How is Larry Bird so good that no one can stop him? In this article, we explore the game’s mental and physical tactics he uses to dominate his opponents.
Larry Bird was born into a basketball family. His father, and his grandfather both played in the NBA. He is considered one of the best players to ever play the game.
There is no such thing as an unstoppable basketball player. But Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics was as close as you could get.
He was reportedly likened to the wind, according to reports. As though you were trying to keep the wind from blowing by you. Which is a complete impossibility.
Larry Bird was clearly not the wind. But, for at least one defender in the early 1980s who had to attempt to stop him, he may as well have been.
From the start, Larry Bird was an offensive force for the Boston Celtics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XFkg9r5 mk
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In 1979, Larry Legend entered the NBA and promptly averaged a double-double. As a rookie, he averaged 21.3 points per game, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
On roughly 18 tries, he shot 47.4 percent from the field.
Bird had averaged 21.8 points and 10.7 rebounds across four regular seasons by the time the 1983 playoffs rolled around.
He’d previously taken the Celtics to two Eastern Conference Finals and an NBA title.
Later, in the first of two straight postseasons, poor journeyman Tom McMillen had the awful chore of assisting Larry in his defense, and it didn’t go well for the Hawks — and then Bullets — center.
Larry was once referred as a force of nature by Atlanta’s Tom McMillen.
Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics slams a shoulder into David Greenwood of the Chicago Bulls as driving towards the basket.
It’s understandable that McMillen, who was the ninth overall choice in the 1974 draft, would draw this parallel.
In a 2-1 series defeat to Boston in the first round of the Eastern playoffs in 1983, McMillen averaged 13 minutes and 3.3 points per game for the Hawks.
In 40 minutes each night, Bird averaged 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists.
Then, as a member of the Washington Bullets, McMillen was fortunate enough to meet Boston and Bird in the first round of the 1984 playoffs.
Tom scored 2.3 points per game in the series. He had almost as many fouls as he had points each game.
Bird averaged 22.5 points over four games in the same series (but he didn’t average 10 rebounds, so McMillen may have kept him off the boards a few times).
Tom simply said, according to CelticsBlog.com:
Stopping Larry Bird is like attempting to stop the wind.
In the early 1980s, Tom McMillen was assigned to protect Larry Bird.
Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, water, earth, and fire
A couple of today’s NBA players may be compared in this way.
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It’s reasonable to think that McMillen would struggle to keep up with Ja Morant. He would have struggled defending Chris Paul’s crossover and mid-range fadeaway even at 6-11.
Kevin Durant might be a concern if Bird’s stature and ability were an issue.
What would defending Giannis Antetokounmpo be like if guarding Larry was like halting the wind? Attempting to join two techtonic plates during an earthquake?
Maybe that’s why everything is so bizarre. In 1983, Larry Bird was as tough to stop as Ja Morant, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are in 2022.
Basketball Reference provided all statistics.
RELATED: Larry Bird’s Indiana State coach saw him playing basketball with a resort kitchen staff and persuaded him to join the Sycamores with one simple phrase: ‘That’s when I realized I’d found him.’
The “the bird night larry bird” is a phrase that has been used by many individuals to describe Larry Bird, the legendary basketball player for the Boston Celtics. The phrase was first said in a video on YouTube, and it was later made into a meme.
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