"Hits people all night" — The New York Knicks' epic scouting report on Larry Bird was dead accurate

Boston Celtics icon Larry Bird was one of the most feared men in basketball when he was in his prime. He was not only a great scorer but also could pass and rebound the ball.

Ahead of a game in the 1983-84 season, the New York Knicks prepared a detailed scouting report on the Celtics. It featured Larry's many strengths on the basketball court and what made him one of the best ballers in history.

The Bird scouting report

The report also featured tendencies and strengths from players like Danny Ainge, Cedric Maxwell, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. The Knicks were a midtier team during that season and were determined to get an upset W over the Celtics. In their report on Bird, the Indiana native's offensive prowess was described in great detail.

While it's unclear if the scouting report was ahead of a regular season or playoff game, the Celtics and Knicks faced each other in the Eastern Conference second-round matchup that year. The series stretched to seven games, with the Celtics winning. They went all the way to the NBA Finals to face the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Championship.

It was Bird's second NBA Championship. Larry would win his third and final chip in the 1985-1986 NBA season against the Houston Rockets, establishing Larry Legend as one of the sport's greatest.

Not a draft prospect?

Interestingly, the Hall of Famer wasn't always regarded as a potent basketball talent. According to Pete Maravich , not all coaches expected Bird to make an impact because of his lack of athleticism.

Maravich said that these coaches failed to understand that what makes a player great isn't just his physical abilities but also his mental fortitude.

"I can name several coaches who said Larry Bird would never make it in the NBA because he was too slow-footed," Maravich said. "But there are certain players with the instinct, like Larry Bird, a guy like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that are so far above anyone else because of the way they think the game of basketball. You can't practice that. That's just something that is god-given, and Larry Bird has that."

No matter how much his foes studied him or how detailed their scouting reports were, Bird always found a way to outlast them. That's because the Celtics legend didn't just use his physical acumen; he used his mind, which is the most powerful tool he had.

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