A statistical look at Larry Legend vs King James

by drza44 on Mar 4, 2009 11:02 AM EST

Once you get past the blasphemy of comparing anyone to the Legend, the similarity in the statistical impacts of Larry Bird and LeBron James through their first six seasons is pretty interesting. Most of the media has been caught up in trying to proclaim LeBron the next Jordan or the next Magic...perhaps he's really the next generation of Bird. A 6-9 small forward that could score from everywhere, rebound like a power forward and pass like a guard...that description would have fit Bird before LeBron was even born.

Here is the full article, which looks at box score numbers as well as a variety of the newer "advanced" stats to build the comparison.

This article is part of a mini series comparing old school Legends to current greats. The first two compared Kareem vs Shaq and Isiah Thomas vs Chris Paul.

Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.

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the stats may be similar but I think they are very different players. Bird’s outside shooting was much better than LeBron’s whereas LeBron is superior at driving the ball to the basket. Bird was a better rebounder and while LeBron is a good passer and at times a very good passer, Bird was a great passer. LeBron is a freak of nature- his combination of size, speed and strength- not to mention coordination – may be unmatched in the history of basketball. Larry had size and great vision but everything else he created himself.

by Red2 on Mar 4, 2009 2:04 PM EST reply actions

Difference is...

Larry’s got three rings, LBJ has zero, zip, nada, zilch :-)

by Amager Celtic Fan on Mar 4, 2009 3:12 PM EST reply actions

Yup, that's in the article...

…though since the comparison is their first 6 seasons, Bird actually only had 2 rings and 2 MVPs to LeBron’s 0-fer. The natural come-back from the other side would be that Bird was 23 years old as a rookie, while LeBron was 23 years old this season so he still has quite a bit of time to get those accolades (with his first MVP most likely coming this year).

by drza44 on Mar 4, 2009 4:26 PM EST up reply actions

I get the point. If I were bulding a team from scratch, I’d still take Larry any day. He made his teammates better. We’ll see how (or maybe IF) LBJ is able to do just that in the long run.

by Amager Celtic Fan on Mar 6, 2009 1:00 AM EST up reply actions

So let’s see, don’t you consider carrying some combination of Ilgauskas, Gooden, Hughes, eric snow, donyell marshall, damon jones, flip murray, pavlovic, Devin Brown, Wally Z, Delonte, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith Gibson, and verejao to the Easter Conference semifinals, followed by the finals, followed by the Eastern Conference finals game 7 vs. the Celts with Ray, PP, and KG, followed by a 60+ win season constitutes making your teammates better?

Look, I’m all Celtics, but I think it’s much easier to make those around you better when those around you are Parish, McHale, Johnson, Walton, etc.

by Fan from VT on Mar 10, 2009 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Bird was the greatest clutch basketball player ever, Lebron is 22% with the game on the line. Bird is one of the greatest shooters ever, Lebron is a mediocre shooter when he’s not in the paint.

by merkinmuffly on Mar 4, 2009 5:58 PM EST reply actions

LeBron is increasingly clutch...

…according to this statistical investigation:

http://www.82games.com/0506/05CLE10E.HTM

Without referring to numbers, my sense is that Bird is one of the most clutch players of all-time, so I’m not sure LeBron will ever match him in that category. And Bird was a better rebounder, passer, and, of course, outside shooter (by a mile).

But I still think Lebron will go down as the greatest small forward in history, barring injury. He can get to the rim against absolutely anybody and he’s becoming a very good defender. He’s got a legitimate shot at best player ever.

by PJ Martinez on Mar 5, 2009 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

hmm.

1. Bird had a superior mid range game.
2. Bird had a superior long range game.
3. Bird had superior post moves.
4. Bird prided himself on rebounding, and boxes out better than Lebron.
5. Bird has better court vision.

by Xiang on Mar 10, 2009 9:48 AM EDT reply actions

Well...

It’s an interesting article, but whoever thinks they have the same style hasn’t watched them both very much.

LeBron is drive-oriented.
Bird was shooting-oriented.

It’s pretty simple really. There are a ton of other differences between them. There are hundreds of other players that would be better compared to LeBron.

That said…
Bird: 3 rings
LeBron: 0 rings

by Push on Mar 22, 2009 6:06 AM EDT reply actions