"I went from wrong to wronger to wrongest about Larry Bird" - Skip Bayless opens up on getting his predictions about Boston Celtics legend wide off the mark

Several NBA coaches and scouts didn't think Larry Bird would make it big in pro basketball.

Without the athletic gifts that were common among some of the best basketball players, Larry Bird somewhat flew under the radar in college. He was never the biggest, the fastest, or the strongest throughout his basketball career, which blinded several coaches and scouts in the 1979 NCAA Final Four.

Despite his physical deficiencies, Bird led the Indiana State Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA championship, where they lost to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans.

Bird, who would be known as “Larry Legend,” averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in his college years. The gaudy numbers did little to convince basketball analysts, scouts, and writers of his unbelievable potential in the NBA.

When Skip Bayless first began writing, he assumed the same thing that scouts did about Bird. It was an assumption that would prove to be his biggest career mistake.

Here's what he recently had to say about his error:

“As Larry Bird rolled on into the NBA, it made me look dumber and dumber… He was on his way at that point to his third NBA ring. He’d obviously won Rookie of the Year, and he was on his way to his third straight MVP. I went from wrong to wronger to wrongest about Larry Bird.”

.@RealSkipBayless took it upon himself to apologize to Larry Bird...here's why: https://t.co/XaklkVchPW

The mistake would also change the way Bayless would judge players’ potential. He vowed never to trust others’ judgment when it comes to evaluating basketball talent. The then-rising sportswriter would promise not to commit the same grievous mistake.

Bayless’ error bothered him so much that at one point, he finally decided to apologize to the former three-time MVP:

“I’m gonna suck it up and I’m gonna apologize to Larry Bird. It’s like I owed it to him…So I caught him and said, ‘I’m just gonna take a second of your time. I was really wrong about you. I wrote blah blah blah.’ And he listened patiently for about 34 seconds and he shrugged and said, ‘Okay,’ and walked away. And I deserved that. I deserved that put down.”

Skip Bayless would eventually name Larry Bird in his top 10 all-time best basketball players

"Larry Legend" was unquestionably one of the best in NBA history when he hung up his jersey in 1992. [Photo: NBA.com]

Throughout his NBA career, Larry Bird proved to the basketball world that a lack of athleticism shouldn’t be the biggest obstacle to a successful hoops career.

Even without the athletic gifts of most basketball players, the Boston Celtics legend carved up opponents with his unmatched basketball IQ, superior work ethic, and unfailing belief in himself.

During the NBA’s 75th Anniversary, Skip Bayless named his 10 best NBA players and firmly put Bird in 8th place. By placing Bird in the top 10, the Undisputed co-host was able to redeem himself for his judgments about the Celtic legend.

.@RealSkipBayless ranks his Top 10 NBA players of all time after Kenny Smith says LeBron is only the 10th-best:

1. Jordan
2. Magic
3. Shaq
4. Kareem
5. Duncan
6. Russell
7. Kobe
8. Bird
9. LeBron
10. Wilt https://t.co/uyP7fyffm5

Icons of the game like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James consider the “Hick from French Lick” to be one of the best basketball players ever.