Two excellent players joined the league thanks to the 1979 NBA Draft. The entire NBA was eager to watch Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson compete on the big stages after their summer NCAA Tournament matchup.
As anticipated, both of these players excelled right away in the league. When compared to the previous season, Larry’s club won 32 more games, which enabled them to finish first in the East. After averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, Bird was chosen as the Rookie of the Year. Moses Malone beat out Bird for MVP honours in 1982 and 1983.
He did, however, go on to earn his first MVP award in 1984. He guided the team to the NBA Finals, where they faced Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, his college rival. In seven games, the Celtics took the series, and Larry Bird was named Finals MVP. Larry also received MVP awards in 1985 and 1986. He is still the last person to win MVP honours three times in a row.
‘Larry Bird Has No Weakness’: Michael Jordan
A story was started by Mark Newman of The Chicago Tribune after Bird earned his third consecutive MVP award. He enquired about Bird’s shortcomings while travelling the league. Some of the replies were quite fascinating.
Magic Johnson, Larry’s sworn enemy since college, remarked, “Probably because he can’t win jump-ball matches. That’s all there is.
Derek Harper remarked, “He’s hideous.”
I’m not sure if it’s that moustache or something else.
When asked to identify Bird’s weaknesses, Michael Jordan responded,
He is slow and unable to jump.
bad start, you say? But MJ continued and said,
But neither your quickness nor your capacity to jump can be improved. He makes up for it by thinking clearly and assessing the opposition. He becomes superior to the opposition as a result. He is hence without a weakness.
There has been a lot of high praise coming from Jordan and the rest of his team. This only serves to highlight how powerful and intelligent Larry Legend really was.
Bird vs Jordan Head to Head
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34 times over their respective careers, Jordan and Bird squared off. Bird held the winning record and the 23 games out of those 34 times.
Michael Jordan and the Bulls were defeated by Larry Bird and the Celtics in 17 of the 28 regular-season games. Bird defeated His Airness 6-0 in the playoffs.
|
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 |
Jordan had the higher numbers, despite the records. Bird won more games despite having better individual performances because his team was stronger.
Zion Williamson attained his best after the legendary Duke HC demoted him to the second team, as reported in Coach K Benched Me.
