Who is the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA? Most answer Larry Bird. Some respond Dirk Nowitzki or Reggie Miller. The Warriors Steph Curry is the latest to enter the debate.
Indy Star columnist (and Patriots villain) Gregg Doyle went straight to the Legend for his take on Curry:
He knew my story was Curry-or-Bird, and he knew my position was Bird, not Curry, and this is what he said when I asked him who was better:
“It’s really in different stages,” is how Bird started his answer. “He’s no doubt a great shooter from long distance and short distance. He shoots more 3-point shots than anything. Usually outside that 3-point line if you’re consistent and hit shots, people automatically think you’re a great, great shooter – which he is, no question.
“But when I played, the 3-point shot was not the biggest thing. That was the last thing we thought of when we played. Later on in my career, we shot more (3’s). My whole game was mid-range – that’s where I played. I posted up later, but down screens, 15 to 23 feet, that was my game.”
An accurate, yet modest account from Larry. Doyle dug a bit deeper and asked Bird to elaborate on his shooting:
There were some days,” Bird says, “it didn’t matter what I did out there. I couldn’t miss. I could try to miss and wouldn’t. I’d be out there working out, I’d get on a roll and say, ‘I wonder if anybody ever made this many shots in a row.’ There were days it was pretty incredible.”
Give me an example.
“One time I ran like 3 miles,” Bird says. “Game that night. Go out and get loosened up and shoot jumpers. I didn’t know it, but a TV station in Boston was counting. I never paid no attention. They said: ‘You know you hit 74 shots in a row?’ Nah, I can’t really remember shooting. My mind was someplace else. They ran that highlight that night in fast speed.”
More. Tell me more.
“When I went to work out, if I went in and hit everything, I just left,” Bird says. “I wouldn’t stay. You run around shooting from different areas. If you hit, I don’t know, 300 out of 350 or something like that, that was good. But some days I’d go in and hit 94 out of 100, and that’s when I’d just quit.”
What’s more impressive – 74 in a row or taking 350 shots and making 85.7%? And you know Bird didn’t practice easy shots. He tried all distances from all angles with both hands.
Curry is a phenomenal shooter who is likely going to win a championship or two before his career his over. But he’s no Larry Bird.
Then again, who is?
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