“In 3 days I understood, the NBA is nothing, I can dominate”: When Larry Bird talked about his doubters and how long it took him to silence them

Larry Bird, synonymous with Boston green, is one of the greatest players ever to play the game of basketball.

A 5-time NBA Champion and 3-time MVP, Larry Bird was key to the revival of the NBA and ushered in a new era of basketball.

However, it wasn’t that Larry Bird came into the league as a guaranteed success.

Bird admits hearing his doubters and their questions about his jump shot, quickness, or rebounding translating into the NBA.

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In a video excerpt from the archives, Bird addresses his doubters in a manner only he can.

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How was Larry Bird key to the revival of the NBA?

The NBA was commonly associated with violence, drugs, and infamy of stars, entering the 1980s.

Larry Bird and his rivalry with Magic Johnson, presented a new ray of hope to the NBA. It was evident that they were quite unlike any before them and were true trailblazers with their style and flair.

The NBA sought to make this rivalry and the protagonists of it the poster boys for the game.

Bird, with his long-range shooting and soft touch was an early outlier to how the game was played. Magic defied expectations of how a floor general should play.

Their battles often ended up as classics and their marketability paved the way for the commercialization of individual stardom.

The NBA shaped its image around the likeability of its new star duo and completed a rebrand of itself.

Bird, therefore, in his game and his contributions to the perception of the league is a perennial fixture in the pantheon of basketball legends.

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