The 10 Best NBA Players That Larry Bird Beat In The NBA Finals

As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the NBA, Larry Bird took the basketball world by storm during the 1980s. Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson in college and then the NBA is credited widely as the driving force behind keeping the league afloat. The legend of Larry Bird is still alive and well today, over 25 years after he retired as a player. His rivals long have stated that Bird would tell you what he was going to do and how he was going to do it, and they still couldn’t stop him from taking over a game.

In his career, Larry Bird won 3 NBA championships in 5 attempts. He was named Finals MVP in 2 out of the 3 Finals wins that he garnered in his career. He won 3 MVP awards in a row from 1984-1986 and is the last player to accomplish that feat. Today, we will be taking a look at Larry Bird’s greatest adversaries on the NBA’s biggest stage. These opponents are all that stood between Bird and becoming a champion and for one series at least, Bird was the better man.

These are the 10 best NBA players that Larry Bird defeated in the NBA Finals.

10. Bob McAdoo

Bob Mcadoo is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest centers in NBA history. By the time he got to the Lakers, McAdoo was already dealing with the injuries that had plagued him for most of his career. In his 4 seasons with Los Angeles, McAdoo made just 1 start for the team and appeared in a total of 223 games off the bench. McAdoo could still score the ball well, averaging 15.0 PPG in 1983 and 13.1 PPG in 1984, but he wasn’t nearly as dominant as he once was.

McAdoo played a big role for the Lakers in helping them get to the 1984 NBA Finals against Bird and the Celtics. He appeared in 6 of the 7 games in the series and played just over 24.0 minutes per game. He would average 12.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.3 BPG for the series as it went to 7 games in total. McAdoo’s efforts off the bench would not be enough alongside Magic, Kareem, and Worthy as the Celtics grabbed Game 7 behind 20 or more points from Bird, Dennis Johnson, and Cedric Maxwell. Bird would be named Finals MVP of the series with 27.4 PPG and 14.0 RPG.

9. Robert Reid

Robert Reid is not a household name by any means when it comes to the Houston Rockets franchise or the NBA fanbase as a whole. Reid was a solid player for the Rockets for 11 seasons from 1978 through 1988 as a guard/forward who played mostly as a starter for the team during the early 80s. Reid was a member of both Rockets teams that advanced to the NBA Finals during the 1981 and 1986 seasons, both of which were losses to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

In the 1981 NBA Finals, the Rockets were led by Moses Malone on an improbable playoff run. Malone was the clear leader of the team but Reid was right behind him as an important piece to the Rockets. He averaged 14.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.0 SPG for the series against Boston but ultimately the team fell in 6 games. Reid was also an important part of the 1986 team that advanced to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, Reid was their best perimeter defender and leading assists man. He finished with 14.3 PPG, 8.7 APG, and 1.3 SPG. Once again, the Celtics would defeat the Rockets in 6 games with Bird winning Finals MVP.

8. Michael Cooper

Michael Cooper is easily the most underrated player of the entire Showtime era in Los Angeles with the Lakers. Cooper was a defensive mastermind who had no issues taking on a team’s best offensive wing player every night he stepped onto the court. Cooper would earn a multitude of awards during his career for his efforts on the defensive end with 8 total All-Defensive Team selections and the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year award. He won the award having made only 15 starts during the regular season, speaking volumes about the impact he had on his team’s success.

Cooper was never an offensive star nor did he need to be with the way the Lakers ran their offense. When the Lakers met Bird’s Celtics during the 1984 Finals, Cooper had one of the best 7-game stretches of his career offensively but the Lakers still came up short in Game 7. For the series, Cooper averaged 13.4 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.1 SPG against Bird’s Celtics. He was the team’s 4th-leading scorer and 2nd in assists to only Magic Johnson. Cooper would still become a 5-time NBA champion as a member of the Lakers and played his entire 12-year career with the franchise.

7. Calvin Murphy

In an all-time lineup for the Houston Rockets, Calvin Murphy is somewhere in there either as the starting or reserve point guard. Murphy played 13 seasons in the NBA, all with the Rockets from 1971 through 1983. Murphy made just 1 All-Star appearance in his career but is among the franchise leaders in numerous categories. He is 2nd for the Rockets all-time in assists, 2nd in steals, and 3rd all-time in points.

Murphy was supposed to be the starting point guard during the 1981 Finals with the Rockets alongside Moses Malone. Murphy was almost a non-factor during the series due to injuries slowing him down considerably at the time. He averaged just 9.8 PPG, 1.0 SPG, and 0.8 APG for the series. The Celtics went on to win the series in 6 games with Cedric Maxwell named Finals MVP while Murphy would retire just 2 years later at the age of 34.

6. Ralph Sampson

Ralph Sampson’s story is one of triumph and heartbreak. There have always been questions about if Sampson was able to remain healthy, and how many times could the Rockets have really won championships. Sampson was an All-Star 4 years straight to begin his career with the Rockets and the 1984 Rookie of the Year. He was named to an All-NBA Team in his 2nd season as well as the MVP of the All-Star game. By 1986, Sampson was a premier big man in the league and had formed an incredible duo alongside a young Hakeem Olajuwon aptly named The Twin Towers.

In 1986, Sampson and Olajuwon led the Rockets to yet another Finals berth in the 1980s. Sampson had a bug series including a 22-rebound game in Game 3 and a 25-point performance in Game 4. For the series, Sampson averaged 14.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 1.0 SPG. He was actually out-rebounded by Bird who averaged 9.7 RPG for the series. Pretty incredible, isn’t it? Sampson would struggle with back and foot issues over the next few seasons before being forced to retire after the 1992 season at just 31 years old.

5. James Worthy

Big Game James Worthy is one of the members of the Showtime Lakers that gets lost in the Magic-Kareem hype. Worthy was an outstanding forward for the Lakers during the 80s and 90s who earned 7 All-Star appearances in his career. He was also the MVP of the 1998 NBA Finals and won 3 NBA championships with the Lakers during his 12-year career with the team. Worthy would help the Lakers to the 1984 Finals against Bird’s Celtics in just his second season.

Worthy was already a star by the time the 1984 Finals came around and he showed in on the national stage. He was the Lakers’ 2nd-leading scorer for the series with 22.1 PPG on 63.8% shooting. He also added 4.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.4 SPG against the Celtics that year but the Lakers came up short in Game 7. Worthy was one of the best players on the court in that decisive Game 7 going for 21 points on 9-13 shooting.

4. Moses Malone

Moses Malone is one of the best centers in NBA history. He began his career with the Houston Rockets after a brief 2-game stint with the Buffalo Braves. Malone would go on to become one of the greatest players in Rockets history with 2 MVP awards, 6 All-Star appearances, and 3 rebounding titles as well as 4 All-NBA Team selections. He led the Rockets to 5 playoff berths in his career with the team but none more miraculous than the one in 1981.

In the 1981 season, the Rockets finished at 40-42 but backed their way into the NBA playoffs. Malone would lead them on an improbable run to the NBA Finals where they met Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. Malone did everything he could to keep the Rockets’ chances at a title alive with 22.3 PPG, 15.7 RPG, and 2.2 BPG for the series. In the end, it would be Larry Bird and the Celtics taking home the NBA championship. Malone would have to wait just 2 seasons to get his first, winning with Philadelphia in 1983.

3. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon is a Top 5 center to ever play the game. Olajuwon could do everything asked of a big man and more on the court during his prime and led the Rockets to 2 NBA championships in the 1990s. Olajuwon is a former MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP who embarrassed opponents on both sides of the ball with his crafty footwork and sensational shot-blocking skills. However, as a young man in 1986, Olajuwon led the Rockets to the NBA Finals, a series that seems to be forgotten amongst NBA fans today.

Even as a young man in 1986, Olajuwon was still one of the best players on the court during the 1986 NBA Finals against Larry Bird and the Celtics. He averaged 24.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.3 SPG, and 3.2 BPG for the series and was even able to steal 2 games from Boston while doing so. In the end, Olajuwon’s great series was just another lesson dished out by Bird during his best days. Olajuwon would use the Finals experience later on in his career, winning 2 titles of his own in 1994 and 1995.

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

There is no doubt where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stands in most instances among the greats in NBA history. He is one of the game’s greatest winners with 6 NBA championships and is an important figure off the court as well. He would win 5 MVP awards during his career as well as 11 All-Defensive Team selections and 15 All-NBA Team selections during his 200 years in the league and when he retired in 1989, many proclaimed him the greatest player who had ever lived.

The duo of Magic and Kareem were the lifeblood of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s as they advanced to 7 NBA Finals during the 80s and took home 5 NBA titles. In the 1984 series in which they lost to Larry Bird and the Celtics, Kareem was spectacular in his efforts which ultimately came up just short. 26.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG, and 2.1 BPG for the series and had 29 points in the decisive Game 7 in which they lost. When he retired in 1989, he retired as the GOAT and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

1. Magic Johnson

Did you expect anyone else to be No. 1? Even if you think that Kareem was the better player of all time than Magic, there is no doubt about the part in history that Larry Bird shares with Magic Johnson. The 2 stars battled in college on the biggest stage as well as in the NBA numerous times. Their rivalry is credited with saving the NBA during the early 80s as they played their best basketball when they opposed each other on the same night. Bird didn’t like Magic and Magic didn’t like Bird (until later in their careers) and it make for some of the best basketball we have ever seen.

Magic and the Lakers went up against Bird and the Celtics 3 times in the NBA Finals during their careers. Magic went 2-1 against the Celtics in those series but nothing felt better to Bird than finally getting the best of his adversary in 1984. Magic did all he could for the Lakers in the series, averaging 18.0 PPG, 13.6 APG, and 2.0 SPG. However, it wasn’t enough to stop Bird from finally taking Magic down as he would win his first Finals MVP with 27.0 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG, and 1.1 BPG. The history of their rivalry is as important as any other time in NBA history and on this occasion, the advantage belonged to Larry Joe Bird.

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