Kobe Bryant didn't believe Larry Bird was tough to defend: "He looks slow as sh*t to me"
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- čas přidán 19. 08. 2024
- #KobeBryant #LarryBird #NBA #Shorts
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Clever trick to leave out that this was Kobe's praise for Bird. That someone seemingly so average could have such greatness. In a way Kobe wanted in on the secret that was Larry Bird and wasn't cocky like you make it out to be
I want the rest of the quote/conversation frankly. Cause that's a man who's smart enough to know and admit he's missing the secret sauce and to seek out knowledge from them that experienced it
@@mattd3978
I posted the link to the rest. It’s on my channel. Also the vid where Kobe picks his starting 5.
Wow!! We live in a world where people call 6'10 high end athletes average.
@@vicshephard9231 hurts my less than six foot height pride lmao
Keep telling yourself that
"Average physical gifts..."
Dude was six foot nine and was somehow always in the right spot.
If he was "slow and couldn't jump" that means his competitors were WORSE.
He was Luka before there was Luka
@@marekokragy3341
Not talking about level just yet.
Just the play style.
Just like how Kobe and MJ were comparable.
@@marekokragy3341 he lowkey is
Larry was very deceptive. He was quicker than he looked like he was. He was also one of the smartest players to ever play. He was playing chess when everyone else was playing checkers.
I think older clips were slowed or looked slow because it doesn't have the quality resolution we have now and our eyes have to fill in the gaps
6'9, great shooter, great competitor, great passer, great trash talker!! CHAMPION
Bird was more more smooth than explosive. It’s an underrated trait
You are correct. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
Thanks for beeping out Sh*t at 0:53. I would've freaked out otherwise.
The funniest part is that he didn’t even cover it up, you can just hear the word shit and a loud beep
Damn . . If that word bothers you so much . . . Go watch Barney the dinosaur or Mr Rogers neighborhood . . . Your way to soft to be watching any kind of sports like NBA and NFL and other professional sports . . . Being so soft you might can get by with watching golf . . . You cream puff. . . Hahaha 😂😂😂😂
@@trapezoidmon kindve feel he meant to do that
Nice troll Nicholas
Nice troll Nick
This quote from Kobe was probably made from early on in his career. I know for a fact that Kobe has Larry Bird on his all-time starting 5. James Worthy once said that guarding Bird is like playing a game of chess. Larry Bird could also do everything on the court from scoring, rebounding, assisting, stealing, and blocking. Prime Larry Bird is one of the most well-rounded players of all time.
It's not related to age. Somewhere on youtube there's the "full" video about what Kobe said, and he concluded by saying that too few in the building watched how Larry played the game. His intentions weren't doubt Bird's skills, but quite the opposite.
@@TheRockpb
I have a clip of that exact thing on my channel. I also posted it here.
You misunderstood the quote.
@@irishgrl yeah, that was the clip I was referring to. Thank you!
He actually said this in an interview from a couple years ago, the context like all these shorts, is twisted
He was saying the quote about Bird being slow as shit, from how he thought when he was younger, and learned from there
But Kobe was intelligent enough to know he was missing something and sincerely wanted to know what it was.
Bird's hand/eye coordination was an amazing physical gift. Combined with his confidence, size, work ethic, and thinking ability, nobody should be surprised at his dominance.
Kareem thought Larry was one of the greatest he played against…enough said
It’s called hustle and determination. They will never ever be another Larry bird. He was the most important respected by black players
Greatest he played vs Wilt, MJ high praise.
Meanwhile, let's just cut the video when we're about to learn why....
That's because Kobe never said why in the interview.
@@cloudwalker9572 This clip is taken out of context tho. It ends with a clique diss but that wasn't what Kobe was really conveying about Bird in the interview.
Fucking clickbait channel
Haha yea I was waiting for the answer too. Guess we’ll never know.
Honestly I think Larry’s game is similar to how curry plays today. Run around off ball and screens until wide open and shoot a free 3. Plus like mentioned earlier he’s big for a small forward so he just shoots over most guys no problemo.
Prime Bird was the best player in the league during a time when the defense was allowed to defend and the league was loaded with great players. The East was no joke. He’s in the conversation for the GOAT the only knock on him is his prime was cut short due to injuries
I remember Bird was this dude that no matter how well you guarded him, he was going to make his shot. So maybe “hard to guard” is misleading, and he should be considered “hard to stop.”
LB- one of the greatest of all time. 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿Larry Legend
Young Larry Bird was an INCREDIBLE athlete….. his bad BACK robbed him of it but his skill level was still 9000
So larry went all super saiyan every game? Pretty much lol
9001
@@joe-zj8js 9000 is kao ken, not super saiyan #nerdalert
@@PAKallman i stand corrected. I dont really know any of that stuff...thanks for the reference.
Never an incredible athlete, however he had a porn stache.
What Larry had was anticipation. He knew what you were doing before you did.
Also, he did not need much space to get his deadly jumper off. Call him slow, but that shot got up quick as shit.
Didn't call that Man Larry Legend for nothing cold wit it!!
What's really amazing is how Larry Bird could tell the other team what play he was going to make and still make the play and score after telling them what he was going to do . . . Just imagine how wicked Larry Bird would have been if he didn't tell the opposing team the plays ahead of time .
Bird was special. He was cerebral and saw things before they happen and used it to his and his teams advantage. Bad back and the tragic death of Len Bias shortened his career.
Ive seen the whole video Kobe is actually praising bird ,who made this video CNN
Positioning against an opponent and anticipation of their next move. If you're already a step ahead you don't need to be faster. Bird was great at using his body to frame the ball in a box where his opponent couldn't reach it. Anytime a player had an angle to the ball while in birds hands he'd shift or pass the ball. It's almost like seeing your opponents next move before they do.
Yeah sometimes the defender has to make a move in order to prevent an easy score and u can play off of that and manipulate it.
The fact that this just leaves out the context where Kobe is praising Bird by describing his game as an enigma that he couldn't figure out just by watching tape.
He would seemingly get by a guy in slow motion and score. If you were a Laker fan he would drive you nuts he was so damned good.
Larry Legend was a Basketball Genius with a crazy work ethic and a strong desire to win coupled with mad skills. All that outweighs athleticism any day. Thats what he was missing, with all due respect to Kobe.
this guy took the quote out of context. kobe was praising larry
"having average physical gifts" - about Larry who is 6'9. Yeah, that's pretty average to me.
1 in 30,000 (rounding down!) US males are 6'9", Kobe's just a little bit off on this one.
Easy, ask Luka
If Luka shot way better and played Defense, then he would be half as good as Bird.
My older brother was that way. Big and slow and always did 1of 2 moves followed by a pull up or fade. Was just tough to defend because he was technically sound
6'9" with a high release, incredible smarts, footwork and passing. That was unguardable in an era where small forwards were 6'6"-6'7". Any shot in the book was makeable by Bird, guarded or not.
Larry Bird and average should be illegal to be put in the same sentence. Everything about Larry was elite.
I could dunk higher than larry birdand im 5'7 cmon his athleticism is average
Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own 💛🖤
Kobe had Larry Legend in his top 5 and he called Larry Legend money, Kobe was Larry Legends favorite player 2 🐐🐐
Your click baited title gave the impression that Kobe had a disrespectful view of Larry Bird’s game. He was trying to better understand why he was so affective because what he saw wasn’t registering with the end result of Bird being so great.
Best SF ever.
Took his words out of context
I've watched bird hit buzzer beater with Jordan and pippen on him...so I'd say he's damn hard to defend.
Bird is the Goat . . No weaknesses
Had BEST percentage of clutch shots than ANYONE!
In the modern era, Jokic is the epitome of that. Plays an old man, slow game but he is playing at his own pace and quietly drops 35
Same with luka there’s more than one way to skin a cat
EXACTLY .
I saw Jokic play in person against my Hornets. I love his game and went specifically to see him play in person . However, he did few spectacular flashy things and half-way through the game I thought I was watching one of his rare sub-par games . Then I looked up at the scoreboard near the end of the game as his Nuggets were winning and he had almost thirty points .
Flashiness is WAY over-rated in the NBA . Silky consistent smoothness and intelligence will beat it every time .
Bird proved that too
Which why he is the GOAT!
Really important skill here from Kobe: Getting the insights of elders/experts when what you've learnt doesn't seem to work
Bird has the highest basketball IQ of anyone who’s played. His numbers were awesome as a player, then Went and coached a team to the finals and quit coaching after three years so he didn’t step on Michales toes and mess his thing up, and won coach of the year only coaching for those three years, then went and became an executive and won executive of the year. Bird was awesome and knew the game in and out and that was why he was always in the correct position to win.
Larry Bird.GOAT ❗❗❗
Doncic,Steph is not atlethic but Steph Change the Game and Doncic is slowly will the face of the NBA
No Ja Morant is the future. In five years, Doncic will be a memory as slow as he is. The best thing about him is his shooting
@@s4mp_founder slow but NBA SUPERSTAR BETTER THAN OVERATED MORANT THAT ONLY ATHLETIC THAT'S ALL INJURY PRONE
@@jhongsports5680 We'll see. Euro players don't have a good track record when it comes to consistency in all honesty.
Watching Bird play the game is always so interesting. So much about him and his game was so unique. So strange to watch sometimes.
It’s kinda like Bird was 2 steps behind physically and 3 steps ahead mentally.
-2 + 3 = +1
Bird was always 1 step ahead of the opposition.
No secret. More smart. More heart.
The reason is because everyone always wanted to play so fast but Larry played at his own speed and didn’t let anyone change that
Larry and Luka have much in common….and I think they would score on Kobe at will. The reverse is also true though….neither would be able to stop Kobe
Birds iq and jump shot were elite. He lets the ball go from behind his head. There’s just nothing you can do about it but pray it doesn’t go in
Outworking people is only part of the story. Bird’s stamina is super human to most. His ability to outthink and out work them is what made him special. If Larry had physical gifts like Dominique or MJ he woulda been the greatest ever. The guy worked as hard as Kobe or Jordan did and nobody was willing to recognize that. Jordan and Bird were probably the two hardest working players up until Kobe the only difference being the athletic gifts.
But Mike couldn't stop Bird!
u mean 3 MVP in a row?
Bird knew tactical strength could match athletic strength
Bird & Magic are the GOATS of All time!
He had great athleticism
Not at all
His mental game was excellent. You don't need to be the most athletic , if your positional play is superior .
Jon UK
I’d you are 6’9+ and have a top 3 jump shot all time, and the strength to grab that amount of rebounds in a league with inside size emphasis, I wouldn’t exactly downplay the physical attributes of that person. I think most people would pick Bird over Kobe in their all time ranking, too.
I can think of 10 players in every decade that I'd take over kobe
Top 3 jump shot of all time is too much. I can name 5 or more players with a better jumpshot than bird. Steph, klay, lillard, korver, dirk, kd, cp3, hell even kyrie. U can check the numbers and efficiency too.
Top 3 jump shot of all time is too much. I can name 5 or more players with a better jumpshot than bird. Steph, klay, lillard, korver, dirk, kd, cp3, hell even kyrie. U can check the numbers and efficiency too.
@@averagedude4943 I don’t consider CP3 as complete a shooter since he doesn’t shoot form 3 and is also not as good as a spot up shooter. Lillard, Korver and Klay are lacking the in-between game what the others on your list do have. Bird stands out to me with Steph, Durant and Dirk. It’s a question what your metric is. I value mid-range and fadeaway in addition to a lethal 3pt shot a lot.
"You'll learn, young buck. You'll see."
He had a great field IQ and a great outside shot.
James Worthy said he would rather guard MJ than Bird.
Kareem said Larry was the greatest player he’s ever played against. Over WILT Chamberlain btw.
Jordan says he’s the greatest small forward of all time and the first player he named to his Mt. Rushmore. In Jordan’s prime, he said Bird gave him nightmares and he’s so glad he retired so he can finally win some championships.
Dirk Nowitski says Bird is the GOAT and his famous one legged fade-away was taught to him as a boy by a basketball coach in Germany who studied Larry Bird tapes. So yeah, Dirk’s legendary shot was one of Larry Bird’s many shots.
When a reporter asked Lebron James who was on his Mt. Rushmore, Bird was the second player he said (after Jordan).
Bird is on Kobe’s Mt. Rushmore btw.
Michael Cooper (who Larry said was his best defender) said he would be MENTALLY exhausted and totally drained after guarding Bird and said (outside of the Finals), he’s grateful he only had to guard him twice a year.
Before he passed, in an interview with Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, both were asked who the greatest player of all time is. Wilt said Larry Bird. Bill Russell said “Michael Jordan…but Larry is a close second”.
Magic famously said Larry Bird was the only player he ever feared. That’s the ultimate compliment. 99.9% of NBA players never admitted (publicly) that they fear any other player.
Put it like this, most people would say that the NBA was the toughest era of all time. Larry Bird won three straight MVPs in that era.
The Former Bad Boys are all in their 60s, but besides Bill Laimbeer(who Bird hates to this day) they all borderline worship Larry Bird. Heck listen to Rodman, Isiah, or John Salley (who also says Larry is the GOAT) rave about him.
You young NBA fans better put some respect on the Legend’s name. YOUR favorite NBA players do.
Larry Legend
Kobe and Bird both had insane work ethics. So did Rodman. It’s the guys who work the hardest that play the best.
That is what makes champions the ability to look at someone who is amazing and you can't understand why they're amazing then you figure it out it's not who they are it is the heart within them once you figure that out you can adapt and you can conquer all
I am puzzled by people saying LB wasn't athletic. He ran with the best of them.
BIRD was an all around player. Kept everyone guessing on his next move.
Extremely hard to guard when there isn't a particular move he always went to. He wasn't flashy but don't get it twisted he was in KOBE'S words DIFFERENT ANIMAL SAME BEAST. BIRD was definitely a TRUE KILLER
It’d be good if you said exactly what Kobe said as he went on to compliment Bird and said people should know more about him
Kobe also puts bird in his top 6 don’t take my word for these facts they are easily found on CZcams
YK damn well the media don't care for actual context, that's how it's always been, that's why people say Jordon retired cause of gambling, or Kobe's sexual assault case, or even calling Dirk soft until 2011 when every fucker on ESPN sucked him off for beating lebron or in their retarded words "lebron choked"
Both clips are on my channel. I also posted them here.
Kobe walked like Kobe,sounded like Kobe & played like KOBE
The man had a bad back. N still is Larry legend
BIRD KNOWS BASKETBALL 🏀
inside out'
Bird has basketball IQ. He could see the court like a chessboard. He knew where everyone was and could anticipate what would happen.
Bird is top 5 all time........
This is not a diss people……he was saying that Larry looks slow as shit so how is he getting his shot off still?
That’s why he said he is missing something and he wanted to know what it was because if someone is slow or not fast,
and STILL IS able to get his shots off he knew there was a reason and he was looking for THAT reason.
Do people understand context? Remember at the the beginning of the video the man said that Kobe was a STUDENT of the game
and he was asking so he could get the knowledge he needed.
What Kobe was missing was that Bird was rarely missing. Laser accurate without fear. I hated the cat but he was nothing short of a killer of killers. Ain't been many like him since.
Bird was very capable of torching any player who has ever played in the history of the game.
Larry is the true birdman
Bird just had it,you can't define it , explain it you can't even believe it,but it is always there,ask magic, Larry was so good it was frightening,to quote him
NEVER. EVER. UNDERESTIMATE Bird's quickness & athleticism. Before the injuries, he could be grease lightning quick, especially with his hands. He also ticked all game long like a marathon runner and could switch to left hand only for an entire game, just to excite his teammates (Ask Seattle: 27 pts after 3 quarters left-handed).
Watch a vid of Bird highlights: He was as quick as the situation required. It was just his Indiana personality that sometimes wanted to get position and see the opposition rather than run around constantly like MJ or Iverson, that had people thinking "slow farmboy". Not so. Watch!
Any angle Kobe that's what you missed. Larry hit everything from any angle everywhere even injured. Man was the coldest & MJ hated him.
Kobe would have relished going against a prime Bird.
My man was 6’10, like what are you talking about. Lol
Bird was slow, but he made up for it by being precise in damn near everything.
Leave out dam near
The NBA is amazing
Wilt Chamberlain's #1 player ever...Larry Bird!
Bird was the best ALL AROUND player in NBA history
Bird was fundamentally gifted. He never needed athleticism. His jumper was pure water & he owned the court every time he played. All the great made opponents play their game at their speed not theirs. They took over & dictated the whole floor
Larry legend.
Bird is so great that kobe himself a top tier defender can't figure out why he's so tough to guard. That's what's good about bird, he look plain and simple yet when you go face to face with him you won't be able to keep up with him.
Bird... Luka
How are you gonna post this and not post the resolution where he saw how wrong he was
Guys just as or more athletic than Kobe couldn’t stop him.
Kobe respects bird he was just playing everyone knows bird was a monster cold as ice i use to watch bird as a kid a be like dam he can shoot pass and was tuff as shit
It’s just so nuts to call a 6’9 dude with long arms someone with “average physical gifts? Was Larry Bird less athletic than Kobe? Sure. Is he average? Is he less athletic than you? Lol. No. He would fuck you up on the court playing with his left hand, dude. Sorry you had to find out this way
Thank you!! It's driving me crazy seeing people call Bird(NBA superstar) slow and unathletic. Not being Bo Jackson or LeBron doesn't mean you're not a mutant.
When are we going to retire the the “Larry Bird was only average athletically” takes?
Sure, compared to Jordan, Kobe, or modern players, Bird wasn’t as obviously athletically gifted.
But compared to his peers, during his prime playing years in both college and the NBA, Bird’s athleticism was superior or equal to every SG/SF except for Magic at PG.
Bird’s athleticism didn’t lend itself to highlight clips, but neither do a lot of the things championship-caliber players do-in any sport-that spectators fail to notice.
Take sprinting-speed, for example. When Usain Bolt was crushing the Olympics, a common discussion topic would be, “Should an NFL team sign Usain Bolt to be a punt/kick returner?”
The logic prompting these discussions was, “Since Bolt’s the fastest sprinter ever recorded all an NFL team has to do is teach him how to field punts and/or kicks, let his superior athleticism-sprinting- speed-take over and rack up the TDs!”
Easy right?
Not really.
Because track sprinter speed ≠ football sprinting speed.
And football sprinting speed ≠ football game speed.
There’s a lot of factors that account for a person’s athleticism. Some of those things are easy to see. Things like a between-the-legs dunk, vertical leap, strength, etc., but just as many factors-if not more-are not as easily (see: visually) detectable.
Things like hand-eye-coordination, reaction time, peripheral vision, symptomatic nervous response control (aka: “flight or fight” response), game IQ, game EQ, and a bunch of other stuff I will never know because I’m a terrible athlete but I’m a great at listening to people with elite-tier talent and success talking about their experiences in fields that interest me.
And virtually everybody who was anybody during Bird’s prime-opponents and teammates-all say his athleticism was among the best of the best. Either it’s true or they’re all in on the dumbest conspiracy ever perpetrated.
James Worthy did say "Jordan made you look slow, but Bird made you look stupid." He admitted that guarding Jordan was easier than guarding Bird.
Everyone said the same thing about Bird until they played him. They found out the brain is mightier than the Legs.He had a super basketball brain along with his height.
Worthy and Kareem I’m sure told him Bird played the game like a thinker which made him tough to guard because he forced you to play his brand of basketball chess. They of ten admitted it would cancel their athletic advantages.
It sounds worse when this guy narrates it. Rather how Kobe said it arnt same
Quote‘ not finished
Like this story been told 1000 times but no one’s ever said what the players who defended him told Kobe how about that be the story
It doesn't matter how slow or fast he was what matters is he won championships, he won games, elected into the hall of fame. No shine, no glitter no see me watch what I can do nope pure net.
Magic Johnson says to his pal Larry bird after the Olympics let's go out the front door...Larry's usual no hype nope I will take the side door no glitz no glamor just all net
You don’t need to be the flash when you have skillz
True, athletically Kobe was fairly inferior to MJ, Lebron, Shaq etc. But that's what makes him great, he accomplished more with less, he literally worked so hard to achieve what he has achieved throughout his career.
Larry even scored a lot on Jordan. The Larry bird dis-information is strong out there.
Love Kob, but Dirk was basically a one dimensional Bird.
True dat!