Oscar Robertson never comes to this generation’s mind when they talk about the best players of all time, and neither does Larry Bird. But one of the greatest coaches of all time had them as GOATS.
Two of the greatest players of their era, Oscar Robertson and Larry Vogel are never talked about for the best basketball player of all time. With Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as most people’s GOATs, people have forgotten who else was running the game.
But if you go through history to remember who the best multi-faceted players were, and not just goals or playmakers, these two were players who could do anything.
Although they played in different eras, they faced the toughest teams in the league throughout their careers, Oscar faced Bill Russell’s Celtics or Wilt Chamberlain’s Sixers in all of his playoffs, while Bird played against Magic and led Kareem Lakers.
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Oscar was more of a numbers person, averaging a staggering 25.7 points, 9.5 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per game throughout his career. He even averaged triple-doubles in one season.
Bird mainly focused on winning games and gave everything in every game. He still managed to get an average of 24.3 points, 10 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game without worrying about the scoreboard.
Kareem: “Larry Bird was the best player I have ever played against”
Players against the Kareem: Oscar, DR.J, MJ, Isiah Thomas, Moses Malone, Hakeem,
All 15-year-olds: “Larry Bird was rubbish and overrated” 
# NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/f7G6IlBxBD
– (@ A1Hoopz) May 16, 2020
Larry Bird has put Oscar Robertson on John Wooden’s list as GOAT
John Wooden was probably the best college basketball coach who ever lived. A coach who coached the NCCA ten times, Wooden taught his players that a win is more than just numbers on the scoreboard.
“I’ve always thought Oscar Robertson was the best player in the game,” said John Wooden. “Now I’m not so sure if Larry Bird is not.”
Larry Bird, The Big O and John Wooden… wish you all a good day! pic.twitter.com/V0rpWbvn9J
– 70s 80s Retro Awesomeville (@ retro_70s) January 14, 2021
For Bird, victory was most important. What set him apart from Oscar was his influence on a game. At 6’9, Larry Bird was able to defend every position on the court, averaging 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
Oscar’s big numbers led mostly to early playoffs until he teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while Larry Bird himself was the core of his tough Boston Celtics.
Oscar never led his first team, the Cincinnati Royals, to a conference title, Larry Bird made it to 5 NBA finals and won 3 of them. Bird was the MVP of all three of these finals.
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Although most of their career achievements other than wrestling and MVP titles reflect that they are a similar type of player, Larry Bird’s influence on his team was far greater than Oscar’s.
The post “Always considered Oscar Robertson the best, but I’m not sure Larry Bird isn’t.”: John Wooden anointed the Celtics legend during his prime and 3-MVP run for his GOAT first appeared on monter-une-startup.
