Larry Bird is seen as one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. Former NBA star Dennis Rodman recently made surprising claims about Bird. The Worm believed Bird would have been in Europe if he had been an active player in the modern era.
Detroit Pistons legend and Dennis Rodman’s former teammate Isiah Thomas disagreed with his assessment. Thomas shared his views on a recent episode of the ‘Sway In The Morning’ podcast.
“My personal opinion on Larry Bird, if Larry Bird was playing today, he would still be the MVP of the league, and his team would still be winning championships,” Thomas said. “Now, why do I say that? Because we just watched The Joker, who is very similar to Larry Bird, take his Denver Nuggets team and win the championship. So if I look at these two players, and I’m saying that they’re similar, then Bird would win two or three championships in this era.”
Thomas added: “Out of all the players that we played against, when Larry Bird caught the basketball, we were most afraid of him. And it’s hard for young people to understand because those of us who were around in the 80s who really got to see him and the Boston Celtics play, the dude, he just didn’t miss. And when he missed, you were shocked that he missed.”
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Isiah Thomas used Nikola Jokic’s example to prove that Larry Bird would also be able to win titles in this era. Bird is one of the most respected players in NBA history.
He led the Boston Celtics to three NBA Championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Apart from that, Bird was a 2x NBA Finals MVP, 3x NBA MVP, 12x NBA All-Star, 10x All-NBA, and 3x NBA All-Defensive.
Dennis Rodman Reveals The Real Reason Why He Called Larry Bird Overrated
Dennis Rodman is known for giving his unfiltered opinion on everything. But Rodman’s comments about Larry Bird didn’t sit well with most. Prior to Isiah Thomas, Charles Oakley destroyed Dennis Rodman for his ridiculous comments.
This isn’t the first time Rodman has made questionable comments about Bird. In fact, he called the Celtics legend overrated in 1987. Rodman admitted that he made the claim because Bird is white.
“No, like I just said, I was green then,” Rodman said. “I was just saying anything man, just because. I was frustrated because, guess why, I got my a** whooped. That’s probably why I said something then. Not because I was angry or hatred came with it, it just came out just like that.”
He added: “I would have said something in a different direction, but it so happened to be Larry Bird, so… And I apologized for that many, many times over. That’s history. Like, you know, move on.”
Rodman apologized for his comments. However, he is yet to provide more context about Bird playing in Europe in this era. Maybe the Worm will take them back in the future. Or he may stick to his opinion this time around. Either way, it won’t change the fact that Bird was a phenomenal player.
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