Establishing Kobe Bryant as His Favorite Player, Larry Bird Claimed LeBron James’ ‘The Decision’ Was A Bad Idea 11 Years Ago

It has been 13 years since LeBron James made ‘The Decision’ to ‘move his talents to the South Beach.’ Given the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding James’ next career destination after the Cleveland Cavaliers, this was one of the most anticipated moments in NBA history. Two years after LBJ’s hyped Miami Heat move, Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird claimed to Bill Simmons that ‘The Decision’ was rather a bad idea for the future 4x NBA champion.

During the time of James’ move to Miami, Larry Bird opined that making a documentary for leaving Cleveland was for LBJ to show himself as a spectacle. Many NBA legends, including Michael Jordan himself, have also slammed this decision of forming a super-team with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade at the Heat.

Though Bird claims LeBron James is the current best player in the league, for him, his forever-favorite will always remain Kobe Bryant.

Larry Bird was not a fan of ‘The Decision’ by LeBron James and regarded it as a ‘bad idea’

In the 2012 interview with Bill Simmons, Larry Bird was confident of LeBron James’ skills and talents. It was right after LBJ and the Heat super-team failed to win the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

Bird confidently claimed LeBron James as one of the greatest players, all while remaining firm on Kobe Bryant being his favorite player. Here is a video clip of the interview uploaded by the channel Miami Heat 2011-2012 on YouTube.

However, Bird wasn’t much of a fan of Bron moving to the Miami Heat. Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks had recently defeated the super team of LBJ, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade in the 2011 NBA Finals. Perhaps, attributing to James’ team’s successes at that time, Bird considered ‘The Decision’ a rather bad idea.

“I think he is one of the greatest player of the game. You know we all make mistakes. I have did a lot of things I sort of regret. Whether he regrets or not I don’t know but he made some, you know, a couple decisions and ‘The Decision’ was a bad decision! ” 

Moving on from this, Larry Bird greatly praised LeBron James’ skills and wished he had his speed during his playing era. However, the Celtics legend did not fail to mention Kobe Bryant as his favorite player.

Perhaps ‘The Decision’ might not have been a bad one at all. Just a few months after Larry Bird’s statement, LeBron James and the Heat defeated a formidable Oklahoma City Thunder to win LBJ his first NBA chip ever of his career. The next year also sailed smoothly for the Heat, as LBJ and co. won a consecutive NBA championship, defeating Tim Duncan’s Spurs in 2013.

Larry Bird would play with Kobe Bryant rather than LeBron James as his teammate

When Bill Simmons asked Larry Bird to pick a current-generation player as his teammate, the 3x NBA champion swiftly said it would be Kobe Bryant. As evident from the interview, Bryant is by far the Celtics superstar’s favorite player from the new era of the league.

Having Larry Bird on his team means Kobe Bryant wouldn’t have been shooting as much as we know him for now. However, Bird mainly wanted Bryant as a teammate because of his dedication and commitment to the game. On the contrary, Bird also said if he wanted to have a fun game with a teammate like Bill Walton, his first pick would always be LeBron James.