Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on the same team

[Lefthook00]

Thats just not even fair.

[JayGatsbyOdysseus]

Magic is second to Oscar Robertson in triple doubles. Bird is like 4th or 5th. Statistically, Oscar Roberstson was the most complete player in the history of the NBA. He had somethng like 120 triple doubles. Magic had around 50. I do think it can be argued that Oscar played in a lot less competitive era. Still, one year, Oscar averaged a triple double for the entire year. This is amazin agains any competition. It is like hitting 60 home runs, 120 RBI and batting 330 for a year.

[jp3813]

@JayGatsbyOdysseus Oscar = 181 TD's in 14 years, Magic = 138 in 13 years w/ limited games in his final year

I wouldn't say Oscar's era was less competitive. Ever wondered why he wasn't awarded the MVP the year he averaged a triple-double? That was the same year that Wilt averaged 50 ppg (w/ 26 rpg) and scored 100 points in a game. Bellamy also had 32 ppg w/ 19 rpg, while Pettit had 31 ppg w/ 18 rpg that year. Still, none of the players I mentioned got the MVP that season.

[mrho4speed]

Love Magic's enthusiasm for the game and his recognition of Bird's skills. He got to see first hand that Bird wasn't just a scorer or a gunner - but that he was an exceptional passer with great vision and feel for the game. He knew Bird was for real after watching him humble Jack Givens (kentucky player) in practice.

[keenanbub]

two no look passes to a lay up.....daaaaaaammmnn

[DNesij]

Man I feel sorry for the opposing team...

[MerkinMuffly]

I'm glad they didn't play on the same team, Bird & Magic showing up for a game against the rest of the teams would have been like someone showing up for a knife fight with a bazooka, where's the sport in that?

[Blackfate416]

@MerkinMuffly yea, thats why team usa dominated in the olympics

[SeanYves09]

@MerkinMuffly do you know where i can watch this game???

[costcordero2]

i personally don't believe n a "GOAT (merk knows this well) ", but these r the 2 players that i would want 2 play with, & i can't separate them, they're the same 2 me, magic the better ball-handler, bird the better shooter - but they were mirror images of each other the way they approached the game of basketball, & if i did believe n a "GOAT" it would b these 2 n my opinion ... i cannot choose between them bcuz they r the same player ... i was very 4tunate 2 grow up watching these 2 ...

[MerkinMuffly]

@costcordero2 I just can't see them playing together.  The league would have been very boring if they had, no contest.

[costcordero2]

y the hell is ne1 mentioning lebron & dwade on a clip like this ... ? uggh ... !!!

[DJDuck1E]

That play was fucking crazy...Behind the back>Behind the back>Layup

[AMilitantAgnostic]

Thank God they were not on the same team - but man, think of the highlights that would have produced.

[oldfrend]

0:53

"This dude name Larry Bird is FO' REAL. This is the baddest white dude I've ever seen in mah LIFE."

[NBAGOATS]

STATS ARE EVERYTHING

[lasoogneypubes]

Haha damn just imagine if Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would've done the same thing that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did and had Magic go to the Celtics or something. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale. They would win the championship like every single year.

[AMilitantAgnostic]

@lasoogneypubes Yes that's a fact -- and goes to show what a punk James is - once he gets his team, he fails.

Maybe if they add D-Howard? Sigh, James would blow it up.

[bootiack]

magic showing great racism  rick barry and walton bird etc arguably better than magic

[hakola95]

@bootiack Neither Barry or Walton are comparable to Magic. Walton especially not. He was very good in an extremely narrow window, but that's all. Longevity is a part of greatness and Walton's handful of good seasons can't hold a candle to Magic's career.

[libertatus]

"Oh, MAN....This guy got GAME!"

[uberathlete]

If there's one thing I love about Magic, it's that despite his own greatness he truly appreciates the greatness of other players. He is as much a fan of basketball as us all.

[Nokturn6]

very nice vid, but holy crap, is that Larry Bird nowadays?

[spurs5gooners1]

Makes the Wade/Lebron show look like a circus act.

[lbj6mj23]

@spurs5gooners1

2 difrent players wade james are beter defenders and athleats bird and magic beter fundamental players

[hakola95]

@lbj6mj23 Athleticism is more than just pure speed and leaping ability. Much more goes into it. Bird and Magic were just as athletic as Wade and James.

[MerkinMuffly]

@lbj6mj23 Bird has a better defensive rating and better defensive win shares than both wade and james, so your wrong.

[lbj6mj23]

@MerkinMuffly

dude you get over it i am not saying they are beter ok?but bird is no way beter defender look at the teams he had and also you think bird could guard pg sg sf and pf and maybe even c?!no plus handcheck james cant use it

[MerkinMuffly]

@lbj6mj23 Bird played against Jordan, Magic, Dominique, Dr J, Barkley, etc. so your telling me these guys were easy to play defense against, huh? ,my statement that Bird is a better defender is backed by statistical facts and analysis, your opinion just ain't going to cut it, but thanks for playing.

[MerkinMuffly]

@lbj6mj23 James and Wade maybe better one on one defenders, but Bird is by far a better team defender than any of those guys, and last I checked, basketball was a team game.

[spurs5gooners1]

@lbj6mj23 Lebron is probs the best player in the NBA right now. Wade is, at the absolute worst, a top-5 player. The fact that they could not win a championship with those two guys on the same team (plus another all-star!!!) tells you everything about the league right now. The players grew up watching Jordan and believed that one-on-one scoring was all the game was about. Bird and Magic separated themselves by being phenomenal team players. Bird got drafted and his team improved by 30+ wins!!!!

[masanf]

@spurs5gooners1

Amen. You pinpointed why the game is totally different now than it was when Bird and Magic played. Team play has almost completely disappeared and has been replaced by a group of five dudes who think it is all about going one-on-one. The teams from the 80s would dominate today's so-called "teams", for the simple fact in the 80s they actually played as a team.

[mrbriscoe2001]

That Kentucky coach could have put on the show of a lifetime by letting THE BEST PLAYERS play in this tournament;these guys were even kicking everybody else's asses in practice too,I hear...i

[mrbriscoe2001]

thanks for posting.these two are what basketball is all about.

[nepurangi]

unbelievable, i just had no clue this exsisted!!

[juliojgr19]

@costcordero2 The two best and more tallented team game players of modern basketball (Jordan was better individually, but not as a team game player). Magic and Bird, how we miss you!. (¡Qué tiempos!).

[costcordero2]

@juliojgr19 ... i agree with u 100% ... 

[41elliott]

The NBA will never be like it was when those two played.

Last of their kind.

[DUANESKEE]

This clip is CLASSIC throwback. Unreal,young BIRD and young MAGIC on the same team. We were robbed on the dream team cuz Bird was old by then.

[jp3813]

This is why I hated the separation of the eastern and western conferences. Because during the all-star game, Magic is always against Bird and MJ instead of being teammates w/ them. I say screw the conferences! We should have the All-NBA first team and a fouth team going up against the 2nd & 3rd teams in the All-Star games.

[masanf]

@jp3813

I don' think there is an "All- NBA Fourth Team".

[jp3813]

@masanf I didn't say there is.

[Flipper79able]

@jp3813 I think it's more fun to see great players compete not play together? Is this LeBron by any chance?

[jp3813]

@Flipper79able You must be new to the concept of an all-star game. It's when great players team up to go against other great players. Currently it's east vs west, but what I'm suggesting is 1st & 4th team vs 2nd & 3rd team. Perhaps you would've liked it if MJ, Bird, and Magic played for other countries instead in the '92 Olympics but that's not what they wanted.

[Flipper79able]

@jp3813 No, I'm not new to the concept of the all-star game you condescending asshole.  It's just my opinion and preference. Everybody likes and dislikes certain things and just because you prefer something does not make you smarter or more experienced......you smarmy little geek.

[jp3813]

@Flipper79able Look who's talkin' after his condescending "Lebron" statement as a response to my OPINION and PREFERENCE. Hypocrisy at its finest.

[Flipper79able]

@jp3813 Your right. I made a joke when I called you Lebron....and it all went to far. My bad. Peace.

[jp3813]

@Flipper79able It's quite sad that the name "Lebron" has now become an insult.

[Flipper79able]

@jp3813 I agree.

[Francozilla]

@jp3813 Interesting idea, but the "conference" setting is based on the geography of the United States, as in "East Side" vs. "West Side." It's a format that many domestic basketball leagues around the world follow. Besides, there are only 3 All-NBA selection teams altogether (1st, 2nd, & 3rd). But regardless, it would've been nice if the founders of the NBA thought of such All-Star game format.

[jp3813]

@Francozilla That's why I proposed "a fourth team" selection just for the all-star game. But you just brought up another problem that I have w/ separation of the conferences. Larry himself said in an interview, alongside Magic, that all of the championship teams during their era were in the east except for the Lakers. Hell, at one point in the 2000's, the west had teams above .500 that missed the playoffs while the east had lots of teams below that mark that still made it.

[BrunoLS09]

wow!

RARE

[13war25]

That's why he's known as LARRY LEGEND.

[saturndual32]

Awesome stuff!