7-footer Patrick Ewing was dumbfounded as to just how good Larry Bird was with a measly 28-inch vertical

Patrick Ewing was a monster center on the court – Larry Bird made a mockery out of him.

Patrick Ewing was a star who was supposed to lead the New York Knicks to glory – one Boston Celtics man stood in his way. Sporting a blonde mullet and a wispy mustache, Larry Bird looked like a potato farmer but was a stone-cold baller. In a sport that black athletes dominated, Larry stood out like Eminem amid D12.

So when Patrick Ewing was entering the league, he wanted to see for himself what the Legend was made of. And boy was he in for a shocker. The man who supposedly could not jump did not have to jump any higher than 28 inches to get Ewing on his knees. A 7-foot monster center, who was shocked to see a white man outplay legends of the game.

Without breaking a sweat too, mind you. In the 7-footer’s own words, he was demolishing them. The key word is, demolishing. Larry Bird vs Patrick Ewing was nothing but a mismatch – in Larry’s favour. Individual accolades, team accolades: you name it, Larry has it. Goes to show why Bird should be in the discussion for the best player ever.

Also Read: 7’0 Hakeem Olajuwon uniquely flexed his dominance against Shaquille O’Neal and Patrick Ewing 11/11 times in the Finals

Larry Bird should not be spoken about lightly – His nickname is not Larry Legend for nothing

This man who battled against magic Johnson all his career is one of the best to do it. Even more so than his Western conference counterpart, if one is hard-pressed. He not only inspired people on the court, but he also inspired Twitter creators to fashion their logo around his last name.

3 championships. 3 MVPS and 12 All-star selections mean that his resume is so easily a Hall-of-fame status. So is his jersey worthy of being retired? It is, for 29 years and counting. This season would be the 30th anniversary of his jersey retirement, so the Celtics should be doing something special.

Names like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James constantly enter into our day-to-day conversation about the best players, Bird should be on that list. There will never be one true ranking about who is #1, but Bird is easily top 10. That nobody can deny, because he’s a genius.

Also Read: “David Stern rigged the 85′ draft so the Knicks landed Patrick Ewing to secure a $173 million TV deal”: How the NBA may have conspired to feed its biggest market with the 1st overall pick