Post by Madrid on Jan 22, 2017 19:24:22 GMT
Name: Larry Bird
Position: Small Forward, Power Forward
Number: 33
DOB: Dec. 7, 1956
Age when drafted: 21
College: Indiana State University
Hometown: French Lick, Indiana
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 220
STRENGTHS:
"The Hick From French Lick" is an outstanding overall basketball player. He's a potent scorer, stellar shooter, great playmaker, and perfect leader. Bird will be your #1 guy and lead your team to a championship. Possibly one of the greatest shooters the game has always seen, he won 3 consecutive 3-point shootouts and to this day still outshoots professionals. Bird is an absolute killer from mid-range, but also extends his range well beyond the 3-point line. He shot 89% from the free throw line for his career as well. Bird's not just a shooter, though. He can take the ball inside off the dribble or in the post, and has a great turnaround jump shot from the post. Finally, he has excellent court vision, playing almost like a PG with his ability to set up his team's offense. On defense, Bird has a diverse game, although he is not an individual, lock-down defender. He made the All-Defensive 2nd Team three times in real life, and can defend the post or perimeter adequately. Bird's a smart defender off the ball and has very active hands for steals and blocks. He's also a very good defensive rebounder. What you have in Bird is a great player in all facets of the game, who dominates offensively, and has the stamina to play all damn game.
WEAKNESSES:
Larry Legend, despite all his strengths, leaves some to be desired athletically. He's by no means a poor athlete, but might struggle to keep up with quicker perimeter players or stronger post players. It could limit his abilities to take defenders off the dribble and post up Power Forwards. Bird also might struggle to finish above the rim. In real life, he had back problems that further limited his athleticism and ended up cutting his career short. The rest of Bird's weaknesses are things that are not spectacular but still good. He's not a great defender at any spot on the court, but his intelligence and diversity should make him passable if not very good. Bird's somewhat turnover-prone, averaging 3 per game as a career, and despite his passing abilities, should not play PG. Finally, Bird had an odd dip in his 3-point shooting percentage his second-through-fifth years, taking only about 70 per season and shooting mid-to-upper 20%. That said, he shot 41% on 143 attempts his rookie year, which was unprecedented for the '80s.
SIGNIFICANT INFO:
3-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986)
2-time NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)
3-time NBA Most Valuable Player (1984–1986)
12-time NBA All-Star (1980–1988, 1990–1992)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982)
9-time All-NBA First Team (1980–1988)
All-NBA Second Team (1990)
3-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982–1984)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1980)
3-time NBA 3-Point Shootout champion (1986–1988)
2-time 50–40–90 club (1987, 1988)
NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
National college player of the year (1979)
2-time Consensus first-team All-American (1978, 1979)
2-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year (1978, 1979)
Current Attributes:
INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QCK STR JMP STA
B- B+ A- B C B- C B+ C+ C+ B+ C+ B- B B A+
Potential Attributes:
INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK
B+ A+ A+ A B- A- C- A- B B A- B-