Kevin Durant or Larry Bird?

[iamgine]

I think this is a good time to ask this question as Kevin Durant is going on a tear.

As for how come we should be comparing KD to a literal Legend, Larry Bird's peak PER was 27.8. Kevin Durant has exceeded that since last season. Durant has also exceeded Bird's PPG and TS% since last season. Both in the regular season and in the playoff. Bird also played in a faster paced team/era. Durant has just entered his 7th season at 25 years old.

What do you believe:

A. Durant is already a better player than bird. Just lacking the championships.

B. They're about equal.

C. Bird's still better but give it some time and KD's got a chance.

D. Bird's just better, there's really nothing KD can reasonably do to exceed him.

[kNicKz]

C.

Let's not get carried away just yet, but we without question are witnessing greatness right now

[moe94]

Let's be real, Bird would be Scal level realistically with an absolute best case scenario of poor man's prime Peja. Game evolved too much for him. You can't be a nonathletic white dude in this era with beasts like Love leading the league in rebounding.

On the flip side, throw Durant into the video game 80s and he's putting up 2K numbers on 60+% shooting with ease.

Durant is quite clearly better than Bird ever was.

[COLOR="White"]calm down, was the Love part not a hint enough?
[/COLOR]

[Joyner82reload]

Regular season wise, Durant is having a better season than Bird ever did. Bird would probably be averaging 25/8/6 in today's game at this pace. Bird is obviously a superior passer with superior b-ball IQ, but Durant is a better defender and a VASTLY superior scorer.

[KevinDurant35]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Kevin Durant.

[LeBron 06]

C.

[Trollsmasher]

Č.

[cos88]

let's stick to durant vs tmac threads first durant needs to not lose 4 in a row 2 consecutive years in the playoffs, not disaper and choke in the important moments in the playoffs ( vs memphis ), not let mario chalmers ( or other weak player ) abuse him, win something not named scoring title idiots

[r0drig0lac]

lol

[IncarceratedBob]

D. IMO

All time SF peaks( skills no accomplishments)
1. Bird
2. Pippen
3. Erving

1

[SHAQisGOAT]

Seriously? So we've came to this now?

Comparing PER across eras? And also using it to determine the better player?

Put Bird playing right now and watch that TS% rise considerably, as he would shoot more 3's (even a better shooter, coming up with the line), would be easier to score with softer rules and he would go the line even more (rip-through move lol).

Bird played at like 10% faster pace, not nearly enough to influence anything, he would still have his shots, his passes (even being more ball-dominant), his trb% is similar to Shawn Marion, who's smaller and not as good of a rebounder and averages 9 rpg in 35 min for his career.
Bird averaged the same stats at today's pace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po1M--HaINA

Hype machine is crazy these days man, a player goes on a terrific run and suddendly he's GOAT or something? Just chill, man.
They're easily comparable in scoring/shooting yes, and Durant is more athletic yes, but Bird had a better post-game, better footwork, better use of both hands, player with no wasted motion, a better rebounder, a better passer/playmaker and a better defender. And he turned a franchise around from day one, bonafide winner, proven champion, GOAT forward with a top5 peak.
Just stop it please, no it's not the time for this just because KD's going on a tear (again an amazing run, great to watch) and because you're drooling over it like a little kid who knows nothing else.

Thread filled with ignorance. It is what it is though.

[sundizz]

This is a bit wild. Bird had a 3 year peak that might be unrivaled in modern basketball.

During his 3 year absolute destructive peak his playoff stats for the 2 years they won the chip are:

1983-1984 playoffs (MVP, Finals MVP, Championship):
[COLOR="Blue"]27.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 5.9 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.2 bpg on 53%, 41% and 88%[/COLOR]

1985-1986 playoffs (MVP, Finals MVP, Championship):
[COLOR="Blue"]25.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 8.2 apg, 2.1 spg, .6 bpg on 54%, 41% and 93%[/COLOR]

The average pace during 83-84 was 101.4 possessions per 48 minutes.
The average pace during 85-86 was 102.1 possessions per 48 minutes.
Current pace (this year) is 94.1 possessions per 48 minutes.

I feel it is important to include that because stats are also representative of pace. However, even if you want to downgrade Larry's playoffs stats to current pace they would still be:

1983-84 (adjusted for pace)
[COLOR="Green"]25.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 5.48 apg, 2.13 spg and 1.11 bpg[/COLOR]

1985-86 (adjusted for pace)
[COLOR="Green"]24.04 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 7.6 apg, 1.95 spg, .56 bpg [/COLOR]

[Stringer Bell]

C.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

Durant needs to pass Melo first.

[MUGEN]

lol have we really come to this point?