Anthony Edwards caused quite the commotion a few weeks ago when he claimed that no one in Michael Jordan’s era had any skill other than the Bulls legend himself. Many analysts and legends reacted to Edwards’ claim, including the likes of Pistons legend, Isiah Thomas. And now, Jeff Teague has joined the mix with Larry Bird as an example.
Advertisement
On his podcast, the former NBA champion talked about players who were more than just skilled back in the day. Teague highlighted the game that the Celtics legend played left-handed to highlight the diverse skillset Bird possessed in the 80s.
“But they did have skill though. If you go watch Larry Bird, this n- played the whole game left-handed. I don’t know how much more skilled you can have…to play a whole game with your off-hand.”
Teague claimed that Edwards is just too young. So he thinks players from the Jordan era were too old or ‘Ancient.’ And since MJ hogged all the spotlight back in the day, most of the other stars didn’t get that much exposure till he was out of the league.
However, Teague could not have used a better example of the level of skill present in that era.
On February 14, 1986, Bird gave fans a memorable night at TD Garden, playing the entire game with his off-hand. He still dropped a triple-double.
Hosting the Portland Trail Blazers, the Celtics were coming off of one of their best seasons. And Bird decided to make things a tad more interesting for himself. By the end of the night, Larry Legend finished the game with 47 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists.
So, to claim that no one from the MJ era had skill is downright incorrect, since there were so many players who excelled in different aspects of the game. Apart from Bird, players like Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem, and Shaq were in that era as well.
