“Jordan Vs. Bird” was one of my most cherished Nintendo cartridges ever and it got played to the death. But if it was “Jordan Vs. Bird- Front Office Executive Edition”, Larry would win every time.
HoopsVibe Very Quick Take: Has there ever been a better player/coach/front office member in any American professional sport than Larry Bird??
On the court, Bird and Jordan were essentially of even skill level and success. But post playing career, it’s obvious who the better front office executive is, as Bird is fresh off winning the NBA Executive of the Year award, while Jordan’s Bobcats are coming off of one of the worst seasons in NBA history.
As a pro player, Jordan is one of the few players who could be considered an equal to Larry Legend. Bird is a three time NBA champ, three time NBA MVP, two time Finals MVP, 12 time all-star and one time All-Star Game MVP.
As a coach, with no prior head coaching experience, Bird won NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first season and led the Pacers to back to back Central Division titles, including an NBA Finals birth in 2000. He retired following that season, but was then hired to the Pacers’ front office in 2003, took over for Donnie Walsh in 2008 and ever since has had a huge hand in making the team what it has become.
Bird is the only person to have ever won even the MVP and Coach of the Year award, and obviously the only person to ever add the Executive of the Year award to that cache. So does that make him the best overall sportsman in American history?
Who else could even be considered in the NBA besides Jerry West? Or in any sport? NFL? MLB?
Leave your comment below.
Photo Credit: AP News
