Larry Bird showed up at Indiana State in 1975 as a quiet 6-foot-9 freshman from French Lick, a town that made its name selling soda, not producing basketball talent. It didn’t take long for people to realize something special had arrived. Bird developed into a nightmare matchup who mixed relentless hustle with a shooter’s touch and an uncommon feel for the game.
The way he grabbed rebounds, whipped passes across the floor, buried fadeaways, and talked trash while doing it all still gets brought up by anyone who saw him play. Fast forward to today, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets draws Bird comparisons constantly for how he runs an offense through sheer skill and basketball IQ.
There’s a 6-foot-9 forward at Murray State right now, though, who’s got people doing double takes. Roman Domon (20-year-old) comes from Dreuil-lès-Amiens, France, and his game has that same Larry Bird blueprint written all over it. The physical similarities don’t help matters either, and fans are having a hard time ignoring what they’re seeing.
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Domon arrived at Murray State this season as a freshman, but he’s hardly some raw project. The France native worked his way through the French system before deciding to take his game stateside. He spent four years playing professional basketball in the Betclic Élite League with BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, which is the top tier in France.
Domon also represented his country at the U18 and U20 levels, including earning a roster spot for the 2024 European U20 Championship. He’s seen action in the FIBA Europe Cup, too. Last season with BCM, Domon appeared in 29 games and shot 55% from the floor while proving he could stretch defenses from three-point range.
Through 23 games with the Racers, he’s averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. Those aren’t bad numbers for a first-year player, and the Bird parallels are tough to dismiss. Bird went the mid-major route with Indiana State before tearing through the NBA.
Domon could very well become a name that NBA circles start talking about sooner than later, though there’s nothing wrong with letting him develop at the college level for a bit longer. Expecting him to match what Bird accomplished, though, is asking for the moon.
Larry Bird got drafted sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978 but decided to stay at Indiana State and finish out his college run before joining the pros a year later. When he finally stepped onto an NBA court in 1979, things changed in a hurry.
Bird turned into the engine that powered Boston’s championship machine while battling Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in a rivalry that helped drag the league back into the mainstream.
Bird averaged 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as a rookie and walked away with Rookie of the Year. Across 13 seasons with Boston, he posted 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks while shooting 49.6% from the field.
Bird won three straight MVP awards from 1984 to 1986, putting him in company with only Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. He led the Celtics to titles in 1981, 1984, and 1986, taking home Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. Even after back surgery in 1988, Bird gutted through pain until calling it quits in 1992.
He made the Hall of Fame, landed on the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team, and became one of the few people to win MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. If Domon’s chasing that kind of career, he’s got a steep climb ahead of him.
