Before there were debates about athleticism, positionless basketball, or whether a player could dominate without being the fastest or strongest athlete on the court, there was Larry Bird. Bird didn’t overwhelm opponents with physical gifts. He beat them with shooting, passing, rebounding, intelligence, confidence, and an almost ridiculous ability to deliver when everyone in the building knew the ball was coming to him.
Bird entered the NBA in 1979 and immediately transformed the Boston Celtics. Boston had won just 29 games the season before his arrival. As a rookie, Bird helped lead them to 61 wins, one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history. He won Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star team, and immediately established himself as one of basketball’s elite players.
From there, Bird became the centerpiece of one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties. He led Boston to three NBA championships, winning titles in 1981, 1984, and 1986, while earning two Finals MVP awards. His rivalry with Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers became one of the defining stories in basketball history and helped elevate the NBA during the 1980s.
But what truly separates Bird historically is his peak. From 1984 through 1986, Larry Bird won three consecutive NBA MVP awards. Only a tiny group of players in league history have ever dominated an era enough to accomplish that. During that stretch, Bird wasn’t simply one of the best players in basketball — he was the standard everyone else was chasing.
Bird could do virtually everything offensively. He was one of the greatest shooters of his generation, an exceptional passer, a tremendous rebounder for a forward, and one of the smartest players the game has ever seen. He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game for his career, numbers that show just how complete his game really was.
His shooting deserves special recognition. Bird won the first three NBA Three-Point Contests, famously walking into the locker room before the 1986 contest and reportedly asking the other competitors who was finishing second. That confidence wasn’t an act. Bird genuinely believed he was going to beat you, often told opponents exactly what he was about to do, and then went out and did it anyway.
The résumé is loaded: three NBA championships, three MVP awards, two Finals MVPs, 12 All-Star selections, 10 All-NBA selections, and membership on both the NBA 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. He accomplished all of that despite a career that was ultimately limited by significant back problems.
And that’s one of the biggest “what ifs” surrounding Bird. His prime was extraordinary, but his body didn’t allow him to maintain that level for as long as some other all-time greats. Yet what he accomplished in the time he had was enough to make him one of the greatest basketball players ever, regardless of position.
Larry Bird didn’t need to jump over you or outrun you. He could beat you with a jumper, find a teammate with a pass you didn’t see coming, grab the rebound, talk trash on the way back down the floor, and then do it all over again on the next possession. He simply understood basketball at a level very few players ever have.
There is only one small forward I can put ahead of him.
That’s why Larry Bird is my second-greatest small forward in NBA history.
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