"If Larry Bird played this era, he'd be in Europe": Dennis Rodman rubbishes Gilbert Arenas' take that the Celtics star would beat LeBron James 1v1
LeBron James and Larry Bird are two of the best small forwards to ever play the game. In the ‘80s and early ‘90s, “Larry Legend” was the yardstick players of the said position are measured.
Gilbert Arenas, who played against “King James” in his career, declared that the Celtics legend will beat the LA Lakers superstar in a one-on-one matchup.
Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman couldn’t disagree more with Arenas’ take:
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“I’ll put it this way. If Larry Bird played in this era, I thought he’d be in Europe. … He’d be over there. His game was fit for Boston at that time, in the ‘80s and stuff like that. Today’s world? Oh, hell no! There’s no way.
“I’m not downplaying him ‘cause he’s a great player at that time just like I was but I’m saying, no. There’s no way.
This was Arenas’ controversial analysis of a fictional match between LeBron James and Larry Bird that had Rodman in disbelief:
“One-on-one, it takes away everything LeBron [James] has. His physical strength, his speed, all that power he has going. In one-on-one, you’re talking about 1,2 dribbles. That’s not his game, that’s Larry’s [Bird] whole game!”
In a hypothetical matchup, the physical advantage is overwhelmingly on LeBron James’ side. One has to wonder why Arenas thought James’ edge in athleticism, speed and power would be gone in a one-on-one matchup.
Larry Bird was skilled and he was a better athlete than fans and even former players give him credit for. James, though, has to be the huge favorite in a hypothetical mano-a-mano duel with the legendary Celtic.
Dennis Rodman asserts that Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic is better than Larry Bird
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets swept LeBron James and the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. “The Joker” and crew continued their march to the championship by dispatching Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in five games in the NBA Finals.
Along the way, Jokic proved that he is the best player in the NBA despite losing the MVP award to Joel Embiid. The Serbian, despite his somewhat plodding form, was nearly unstoppable, even against the Lakers’ top-ranked postseason defense.
Dennis Rodman is one of the probably thousands of fans who are finally giving Nikola Jokic his due. Here’s what he had to say about the reigning NBA Finals MVP in comparison to Larry Bird:
“I think the kid from Denver [Jokic] is way better than him! Oh, my god! He’s slow as hell but he got a game. I think he’s better than Larry Bird in this day and age.”
Players to average a career 20/10/5:
Larry Bird
Nikola Jokic
That’s the list. https://t.co/KXmNgqli5w
Rodman’s comments about Bird playing in Europe might be a little out of line. If “Larry Legend” couldn’t dominate the NBA the way he did in his heyday, he’d still probably be a star today.
The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics were bitter rivals when Rodman and Bird regularly faced each other. “The Worm’s” comments weren’t particularly surprising, but saying the former Celtic will be in Europe seems a bit too much.
Also read: 'Made $80,000, it was like working at K-Mart': Dennis Rodman, who made $27 million through 14 NBA seasons, describes his first 2 years with low pay