The 1979 NBA Draft brought two exceptional talents to the league. Having faced off in the NCAA Tournament in the summer, the entire NBA was excited to see Larry Bird and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson play on the big stages.
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As expected, both these talents found instant success in the league. Larry carried his team to the first spot in the East and helped them win 32 more games than they did the previous season. Bird was selected as the Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. In 1982 and 1983, Bird fell short of Moses Malone in the MVP race.
However, he did end up winning his first MVP honors in 1984. He led the team to the NBA Finals, where they met his collegiate rival, Magic Johnson, and the Lakers. The Celtics won the series in seven games, and Larry Bird ended up winning Finals MVP. Larry won the MVP honors in 1985 and 1986 as well. He still remains the last person to three-peat the MVP honors.
‘Larry Bird has no weakness’: Michael Jordan
After Bird won his third consecutive MVP honors, The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Newman set out on a story. He went around the league and asked people about Bird’s weaknesses. There were some really interesting responses.
Larry’s arch-rival since college, Magic Johnson, said, ”Probably that he can`t win jump-ball situations. That`s about it.”
”He`s ugly,” Derek Harper said. ”I don`t know if it`s that mustache or what.”
Michael Jordan was also asked to list Bird’s weakness, and he said,
”He can`t jump, and he`s not quick.”
Bad start right? However, MJ carried on and said,
”But you can`t increase your jumping ability or your quickness. He makes up for it by using his head, analyzing the opponent. It makes him better than the competition. Consequently, he doesn`t have a weakness.”
Quite some high praise coming in from Jordan and the rest of his colleagues. Just goes to show how dominant and brilliant Larry Legend truly was.
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Bird vs Jordan Head to Head
In their careers, Jordan and Bird faced each other 34 times. Out of those 34 times, Bird held the winning record and won 23 contests.
Larry Bird and his Celtics won 17 of 28 regular season matchups against Michael Jordan and his Bulls. In the playoffs, Bird had a 6-0 record over His Airness.
Despite the records, it was Jordan who had the better statistics. Despite better individual performances, Bird had the better team, hence he won more matchups.
|
Player
| Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
| Larry Bird | 27.0 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| Michael Jordan | 34.6 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 1.2 |
