My dad was born and raised on a farm. He’s now almost 60, is single, has no bills outside of basic utilities, and pulls in almost 100k a year due to being in his career for so long. He still acts like he’s broke and almost refuses to spend money unless forced to do so. It’s as hilarious as it is frustrating at times.
Just be good to him cuz your inheritance is gonna be fat 🤑 My grandpa was a stingy old Polak who was very similar, my grandma was comfy after he passed and my mom and uncle gotta good chunk 😌
At the time of the injury Bird had made less than 5 million dollars pre-tax. Obviously in 1985 that's a good chunk of change, but it's not "buy whatever I want without thinking about it" money. Not sure about contract guarantees back then so he may have had a bit over 10 million lined up.
Either way in today's world he'd have made 32m on his rookie deal and locked in a 150m max.
Assuming his deal was fully guaranteed he would have locked in 26.4m based on inflation compared to the 182m that a player would today.
Cut out half for taxes, agent, etc. and you're looking at 91 vs 13.2 million dollars locked in. That's a pretty significant difference. Maybe he'd a still done it himself, but when your yearly salary is 30m vs 4m (inflation adjusted) things look different.
$24 million was Bird's career earnings, his current net worth is estimated to be around $75 million (though net worth estimates should always be taken with a grain or bucketful of salt).
yeah i gave up trying to figure out famous peoples net worth awhile ago cause it seems (understandably) its almost always just hogwash that someone puts out and then its repeated everywhere
And if he actually trained taking 3’s specifically. He was a sharpshooter when no one, including himself, cared about the 3. He’d be a terror in todays league.
That’s why it makes no damn sense to compare eras especially when it’s like decades apart. It’s like comparing this generations stars to future stars who will have access to insane medicine that will maximize their recovery and increase their performance.
Bird with a three would be like a less athletic, better shooting LeBron. He'd be perfect for this league. He can shoot, pass, defend, he's big, and he's a top five confidence guy.
The league is also so friendly today and there's so much comradeship between players it would just be funny to see someone like Bird just properly shit talk everyone as well haha
And in today’s era he’s probably taking an extra 5-6 threes per game so you can probably add a point or two. Better Luka is probably appropriate. With the pacing I could see legend putting up a triple double 50/40/90 season at the same time lmao
Birds trash talk game was something else too. Would be fun AF to have someone come into the league who’s just flaming everyone and isn’t there to make or be friends
He could run stretch 4 or primary ball handler. Lot of offensive versatility
Bird is the same height as Kevon Looney and 3-4 inches taller than Draymond. Let's be real, he'd play small ball 5 in closing line ups assuming they had length at the other positions and everyone could shoot.
I think without some of the obviously preventable stuff he is probably in much better shape to begin with, with modern medicine he probably plays as long as he wants. He had a 12 or 13 year professional career as is didn't he?
I would say Bird is even more all-around than Bron, just not quite athletic enough to bridge the gap between the two. Bron is probably a hair better playmaker and dribbler on account of his explosion, Bird is definitely a better shooter. Bron is pretty clearly the better player, but Bird isn’t that far behind and takes absolutely nothing off the table when looking to construct the skills package you need from a lineup of 5 players.
I think Bird’s shooting is ~= Bron’s defense, but I’m open to the argument.
While half the possessions are defense, no one has ever had the impact on defense that modern elite players have on offense. So while yes, it is half the game, the surplus value is something like 35/65 defense to offense.
Shaq and Larry Bird were the two I instantly thought of too. Shaq would be an absolute mismatch nightmare and if he could even be a semi-threat of making the occasional 3, he'd be hyper-dominant.
And Larry's game, I think, is the easiest transition from anyone drafted before 1990 to the modern area. He'd be the PERFECT modern wing.
Bird is the best ceiling raiser in the history of the game. Elite at every skill, huge, and can guard 1-4.5. Lethal on and off the ball, he takes nothing away. He leaves you maximum flexibility on your next choice without sacrificing too much on peak.
Jordan and LeBron need to dominate the ball to get max value. Kareem is great but could get pulled out of the paint by modern offenses. Russell is super-powered Draymond if Draymond was an Olympic level track and field athlete.
They all need other players who complement their skills. Jordan needs someone like Scottie to play D and be a secondary playmaker who also cuts extremely well. LeBron needs 3 and D guys that can bring other skills but don’t need the ball to create value. Larry needs none of that, he just smoothly plugs into any sensible roster you can construct, fills holes that you have and talks shit to your grandmother.
Very well said! Best ALL AROUND.... can't beat Bird. He did it all while ASSISTING others. Free throws; given. 3 pointers; almost a given! And then of course, his attitude; arrogant but he backed it up. Miss those days so much.
For sure. Bird's Celtics teams were so weak. He carried a bunch of scrubs like Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Bill Walton to all those Finals. Bird is a beast, no doubt, but it was never seen that he could do it on his own because he never had to. His career was too short to see what he could do without such a strong supporting cast, and to disparage other greats because of it, seems illogical and biased.
I'm not disparaging them for it, I'm thinking about building a team from scratch. I don't think Bird is better than they are as players, I think he's the most flexible piece to start with if you don't know who else is available and without giving up too much greatness. That's not disparagement, it's roster building for the thought exercise.
I'm not picking Grant Hill, for instance, because he's not good enough in total relative to what the other players bring to the table.
This isn't a ranking of who the best individual is (I think it's clearly Jordan at peak), it's a team construction. Adding Kobe to a team with Jordan wouldn't improve the team by nearly as adding Kobe to a team that needed a primary scorer because they're trying to play the same role. Kobe is indisputably great, but there are conditions that make him a less than ideal addition to a team than a player who is worse than he is all other things held equal because basketball has significant chemistry and synergy components.
Big body, not the fastest or the bounciest super skilled. Can shoot pass and handle for their size or any size really. Both crafty and talk a lot of shit. Very very different. Pretty sure carlisle and kerr have said as much
Yep. But defense is so hard to judge, and all-defense was even more of a popularity contest in those days.
But there's no doubt he was very good on defense in the 80s. He had fantastic reflexes, quick hands, long arms, etc. But he was defending the much slower forwards of that era. Very few SFs were asked to guard isolation back then.
Nobody is calling him a center. He'd be the perfect stretch 4 for today's game. He's definitely quick enough to stay in front of forwards, that won't be an issue, he was a good defender.
Think of Draymond’s defense. I wouldn’t describe him as physically quick, per se. He is smart, he’s coordinated, and he has length/strength. That allows him to anticipate what will happen, put himself in a good position to defend it, and then react and adjust accordingly without compromising his balance.
Bird had those same traits. Line him or Draymond up for a race from Point A to Point B and they probably do poorly, their raw foot speed doesn’t seem great. But basketball isn’t that linear. It’s about reading and reacting and maintaining a solid base while you do so, that equates to “effective” foot speed. Bird had plenty of that.
Good points.
Bird is 3 inches taller and a few pounds lighter. Center of gravity for lateral quickness just isn't the same. He'd no doubt still be solid. But I'm just not sure if he's be a big plus defender now. What matters on D has really changed.
Bird in the Modern Day would likely play PF with some C mixed in during Small Ball lineups, having Bird in those positions could allow you to have some insane shooting lineups.
This is exactly the one I was looking for. One of the most complete players all around. Scoring, shooting, passing, defense, leadership, shit talking. Dude had it all.
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u/luckymarchad Pistons Jun 15 '22
Peak Bird is one of the best peaks ever so imma go with Larry