Larry Bird often gets forgotten for being one of the best shooters in NBA history. Because he played at a time when shooting wasn’t a prominent aspect of the game, Bird’s ability to shoot gets pushed to the side.
Bird was a lethal scorer and relied on his shooting for much of his points. Larry Legend was clinical with his jump shot from all parts of the court.
Whether it was the free-throw line or from beyond the arc, Bird was almost automatic when he launched a shot.
Bird could seemingly do it all. Whether it was scoring, passing, or even trash-talking, Bird could do it all. So much so, that Michael Jordan said he learnt how to trash talk from playing against Bird.
And it was this versatility that allowed fans to forget how solid Larry was as a shooter. But all that was important during his era was that Larry knew how good of a shooter he was. And Larry used his shooting to find the success that he did in the league.
Larry Legend was so good that he couldn’t even miss when he tried to. During an interview, Bird was explaining the mechanics of his shot. He explained why he shot the way he did, and why he didn’t take his hands too far back.
Larry explained that he couldn’t take his hands too far back when he shot because it would impact the accuracy. But when Larry took a shot while taking his hands far back, he still converted. Even Larry knew that he couldn’t miss despite trying to do so.
This shooting ability of Bird’s allowed him to become one of the greatest of all time. Bird is considered one of the best players to ever play for the Celtics. Larry had an iconic rivalry with Magic Johnson that defined the NBA during their respective peaks.
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