averaged in his '86-87 season, then his playoffs, and then his Finals. CAREER highs.

As for KAJ...Magic carried his team to a ROUT of the Sixers in the clinching game six of the '80 Finals...withOUT Kareem. In the '82 Finals, bench-player Bob McAdoo basically matched Kareem's numbers, and in considerably less minutes. In the '87 post-season, and Finals, KAJ was nothing more than a "third-wheel" whose minutes could have easily been absorbed by Thompson and Green. In the '88 Finals, the Lakers won a title DESPITE Kareem (who was just putrid in that series, and was even more awful in the game seven.)

Hell, after KAJ retired, Magic led the Lakers to records of 62-17 and 57-22.

[La Frescobaldi]

A 10 second comment in which he says he would "probably" go with Larry.

Bird was better until he hurt his back, Laz. Not that close.

You know it, you knew it then, I know it, I knew it then, everybody knows it now and everybody knew it then. Not that close.

Lazer = LAkers ZtannER