Perhaps inspired by The Painted Area’s comparison earlier this week, Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com compared James to Bird in today’s edition of Straight Shooting.
James scored higher in strength, speed, lateral quickness, man-to-man defense, elevation, passing and ball-handling.
Bird got the nod in anticipation, team defense, rebounding, post-up capabilities, shooting, free throw shooting and clutch.
Click here for Rosen’s full scorecard.
A few thoughts:
- Rosen underrated LeBron’s much-improved man-to-man and team defense.
- Bird was a better passer.
- Bird should have received a higher mark in shooting. Larry Legend was one of the greatest shooters of all-time.
- With all due respect to Rick Kamla and his “hunger” and “toughness” categories, this is how to compare players. Rosen graded James and Bird in every relevant metric imaginable.
- It’s a testament to LeBron’s greatness that his game is already being compared to Larry Bird’s complete body of work. LeBron is only 24-years-old. Bird was a second-year-pro at LeBron’s age.
LeBron James
- Age: 24
- 2008-09: 27.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.7 apg, .510 FG%, .299 3P%, 2.0 STL, 1.3 BLK, 2.9 TOV
Larry Bird
- Age: 24
- 1980-81: 21.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 5.5 apg, .478 FG%, .270 3P%, 2.0 STL, 0.8 BLK, 3.5 TOV
Bird shot a surprisingly low percentage from the three-point line early in his career. Even as he improved from long-distance, Bird never averaged more than 3 three-point attempts per game. James has averaged more than 4 three-point attempts over his last 4 seasons.
The long-ball legend attempted a league-high 194 three-point attempts during the 1985-86 season. (A sign of the times: Jason Richardson led the league with 599 three-point attempts last season.)
Other facts and figures:
- James averaged 6 more points than Bird, but Bird played with three of the NBA’s top 50 players of all-time (Tiny Archibald, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale).
- Six players on Bird’s 1980-81 Celtics team averaged 9 or more points per game. Boston was 5th in points scored per 100 possessions.
- Boston defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1981 NBA Finals.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:13 am
[...] Lebron James better than Larry Bird? – BallerBlogger http://ballerblogger.com/2009/01/15/rosen-compares-lebron-james-to-larry-bird/ [...]
January 11th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Bird and Lebron on comparable. Bird’s CAREER FG% 50% is second only to MJ in their era(in terms of shots attempted.)I mean magic had a better FG% than both, but magic was not a prolific scorer. Lebron has slightly 6 PPG however bird has rebounds, and assists there equal 6.5apg to 7.0apg I won’t split hairs on that one. FT% Bird, 3p% Bird. Bird was not a 3 point shooter although good at it;more of a mid range and paint scorer.. 3 time back to back 3pt champ. A thing of note would be turnover per game lebron has 1 T.O. more per game thus far than does bird. 3 RINGS in a tougher defensive and powerhouse team loaded 80’s era. So far Bird takes it overall. Lebron is the best player I’ve seen since Bird, Magic, or MJ. Lebron has time though. We’ll see.CONSISTENCY is the factor of note when speaking on the subject of greatness. The holy trinity were consistent. Kobe is overrated in my opnion when compared to the trinity mind you.