LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the two best players in NBA history, but John Salley believes Larry Bird was better than him in their primes.
“Larry Bird,” Salley said. “Do you remember? I know I have nightmares.”
Salley said that without any hesitation too, which speaks to how strong his belief is on this matter. He also applauded Bird for dominating on the court while playing through various injuries.
Salley revealed later in this segment that he was a big Boston Celtics fan, so he is perhaps a little bit biased here. Let’s take a look at whether Bird really has a claim to having a better prime than LeBron.
For me, Bird’s prime would be from 1983-84 to 1987-88. In those five seasons, he averaged 27.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. Bird was also remarkably efficient in those years, shooting 51.2% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc.
As for accolades, Bird won two championships (1984, 1986), two Finals MVPs (1984, 1986), and three MVPs (1984, 1985, 1986) in that period. He also made the All-NBA First Team in all five seasons and there is no denying that it was an incredible prime.
When it comes to LeBron, he has been so great for so long that it can be a bit difficult to pick just one stretch of his career as his prime. For the comparison here, I have gone from 2008-09 to 2012-13.
LeBron averaged 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in those five seasons. He also shot 51.8% from the field and 35.1% from three in that time.
Like Bird, James also had a lot of success from both an individual and team standpoint in those years. He won two titles (2012, 2013), two Finals MVPs (2012, 2013), and four MVPs (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) in that five-year stretch.
LeBron made the All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team in all those seasons as well. He finished runner-up for DPOY twice in that stretch too.
So, their primes might have been closer than you might think, but I believe James does get the edge. He was a far better defender than Bird was, and while he wasn’t as good a shooter, he managed to be just as effective on offense.
Bill Simmons Thinks Larry Bird Had The Greatest Start To A Career In NBA History
This take from Sally wasn’t the only bold one regarding Bird that we had heard in recent times. Bill Simmons said Bird had the greatest start to a career in NBA history.
“I always said this about Larry Bird. His first nine years is the greatest start to a career in the history of the NBA. Three titles, five Finals, three MVP’s, two Finals MVP’s… There was literally never a point after his rookie year when he wasn’t one of the three best players in the league, and in his rookie year, he was the 4th best player in the league.”
I think Bird certainly has a case for that. It is a pity that the injuries started mounting up from his 10th season. We’ll never know for sure just how much more he could have achieved in his career had the injury bug stayed away.
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