I don't think Kobe has more ability than Bird.
quote:Don't let common sense get in the way of making a choice man.
Anyone calling Larry Bird an elite defender is stretching the truth pretty thin. Bird was an extremely intelligent individual who made up for a lack of athleticism with intelligence and moxy. He was middle of the pack, and comparing him to Duncan is laughable.
If you were a GM asked to pick between Larry Bird's career and Tim Duncan's career given what we know about their ability AND longevity there's no one that would choose Bird. I think we have nostalgia for Bird, especially given his extreme popularity, that overrates him after the fact. Not that he isn't a top 6-7 player, just that the stats show us that Duncan's had a much better career in a much more competitive NBA.
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If you were a GM asked to pick between Larry Bird's career and Tim Duncan's career given what we know about their ability AND longevity there's no one that would choose Bird. I think we have nostalgia for Bird, especially given his extreme popularity, that overrates him after the fact. Not that he isn't a top 6-7 player, just that the stats show us that Duncan's had a much better career in a much more competitive NBA.
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If you think others are favoring Bird based on nostalgia, be careful that you're not just favoring Duncan based on recency bias.
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Duncan has been in six finals. He does not suffer from lack of exposure.
It is too bad that Bird's back didn't hold out for 3-5 more years than it did.
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Duncan has been in six finals. He does not suffer from lack of exposure.
It is too bad that Bird's back didn't hold out for 3-5 more years than it did.
I thought it was his heel that cut his career short?
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the NBA was basically just two great teams (one per conference) and a bunch of other teams.
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Duncan had less help than Bird with 5 titles vs Bird's 3. The NBA is much tougher now than the 80s when the NBA was basically just two great
teams (one per conference) and a bunch of other teams.