"I’ll take Larry Bird over Magic Johnson... He’s gonna do the exact thing he did in the NBA" - Former NBA champion believes Boston Celtics legend is the greatest white basketball player of all time

Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is taking Larry Bird over Magic Johnson. [Photo: CNN]

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are revered by NBA players for practically saving the league and for helping them get the big bucks that they’re earning now. As a younger generation of hoopers look back to the 80s, they inevitably also pick who they think was the better player between the two rivals.

Injured Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, on an episode of the Point Forward, called “Larry Legend” the best white basketball player ever. He would also pick the Boston Celtics legend over the LA Lakers icon if he were to choose one of them.

Here’s how “Iggy” described Larry Bird’s greatness:

“Larry didn’t have no flaws and I’m gonna go out there on a limb…and this is the first time I've ever said this in an open setting, I’ll take Larry Bird over Magic Johnson….He can play in any era."

Magic Johnson once said “Larry Bird was so good it’s frightening”

Bird scored more than 21,000 NBA points but remains in greatness discussions for his unselfish play & his amazing passing game which he felt was an art form. https://t.co/uEFsAS4pzU

Iguodala continued:

"And when I tell people like this guy is one of the best ever? I mean his game translates everywhere, any era, any brand of basketball - NBA, FIBA, ABA, EuroLeague and anywhere in the world, his game is gonna translate and he’s gonna do the exact thing he did in the NBA.”

Iguodala’s words were also direct shots at current NBA players and some basketball fans who argue that Bird’s game wouldn’t have the same impact today. Most of the comments belittling the three-time MVP had to do with “Larry Legend’s” lack of athleticism and being slow-footed.

Michael Jordan himself noted that Larry Bird played at a disadvantage every night due to his average athleticism. But the “Hick from French Lick” was consistently and nearly unstoppable against physically-gifted players.

Pat Riley - "I'd want Michael Jordan to take the shot with the game on the line. I'd want Larry Bird to take it if my life was on the line."

Bird was so good he would even give some of his defenders, even more, an edge in one-on-one battles. Andre Iguodala perfectly captured this bit:

“The man would tell you where he was going. ‘I’m going here and then I’m stopping right there, that little logo right there? I’m stopping right there and I’m gonna pull up.’ And he would do exactly that.”

Larry Bird found it disrespectful when a white guy guarded him

Larry Bird was a problem even against the NBA's best and most athletically-gifted defenders. [Photo: CelticsBlog]

Larry Bird terrorized opponents from the early to the late 80s. He could dribble and pass very well for a man his size and his shooting only seemed to get deadlier as the stakes got higher.

At the height of Bird’s greatness, the man who the media called “The Great White Hope,” hilariously found it disrespectful to be guarded by a white player.

Here’s what Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley, on the Dan Patrick Show several years ago, on why Bird hated having a white guy guarding him:

“I always laugh about Larry because Larry was like, ‘Chuck, I need to talk to you,’ in the middle of the game. I said, ‘What’s going on, LB?’ He says, ‘Y’all being disrespectful to me.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ He says, ‘Y’all got a white guy trying to guard me, that’s disrespectful…There’s not a white guy on the planet that can guard me.’”

“Chuck, I need to talk to you. Y’all got a white guy trying to guard me, that’s disrespectful. There’s not a white guy on the planet that can guard me.” - Larry Bird to Charles Barkley during an actual NBA game https://t.co/TTUyJNviOg

Bird’s otherworldly basketball skills, together with his unmatched trash-talking, would prove Andre Iguodala right.