I like to start my morning off with a nice dose of Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, it is like my kickstart, my coffee if you will. Although in recent years their arguments have seemed to be quite more staged and dramatic than what might be necessary, I still enjoy listening to their opinions and forming my own based around what I do ( or don't ) hear from the two of them. I bring this up because, as most First Take viewers know, they had a recent mini-debate a couple days ago about if Lebron James had reached, or even surpassed, the man that keeps all white peoples' NBA dreams alive. Of course, I am talking about Larry Bird. The farm boy from Indiana who just so happens to be considered one of the best Basketball players to ever play the game. The Skip V. Stephen debate only lasted about 10 minutes, so I figured I would try and get to the bottom of this to have a better idea of how these two greats stack up against each other. Here it goes.
First I'll start with Larry Bird, hes the older player, and I am all about respecting my elders so that is the only reason he gets talked about first.... don't worry we will get to Lebron. Larry Bird played basketball at Indiana State, and took a team with, frankly , a whole bunch of nobodies, to an NCAA championship game against Magic and the Spartans. They would end up losing that game, but that is beside the point, we are looking at Larry v. Lebron so this argument will have to do with NBA successes only. Bird average 24 PPG 6 Assists 10 Rebounds 2 Steals and almost 1 block for his career, and he did it while USUALLY being guarded by the opposing teams top defender in a time where defense was emphasized much more than in todays game. He shot 50 % from the field and 38 % from the 3 Pt line for his career ( I was actually surprised, thought his 3 Pt percentage would have been in the low 40s ). They didn't really have all the advanced statistics such as PER and True Shooting % during Larrys time, so we will stick to things that we can compare. In the playoffs, Bird averaged 24 PPG 7 Assists 10 Rebounds 2 Steals and 1 Block, while shooting 47 % from the field and 32 % from the 3 Pt line ( once again less efficient from 3 than I would have guessed ). Larry won 3 championships, had 3 MVP awards, and made the All Star Team every year he played except for 1 ( 1989 Season ). Mr. Bird is also a member of the 50-40-90 club, which means he is one of the few players to shoot 50 % from the field, 40 % from 3 Pt, and 90 % from the FT line for an entire season.
I've mentioned all of the individual statistics that we might need to look at when comparing players, so now lets look at what he had around him. If I looked at his entire career, this article would put many people to sleep, so I'll stick to his championship teams. I couldn't find much reliable information on the '81 team, so I am looking at the '83-'84 and '85-'86 Championship teams. For '83-'84 Birds complimentary options were Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish, not bad company at all. In '85-'86 the supporting cast was pretty much the same, but Danny Ainge was starting to produce quite a bit more compared to his production on the previous team. So Larry Bird wasn't going to the NBA finals with scrubs on his team ( See: 2001 76ers ), but he wasn't necessarily surrounded with the best of the best either.
Larry Bird seems to have stats in every category that would put most players out of the comparison discussion.... Lebron James isn't most players.
Lebron jumped onto the scene faster than perhaps any Basketball player ever has. Coming out of High School in Akron at St Vincents- St Marys, Lebron was basically touted as a future star before he even stepped foot on an NBA court. He was supposed to be the savior of Cleveland, but we all know how that turned out. This post isn't about opinions of Lebron though, it is about his NBA successes, of which there are many. Lebron has averaged 28 PPG 7 Assists 7 Rebounds about 2 Steals and 1 Block for his career... Un-human numbers. He also does so while usually being guarded by the opposing teams best defender, and lets be honest, even though defense isn't as emphasized today, anyone in their right mind knows Lebron is athletic enough and strong enough to be able to do those things in pretty much any era. James has shot 50 % from the field 34 % from 3 Pt line for his career, so slightly higher field goal percentage, and slightly lower 3 Pt percentage then Larry... thats to be expected. In the playoffs Mr. James ( that has a good ring to it ) has posted numbers of 28 PPG 7 Assists 9 Rebounds almost 2 steals and almost 1 block. He has shot 47 % from the field and 32 % from 3 Pt during his playoff career as well. James has elevated his game slightly more than Larry in terms of playoffs, but by such a small margin that it can barely be discussed. King James has 2 Championships ( 3 pending ), 4 MVP awards, and 10 All-Star apperances. He is not a member of the 50-40-90 club, but that is a huge accomplishment and with Lebrons inconsistent free throws, he will almost definitely never be able to accomplish that feat.
Now, lets look at Lebrons supporting cast. James has gotten a lot of crap for going to a team with many good players ( never understood that argument, haven't all stars done that?... isn't that the point? ). While the Miami Heat are indeed stacked with talent in D-Wade, Veboshiraptor, Ray Allen and don't forget my home state kid in Mario Chalmers ( who I believe to be quite under rated ), Lebron still leads the show and seems to carry a majority of the load for that team. While I will say that the Bird era championship teams weren't QUITE as loaded with talent outside of Larry, I wouldn't go on to say that there is a huge discrepancy in the surrounding talent in those teams compared to the present day Miami Heat. Ray Allen has definitely been a difference maker in Miami ( See: 2012-13 Game 6 ), but he hasn't " Saved Lebrons Legacy" as Mr. Skip Bayless put it, not even close.
I've tried to break down some core statistics of these two superstars. I wish I could dive deeper into all of the little things that could be thrown into the debate, but with a 40 hr work week outside of writing, that makes things a bit harder... so deal with it. The argument is up in the air, and will be until Lebron has finished his career... and probably after that as well. After looking at the numbers and situations, I will say that Skip Bayless is drunk for saying that Lebron is " no where near " Larry, and while I am reluctant to put James above Mr. Bird at the moment I do believe that when all is said and done Lebron may get the slight nod. My real question is though, can you really go wrong with either of these guys on your team? I think not.
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