“Larry Bird Said That If We Don’t Draft Bias…”: Rare Resurfaced Photo of Michael Jordan and Len Bias Reminds Fans of Lost Bulls-Celtics Rivalry

Perhaps the biggest weapon that LeBron James fans have against Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate is that the Chicago Bulls legend never really went up against a dynasty like the Golden State Warriors during his six title runs in the 90s. They usually argue that the ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons and the Showtime Lakers had already started to decline when Jordan timed his meteoric ascent. But what if there was a great dynasty to rival the Bulls in the 90s?

Len Bias has been one of the NBA’s greatest ‘what if’s for a long time now. But there is another ‘what if’ associated with his name that fans often tend to forget. This recently resurfaced photo on X(formerly Twitter) prompted fans to remember Len Bias once again and recall how he could have been the centerpiece of the mighty Boston Celtics.

Timeless Sports recently posted an iconic photograph from 1980 of Len Bias and Michael Jordan competing for the basketball at the Five-Star Basketball camp. Six years after that photograph was taken, Len Bias would be drafted by the Boston Celtics as the #2 overall pick of the 1986 NBA Draft. Two days after that, on June 19, 1986, Bias would pass away from a drug overdose.

 

There’s no guarantee that Bias would have been an all-time player if he were alive. However, there’s enough evidence to suggest that he certainly had the talent to become one. In fact, this Andscape article by Bijan C. Bayne even quotes the Celtics President Red Auerbach’s words on the day Boston drafted Bias, “Larry Bird said that if we draft Bias, he’s going to come up to the rookie camp.”

Bias averaged 23.2 points and 7 rebounds in the final year of his stint in Maryland. There’s no doubt that Larry Bird was looking forward to welcoming him in Boston as his protégé.

The Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls rivalry that never happened

20th April, 1986, months before Bias’ death, Michael Jordan dropped 63 points at the Boston Garden. This performance by a second-year player would prompt Larry Bird to say, “God Disguised as Michael Jordan.”

However, Jordan couldn’t save the Bulls from a 0-3 sweep against a loaded Celtics side. That year, the Larry Bird-led Boston side would win their last NBA Championship. However, the story could have been very different with a healthy Len Bias on the roster.

A starting line-up of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Len Bias, and Robert Parish would be a powerhouse in any era in the NBA. And perhaps Bias would have gathered enough experience to rival the rise of the Bulls under Michael Jordan in the East, as the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, even after Bird’s retirement in 1992. But then again, we would never find out what would have happened. We can only say what if…