It’s difficult to compare anybody to previous Boston Celtics star Larry Bird. Bird is among just 3 gamers who won 3 straight MVPs, and he controlled play in the mid-1980s. Finding a gamer in today’s video game who can do what Bird did is hard, although some have actually compared Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer.
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Michael Cooper doesn’t see it. Cooper had the unenviable task of attempting to guard Bird, although Bird definitely offered Cooper his props. When Cooper become aware of the contrasts in between Doncic and Bird, he rapidly shut them down.
Michael Cooper never ever liked Larry Bird however constantly appreciated him
Cooper wasn’t expected to like Bird. The Celtics and Lakers were heated competitors in the ’80s, and gamers from the opposing groups really did not like each other.
“You know what, I hate Larry Bird, but I respect the hell out of that man because I went against him in all those championships and during the year,” he said just recently on his Showtime With Coop podcast. “All we did, as the Lakers, it was all about the Boston Celtics. The respect that we had for one another was immense. I live and breathe and gauge my career by my battles with Larry Bird and our battles with the Boston Celtics.”
Cooper and Bird had their fights, with Bird offering Cooper the greatest of appreciation. During the 1986 NBA Finals in between the Celtics and Houston Rockets, Bird raised Cooper, although his Los Angeles Lakers were gotten rid of in the Western Conference Finals.
“Michael Cooper’s not in this series, and he’s the only one who can really shut me down,” Bird said then to Sports Illustrated.
Cooper said that appreciation constantly indicated a lot to him.
“When Larry says something like that, it kind of puts the — cross the T’s and dot the I’s — and kind of like puts all that together for me,” he when said on previous colleague Byron Scott’s Off the Dribble podcast. He was a handful. That’s one that type of makes me pat myself on the back and understand it’s a job well done. But the job I did wouldn’t have actually been terrific without you people, my colleagues.”
Cooper rapidly closed down any Bird/Doncic contrasts
Doncic is one heck of a gamer. He’s a top-five skill in the NBA today, however that doesn’t imply he’s similar to Bird, a minimum of through Cooper’s eyes.
During Cooper’s latest Showtime With Coop podcast, CLNS’s Nick Gelso asked Cooper if he saw the contrast in between Bird and Doncic.
“No,” Cooper rapidly said. “I don’t see that. This man’s gotta win a champion initially. He may appear like Bird a bit. He may have that perseverance that Bird had, however he ain’t no place near Bird’s gamesmanship on the court.
“I mean, the guy can hit some shots, but win some championships first. Win one, then we can kinda start talking about it. Win two, OK, we might make a comparison.”
When it familiarizes what it resembled protecting Bird on the court, no one understands much better than Cooper. If he says there is no contrast in between Bird and Luka, take his word for it.
