Larry Bird is considered one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived. In a recent documentary, Larry admits that Julius Erving was his favorite player and he believed Julius’s compliment – “the Best Shooter I’ve Ever Seen” to be true.
After a spectacular career with the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird remains one of the NBA’s most impactful players. Bird’s absolute domination for most of the 1980s revolutionized the game. Julius Erving, a fellow Hall of Famer, praised his shooting skills as a result of his outstanding performance.
Larry Bird led the Celtics to unprecedented success.
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It didn’t take Bird long to turn the Celtics into a championship contender.
During his 13-year career, the French Lick native was recognized as one of the game’s best players. He won three NBA championships and two MVP awards in the Finals, as well as three regular-season MVP honors, 12 All-Star choices, and nine All-NBA First Team nominations. He is the first player in league history to win the regular-season MVP award three times in a row.
Bird’s domination led the Celtics to the playoffs in every season, and he won the Atlantic division 10 times. All but one of Boston’s victories were above 50, and six of them were over 60. Julius Erving, a fellow Hall of Famer, was so taken with his brilliance that he gave him the highest accolades.
Larry Bird received the ultimate accolade from Julius Erving, who called him “the finest shooter I’ve ever seen.”
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Erving spent almost two decades in the NBA, where he had the opportunity to play with and against some of the game’s best players.
As the Celtics and 76ers competed for NBA championship contention in the early 1980s, it also placed him in several games versus Bird. However, Erving saw early on in Bird’s career that he was a one-of-a-kind talent who shot the ball like no other player he had ever seen.
“What I see right immediately about Larry, even as a rookie, is that not only can he get his shot, plus he has tremendous range for a big guy,” Erving said in his book Dr. J: The Autobiography, which is available on Basketball Network. He may be the most talented shooter I’ve ever seen. He’s also a good passer, able to weave the ball through inches of open space. And he’s not going to quit.”
Bird’s scoring ability, which was anchored by his outside shooting, gave him a great reputation. On 1.9 attempts per game, he shot 49.6 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc. He made at least 40.0 percent of his 3-point attempts six times, and five times he made more than 50.0 percent.
Due to his lack of physical ability, the Celtics legend became a more fundamentally sound player who concentrated on his shooting. Bird only improved as a shooter and tightened up even more in high-pressure situations.
Because of Stephen Curry’s incredible shooting over the previous several years, Erving’s book was released in 2013, and he may have altered his mind. Nonetheless, it shouldn’t take away from the former 76ers’ high compliments.
The legacy of the Celtics great is still visible.
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Bird’s legacy and effect on the game extend much beyond his outside shooting ability, as seen by Erving’s glowing remarks.
While established himself as one of the most impactful players, the Celtics great remains among the gold standard at his position. Through his legendary rivalry with Los Angeles Lakers great point guard Magic Johnson, Bird was instrumental in saving the NBA from a bleak future. The two Hall of Famers catapulted the league to previously unheard-of levels of worldwide prominence.
Bird is a big component of the game that will never fade into the background over three decades after retiring.
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