LeBron James is one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, and he has clearly been the most dominant player of his generation. He is generally regarded as a clutch player who was often able to lead his teams to improbable victories in the playoffs time after time in his prime.
Recently, analyst Stephen A. Smith offered an interesting take on LeBron James. On a recent episode of First Take, Smith claimed that he would pick Larry Bird over James when it comes to showing up in the last 2 minutes of a basketball game in big-time moments. He did, however, note that Larry Bird wasn’t as good as LeBron James as a player.
.@MadDogUnleashed says he would take Larry Bird over LeBron James in a best-of-seven series 😳
Who would you take? 🍿 pic.twitter.com/hSW2Nsk7DF
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 1, 2023
I’ve said this before, I’d take Larry Bird any day of the week in the last 2 minutes. Not in the first 46. They count. Larry Bird wasn’t LeBron James.
Larry Bird was viewed as a huge clutch-time performer as well, with him notably excelling in late-game situations. Bird was often making plays on offense and on defense to seal games for the Celtics. He notably got a huge steal late-game to win Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons. However, LeBron James has shown a similar ability to excel in those moments. Smith isn’t wrong here for saying that Bird is better than James in the last 2 minutes, but if there is a gap between the two, it’s not large.
Steve “Mad Dog” Russo Said He’d Take Larry Bird Over LeBron James In A Seven-Game Series
In the same segment, we see Steve Russo say that he would be willing to take Larry Bird over LeBron James in a seven-game series. Even though the majority of people would pick LeBron James, there are still a lot of people who would be high on Larry Bird in a scenario where the two faced off.
Once, Michael Jordan claimed that Larry Bird is better than “any small forward” in the history of basketball. That would obviously imply that he’s better than LeBron James, and it is clear that Jordan has high regard for Bird.
Larry was a debate… They say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. He can’t play with LeBron James!’ I tell them, ‘You guys don’t get it. Larry is far better than any small forward who played the game, and to be honest, I’m still not sure if he is a small forward or a power forward.
Even though Larry Bird is a great player, it is hard to see him being able to beat LeBron James in a seven-game series. Most people would agree that James is better than Bird in a lot of basketball categories, though Bird may have a slight edge from a shooting standpoint.
It is definitely interesting to debate which all-time greats would prevail if pitted against one another in a series. However, as of right now, the only way to make that happen is NBA 2K, and there is no right or wrong answer to these queries.
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