If asked, there are a lot of NBA fans that would put both Larry Bird and Kobe Bryant in their all-time Top 10 list. Bryant and Bird both won championships, Finals MVPs, and MVPs, ticking most of the boxes it takes to be Top 10 all-time.
But Larry Bird‘s legendary status sees him being put above Kobe Bryant by some people, and his former teammate Shaquille O’Neal is not the biggest fan of that.
Shaquille O’Neal was on the Fluent And Chill show, and Chill said that Kobe Bryant isn’t in his Top 10. To which Shaq replied, “You said you got Bird in your 10? Yeah, Bird gotta get traded out of there brother. And Kobe gotta get in there.”
(starts at 1:30:10 minutes)
That is a bit of a controversial opinion from O’Neal, considering the influence Larry Bird had on saving the NBA to go along with his accomplishments on the court. As far as a direct comparison goes, Kobe Bryant won 2 more championships, and Larry Bird won 2 more MVP awards. Both retired with 2 Finals MVP trophies to their name. It’s a difficult list to sort out when it comes down to it.
Shaquille O’Neal Did Acknowledge Larry Bird’s Greatness In The Same Segment
While he was quick to say Larry Bird needs to be moved out of the Top 10, Shaquille O’Neal knows just how great he was. Larry Bird’s trash talk was legendary because he backed it up, and Shaq brought that point up while giving him his flowers after his comments about him not being in the Top 10.
“You hear a lot of thugs, like Isiah say and Magic says, like Bird wasn’t no punk,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “Bird was one of the craziest trash-talkers in the history of the game.”
For most fans, who they would put first, Larry Bird or Kobe Bryant, would be a matter of personal preference. And it does seem to be that way for Shaquille O’Neal a bit as well. Both players changed the NBA and impacted it in ways few have before or after them, and there’s no point trying to figure out which one was better than the other. NBA fans are blessed to have seen both do it at the highest level for as long as they did.
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