Analyst Chris Russo revealed why he thought Larry Bird at his peak was a better player than LeBron James at his pick.
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ESPN’s “First Take” has given us several hot takes, to say the least. Recently, analyst Chris Russo went on national TV to call “prime Larry Bird” a better player than LeBron James at his prime. The 62-year-old spoke his mind out:
“In the peak of his career, and this is my opinion now. Peak of his career, I’ll take Bird [over LeBron James]. If I got a series to win for my life, in his prime, when he won the three straight MVPs. This is in the early to mid-80s – I’m taking this guy right there. He was an assassin, he’s a tremendous passer, one of the great shooters you ever saw in your life, never missed free throws.
(Larry) Always had the right persona for the games against the Lakers. Totally outplayed Magic in the ’84 Finals, it wasn’t even close. When Bird was phenomenal and Magic was awful, when the Lakers lost in 7 games. Here is a game for you that is fascinating. Remember that game in ’84, in the 100-degree night, in the Boston Garden. They couldn’t move it was so hot. Bird, 15-20 from the floor, didn’t miss a free throw, 17 rebounds, 32 points… they ended up winning that series in 7 games.
Stephen A, I never saw Bird in a big series come up small, never. I saw LeBron do it. Because against Dallas, the year that Mavericks beat them with Nowitzki, LeBron was awful in that series. Absolutely horrendous. Bad.”
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NBA Twitter blasts Chris Russo for his wild take on LeBron James and Larry Bird
As soon as Chris “Mad Dog” Russo made this rather bizarre take, NBA Twitter blew up with reactions.
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