Larry Bird - 32/18/9/4 vs. Magic's Lakers (1983)

[81overon]

The players of today couldn't play with these guys.

[zyxwut321]

Great passing but also atrocious defense as well. Modern day NBA players would intercept most of those passes (or at least bat them away) with their superior quickness and length.

[postaltraining]

and those first two didn't even count as assists where the guys shooting the layups got butchered, but it got BOS points all the same.......

[NoRegretsForOurYouth]

1:45 Holy Shit!

[bootiack]

why dont more youngsters copy magic?

[gummygal404]

is this the game in the Boston Garden where it was almost 100 degrees?



[Flipper79able]

@gummygal404 No, that was in the 84 Finals. This is a regular season game in 83.

[RohoicRamz94]

Two stacked teams with great leaders making it look good out there.

[FavreianVengeance]

3:11 - That three seriously just made that net look like it was made of feathers and not nylon.

[schnooks17]

Great vid, fatal9ish!  Ur d man!!!

[CLewey44]

Great statline by both superstars.

[MisterBouncyBounce]

79 to 96 was the zenith of the nba with the mid 80s as the peak. perfect blend of defense and offense with some of the greatest players to ever lace up sneakers.

[hakola95]

That game shows why Bird was on the All-Defensive Team that season.

[FavreianVengeance]

0:35 High left handed banker off the wrong leg and it was easy for him. My goodness.

[trha2222]

Love the passing by both teams. So crisp and unselfish. I can't think of a team right now that shows that kind of teamwork.

[mrbriscoe2001]

@trha2222 great comment.so true;what a wonderful,awe inspiring rivalry this was......

[marzilyas]

lol @ stu lantz's "Money!" comment @4:48

[Fares262]

This is Basketball, unselfishness teamwork intensity flow and great passes unlike the garbage we watch nowadays....

[bootiack]

great magic throwing it away near end

[bootiack]

also lethal with left hand

[bootiack]

bird is not slow, thats homy bullshit, he was cat quick and played under great body control, uing combinations of shots, passes, fakes, and drives, never same one twice amazing and was lethal in post as well

[FavreianVengeance]

Chick Hearn was a great announcer because he rarely if ever let his Lakers allegiance get in the way of calling a true game. That clown he worked with (Stu Lantz) always colors the truth and that's why he sucks. RIP - Chick

[bootiack]

jamal wilkes looks pretty gay

[bootiack]

this is some fukin ballin holy shittt

[usnate1]

Magic was great(one of my all time favorites), BUT Bird to me takes it in terms of skill and dominance...Bird could score like MJ, pass like Magic, and rebound as good as any player on the floor....he was 84th all time Defensive Rating: Bird: 84th Bryant: 241st by the way: MJ 133, Pippen 90, Magic 221, Lebron 117....raises question marks yes? Top 3 three point shooter and FT shooter all time. MACHINE.

[usnate1]

Bird shattered his finger in 80 playing softball in the summer...he said he never had the feel for the ball quite the same...imagine how good the man would be if his shooting hand had all of its nerves..and he still had a spinal cord that was intact for those last 5 years?

[usnate1]

Tell me the last time Lebron had 32/18/9 game....he can do it, but it isn't as often as the reigning greatest SF to play the game.

[uberathlete]

Bird would so shit on defenses today.

[ry3304]

bird's prime probably only lasted about 7 or 8 years max, but man in his absolute prime (84-86), he was probably the greatest to ever touch a basketball.

not b/c he could dominate the other player, but b/c he could dominate the GAME.

[mrbriscoe2001]

BOTH THESE TEAMS-SO TALENTED FROM THE NECK UP!!THANKS FOR POSTING. THERE WAS A GAME IN LA (EARLY 80'S,AT A TIME MAGIC WAS HURT, I THINK) -BIRD DISSECTED THE LAKERS WITH A TRIPLE DOUBLE-JUST TORE THEM APART WITH HIS PASSING-HE PLAYED SO WELL,LA FANS GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION! DON'T KNOW THE DATE;IF ANY OTHER NUT KNOWS THE GAME I'M TALKING ABOUT---CAN YOU POST?

[juju100000]

Larry legend

[TheDOLMET]

Larry Bird is better than Lebron James, it's not even close.

[nbomb12]

Magic pass at 1:43 DAMN!!!

[bootiack]

can't jump? he does 2 handed tomahawks dunks all over the place on break

[coffee468]

@bootiack thank you. i hate how ppl act like bird had no athleticism whatsoever. i don't recall magic being that atheltic either.

[costcordero2]

if i had a choice of playing with only 1 player n the history of the game it would b larry or magic ... these 2 totally exemplified the team concept, my team would win & i know that i would b involved bcuz of their total selfless approach 2 the game ... i cannot chose between the 2, they were the same player n my opinion, 1 the greater shooter, the other the greater ball - handler - these 2 r the reason y even to this day i cannot play the game with a gunner on my team, glad i had the 1980's ...

[BigTimePride]

Bird & Magic...Two of the greatest ever....but....when Bird was at his best there was nobody better.

[MrPims33]

fatal9ish always delivers... larry just being larry, legendary

[cbaldwinjr]

You'd think LA was getting run off the court the way this joker edited this...but everytime Beantown scores, they seem to be trailing

[kwab]

@cbaldwinjr Well it IS a Bird video. If he was editing for a Magic video compilation, then it'd be differently edited.

[jp3813]

Magic screwed up.

[MrEbrewton]

who is the play by play guy

[mrho4speed]

Basketball the way it should be played. Fatal9ish do you have the celtic vs laker game from Feb. 11th 1981? Bird's stat line was 36 pts and 21 rebounds and 6 assists. I believe the game Bird tells magic to sit back and watch the show. It was played in LA. Would love to see that one too! Bird was sensational in this game.

[MerkinMuffly]

Cooper was the best defensive player ever on Bird, but Bird would kill the Lakers on the boards whenever coop guarded him.

[agirard77]

fatal9ish, you are the best!

[mikallink]

Bird is pound for pound the best ever.Give him Jordans athleticism  and I dare you to tell me hes not the greatest ever!

[cbaldwinjr]

@mikallink

Magic>Bird. Period. And Magic wasn't very athletic either...that's always the misnomer.

[mrho4speed]

@cbaldwinjr Bird>Magic. His scoring and shooting range will always trump Magic. LA's big gun was Kareem (Magic never won a ring without him). Magic was a great ball handler and passer but Bird was the Celtics leader from day one. First year = ROY over Magic and a 32 game turnaround for Celts. Bird outplayed Magic the first 8 years of their careers. Bird was 1st NBA player to ever shoot over 50% FG, 40%3-ball and 90% FT for an entire season and did it 2 years straight. Was 2nd in MVP for 3 years

[Flipper79able]

@mrho4speed Actually, Bird was 2nd in regular season MVP voting for 4 years. He was the runner up MVP in 81 behind Dr. J.....and he was the runner up MVP behind Moses Malone in 82 and 83. Also in 88 he was the runner up MVP right behind Michael Jordan.

[mrho4speed]

@Flipper79able You are correct! I love Magic's game but he was a sentimental favorite in the MVP vote in 87 because he took on an increased scoring load (23.9 vs 18.8) from previous year. Remember the eastern conference head to head beat the west EVERY year in the decade of the 80's. Dave Heeren's "basketball abstract" has the % for each year on pg 50. Bird put up some monster numbers against the western teams. Magic's own words were "I'd like to thank Larry Bird for having a slightly off year"

[nonplayerzealot4]

Damn at that pass at 1:11. And Bird too for good measure. I need to create 1.21 gigawatts to power the flux capacitor. I'm going back to the 80s!

[localwear]

Fatal. you always deliver the Bird goods!!! Thank you!

[mikjord]

He`s slow, but finishes the fast break. He can`t jump but gets the rebound and finds the open man. That`s Larry Bird the best in the game

[Ariamaluum]

@mikjord. He had a quick release like a QB concerning his passes as well as his shots. Most shooters, need a set area, catch, or a dribble. Larry could shoot while dribbling on the move with either hand.

[Tooms1121]

awesome, fatal has the best 80's bball vids on the net