Popular actor and comedian Aries Spears is also known to be a huge Larry Bird fan. Recently, Bulls legend Dennis Rodman claimed that Larry Bird would not have succeeded in today’s NBA. Just a few days later, Spears responded to the comment, claiming that Larry Bird was in fact “the truth.” Both interviews occurred on VladTV. He ridiculed Rodman’s take on the Celtics’ legend and appeared convinced that Bird would have been just as effective in today’s game.
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A number of analysts, fans, and former players have criticized Rodman for his take on Bird. This includes the likes of Gilbert Arenas and Isiah Thomas. Bird is considered to be one of the best shooters of all time, and was a 3-time champion and 12-time All-Star for the Boston Celtics. Arias Spears has become the latest to criticize Bird after his recent comments.
Arias Spears ridicules Dennis Rodman’s take on Larry Bird
There is little doubt that Bird is considered one of the best NBA talents of all time. Spears was asked what he thought about Rodman’s opinion of the player. Rodman had earlier said that Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was a much better player than Bird, something Spears directly refuted:
“Get the f**k out of here. Larry Bird was the truth, man. For a guy that most people say wasn’t athletic, couldn’t jump and couldn’t even jump over a phonebook, Larry is the truth. 3-point sniper, a basketball IQ through the roof. Tenacious player.”
Rodman had questioned Bird’s ability to play in the current NBA due to his lack of athleticism and natural jumping ability. However, Bird was a tenacious defender as well and was perfectly capable of impacting the game on both ends of the court.
Isiah Thomas refuted Dennis Rodman’s Bird take
Isiah Thomas also recently responded to Rodman’s comments. The former Denver Nuggets star claimed that Bird would still be the MVP in today’s NB, according to Fox Sports.
He also refuted Rodman’s comments about Nikola Jokic, claiming that there were quite a few similarities between Bird and the Nuggets’ main man. However, Thomas claimed that if Jokic can win a championship, Bird would easily have won 2 or 3 in this era, as well.
Of course, while there is no way of knowing for sure, Bird is a bonafide legend who deserves the respect that he generally gets. The same is true for Nikola Jokic, who has already achieved big things in the league.
