https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx6OeoT4vkw
With Dan Patrick busy covering the Olympics for NBC, Reggie Miller guest hosted Patrick’s radio show on Tuesday. A question was raised during the show: Who would win a three-point contest at the age of 27: Miller, or Larry Bird? Patrick – a guest on his own show in an extremely meta way – said Bird. John Stockton also said Bird. A poll on the show’s website showed fans choosing Bird too.
Surprisingly, Miller himself also said Bird.
Miller explained his logic, saying, “[Bird] makes some unbelievable shots and 3s against us. Obviously, I was a young lad when they beat us in five games in the 1991 playoffs, but I’ve seen him make some unbelievable shots. You talk about confidence and cocky like Lilly King, the mold was done by Larry Legend.”
Bird himself was also a guest on the show, but he was a bit more nuanced with his answer:
“Here’s how I’ll put it, Reggie,” Bird started. “If you were my teammate in the pros, I would win, hands down. If I have the opportunity to coach you, I’d say you win.”
It seems like Bird is saying he’s so good at shooting threes and coaching that he could have made Miller even better than Bird himself was. This level of confidence isn’t surprising from Bird, who also discussed his performance at the 1988 All-Star Game three-point contest. “When I walked in there … (I said) who’s coming in second because I’m going to win this. It was silence. I think they were a little nervous,” said Bird.
He won, of course – and raised his finger before the final shot even went in. “That one looked perfect all the way,” Bird said. “If it had bounced out, I would’ve felt like an idiot.”
So there you have it. In a hypothetical battle between Reggie Miller and Larry Bird, everybody’s taking Bird.
(Via Indianapolis Star)
