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re: How would Bird fare today?
Posted on 2/3/26 at 12:47 pm to Cleathecat
Posted on 2/3/26 at 12:47 pm to Cleathecat
quote:
I legit think Bird would make LeBron cry.
This. Bird loved to run his mouth. That’s the thing that MJ always points out, that the rivalries are basically gone now. Back in the 80s and 90s those guys either didn’t like each other or at least truly acted like it. Everyone wanted to win. Now it’s like they are all buddies
0
Posted on 2/3/26 at 1:14 pm to PP7 for heisman
quote:
How many guys in the 80s and 90s could keep up with the pace of modern NBA with modern actions? There's much more to basketball than hard fouls around the rim.
Are we affording them modern sports medicine and everything under its umbrella? Are they training in a manner that is consistent with the 2020s game? If yes then most outside of the stiffs playing center.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 1:55 pm to prplhze2000
A quicker, taller, more efficient Luka. He’d be just fine.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 1:56 pm to lsu777
People are not intelligent enough to think that the players could/would not adapt to different eras. LeBron/Curry would dominate in the 80’s; Bird/Jordan would dominate today.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 3:49 pm to ClientNumber9
quote:Hey look, retards are downvoting Bird’s own take
As much as I love Bird, he would not do as well in today's game. He acknowledged as much, saying multiple times in various documentaries that, starting in the late 80s, a new generation of different athletes were entering the game. He stated that by the early 90s they would be peaking at that he "needed to get out of the NBA then", and it wasn't just due to his ailing back. I think he's still have a role as a passing big man with a great 3 point shot but he wouldn't be averaging 25+ ppg. ETA: In no way does this detract from his legacy. In the same way an offensive lineman in the 70s wouldn't match up with his 2026 counterpart, the game has just changed with diet, strength training and technology.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 3:54 pm to prplhze2000
He'd be a slightly better Joe Ingles
Posted on 2/3/26 at 3:58 pm to ReauxlTide222
Bird didn’t say any of that. The poster spliced together a couple statements out of context and added things Bird didn’t say.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 4:05 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
MJ would have issues with modern defense and can't shoot the 3 well enough. He'd still be really good on defense, clearly.
If offenses were designed around the 3 like they are now. Jordan would have developed that shot more and would have likely been very good at it. During his 6 title run, he shot 36% from 3. In 1996, he shot just shy of 43% from three. The three point shot wasn't even a thing while Jordan was in college (NCAA adopted it in 1986), so he didn't start to develop that part of his game until he got to the league.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 6:46 pm to lsufball19
There was one game where the other team said MJ could not hit the three.
He hit a half dozen or so in a row after that.
Bird kills you with the three and as I said earlier, his fallaway jumper. That fallaway still wouldn't be stopped today.
He hit a half dozen or so in a row after that.
Bird kills you with the three and as I said earlier, his fallaway jumper. That fallaway still wouldn't be stopped today.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 7:18 pm to St Augustine
quote:These conversations vary with that argument.
Are we affording them modern sports medicine and everything under its umbrella? Are they training in a manner that is consistent with the 2020s game? If yes then most outside of the stiffs playing center.
In the case of your question, no.
But the counter to that is how good would certain guys today be if they were judged off of 80s/90s standards? A guy like Karlo Matkovic, the ~10th player on the pelicans roster, would be an absolute unicorn in a past era of the sport. He barely plays today.
A guy like Jahlil Okafor would have been a perennial all star in the late 90s/early 2000s. Andre Drummond would be a hall of famer. Ben Simmons? Ignoring the mental stuff with him, he would have been considered one of the top 5-10 players in the sport in any era where 3 point shooting was not considered mandatory.
It goes both ways. That's why you have to just teleport them as they were/are.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 7:28 pm to lsufball19
quote:But that's not really the discussion.
If offenses were designed around the 3 like they are now. Jordan would have developed that shot more and would have likely been very good at it.
quote:That was also on 2 three point attempts per game.
During his 6 title run, he shot 36% from 3. In 1996,
This year, that would make him tied for 108th with Deni Avdija who shoots 6.4 per game. League average is .359%, and Jordan (during that run) shot .356%.
Of course, with years of training, both physically and mentally, someone like him could develop him game to be more of a consistent outside scorer. But (like I said in the post above) that kind of defeats the purpose of these conversations.
Just to show how talented guys are today, look at Brook Lopez. Lopez is a 7-1 center with limited mobility. in Lopez's first 8 seasons in the league, he shot a total of 31 threes. He made 3. The next year, at 28 years old in his 9th season, he shot 387 and hit them at a .346 clip.
Maybe that shows that these guys (like Jordan) could make it happen in one off season. Maybe it shows that guys are much more skilled today. I don't know. It is, though, what makes these conversations fun. These guys are the most freakish athletes to ever live on this planet
Posted on 2/3/26 at 9:04 pm to Tangineck
No one has mentioned his mental and physical toughness that would be a rarity today.
I was watching one of those YouTube reaction videos to Bird’s career highlights reel, and the reactor came to that series finale with the Pacers where Bird face planted at full velocity and broke his cheekbone and was concussed and seeing double, but sneaked past the team doctor and came back on the court and dominated to bring the Celtics back to win. The reactor noted that today’s players will sit out for a week if they have cold-like symptoms, but Larry came out with a broken face and started raining baskets on the Pacers.
I was watching one of those YouTube reaction videos to Bird’s career highlights reel, and the reactor came to that series finale with the Pacers where Bird face planted at full velocity and broke his cheekbone and was concussed and seeing double, but sneaked past the team doctor and came back on the court and dominated to bring the Celtics back to win. The reactor noted that today’s players will sit out for a week if they have cold-like symptoms, but Larry came out with a broken face and started raining baskets on the Pacers.
This post was edited on 2/3/26 at 9:05 pm
Posted on 2/3/26 at 9:52 pm to InkStainedWretch
quote:That's pretty much the main argument anytime "insert X player from the 80s vs. current player" comes up, and the point was made in this thread.
No one has mentioned his mental and physical toughness that would be a rarity today.
quote:This does not happen in the postseason. In fact, we've had multiple guys over the last two seasons play through calf injuries that resulted in Achilles tears, in the post season.
The reactor noted that today’s players will sit out for a week if they have cold-like symptoms,
Posted on 2/3/26 at 10:10 pm to prplhze2000
I guess you could comp his skills to Luka or Dirk but with a superior basketball mind and an assassin's killer instinct.
So yeah, he'd be a perennial All Star as long as his body allowed, which would likely be longer now that the game is less physical.
So yeah, he'd be a perennial All Star as long as his body allowed, which would likely be longer now that the game is less physical.
Posted on 2/3/26 at 11:29 pm to prplhze2000
Average 3 2 1, crazy questions, Basketball is Basketball, talent is talent, stars of the 70s and 80s would do much the same as during their heyday, stars such as Russell, Robertson, Baylor, Pettit and a few others from before would also be successful.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 10:00 pm to ClientNumber9
quote:
ETA: In no way does this detract from his legacy. In the same way an offensive lineman in the 70s wouldn't match up with his 2026 counterpart, the game has just changed with diet, strength training and technology.
The assumption with all of these cross era comparisons is the player from the 70s would have access to diet and strength training of today if playing in today’s game.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 11:39 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Bird's issue would be his conditioning/body. Mid 90s Jordan has a modern NBA body because he was a pioneer in that area. Bird had a soft 80s body.
Players back then said he was a slow white boy before they saw him play. Players now need two weeks off for a hang nail. He would absolutely crush it today. And anyone that's says different never watched basketball in the 80's and 90's. The game today is so boring. I feel really bad for the generation today that didn't get to see the game back then.
Posted on 2/5/26 at 7:56 am to thumperpait
I would love to watch Jordan or Pippen lock down SGA or Bird make Anthony Edwards have a complete mental meltdown or Barkley bully any of these no-defense playing forwards and centers.
Posted on 2/5/26 at 4:59 pm to LSUFanMizeWay
Bird was only player to be ranked in top ten of all categories. His passing would still be lethal today.
Posted on 2/5/26 at 7:00 pm to PP7 for heisman
Jokic is probably a top 10 all time NBA player. He needs to win another title though.
He's by far my favorite NBA player to watch.
Bird is much more athletic than him.
The point was not to take away from Jokic just to use him as an example of how Bird would thrive in today's NBA.
He's by far my favorite NBA player to watch.
Bird is much more athletic than him.
The point was not to take away from Jokic just to use him as an example of how Bird would thrive in today's NBA.
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