Reggie Miller was always a big fan of Larry Bird , considering he modeled his game after him. That love for Bird made Reggie consider him the best small forward in NBA history, an opinion he felt wouldn’t change anytime soon.
However, that all changed in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers successfully came back from a 1-3 deficit in the NBA Finals. LeBron James showed why he was the best player of his generation and cemented his case as the best small forward ever, even for a Larry superfan like Reggie.
“You know how much I loved Larry Joe, you know how much I patterned my game after Larry Joe, right? He was my coach at Indiana, I would do anything for Larry Joe,” Reggie said on the Dan Patrick Show shortly after the Cavs won the 2016 Finals. “I gotta let it go, Dan. What he did for Cleveland, that city, and that state, I gotta let it go. He is in my top five now. To me, he’d never get ahead of Michael, Magic, or Kareem, but everyone else, he’s the fourth-best player.”
Why Reggie had a special connection to Larry Bird
Bird was one of basketball’s icons in the 1980s, firmly cementing himself in the top two alongside Earvin “Magic” Johnson. He led the Boston Celtics to three championships in the ‘80s and was also a legendary star with three regular-season MVPs and two Finals MVPs.
Larry was amongst the first players to embrace the three-point revolution, as he was one of the decade’s best shooters. When Reggie entered the league in 1987, Bird was already well into his Hall-of-Fame-worthy career, meaning Miller had time to watch his hero and learn from him as a player when matching up against him and later in his career when Bird was his coach in Indiana.
Reggie said he patterned his game around Bird, which Larry has become aware of . While Miller could not get Larry’s shooting mechanics, he produced good results with his shot, becoming the player with the most three-pointers made in history until Ray Allen usurped him in 2011.
LeBron cemented himself as the best SF ever
While Bird was a stellar player, it is indisputable that LeBron is the best small forward to play the game. He is the most complete player in NBA history, with his scoring, playmaking, and defending all at the elite level. Bron is also one of the top leaders on the court, and he displayed this perfectly during that 2016 series against the Warriors.
James did not give up when faced with a 1-3 deficit, leading the Cavaliers back into the mix and tying the series up at three games apiece. LeBron’s Game 7 performance will live on in history as one of the most magical playoff performances, highlighted by the chase-down block on Andre Iguodala.
With what he displayed during that 2016 series, Bron cemented himself as the best small forward, leading to some people saying it felt like a scripted movie . However, James did not stop there. He plays today at nearly 40 years old and is still one of the best in the league.
Related: "Quit whining about LeBron" - When Larry Bird urged haters to stop bashing James and recognize his GOAT status
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