"The problem is that the weakest part of his game is better than what 90 percent of the other players can do" - Bob Cousy was in awe of Larry Bird leading the NBA in 3-pointers

Yahoo

11-07-2025

"The problem is that the weakest part of his game is better than what 90 percent of the other players can do" - Bob Cousy was in awe of Larry Bird leading the NBA in 3-pointers originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Larry Bird's first MVP award in 1983-84 was just the beginning of his rule in the Association. The man from French Lick had found that next level, and the scary part for the rest of the league was that he wasn't coming down anytime soon.
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Bird carried that same MVP form straight into the following season, and by the time the All-Star Game rolled around, it was clear he was onto something special. So special, in fact, that it caught the eye of another Boston Celtics legend, the great Bob Cousy.
"It's unheard of, a 6-foot-9 power forward leading the league in something like three-pointers," Cousy said at the time, per the LA Times. "You would assume that a guard would lead the league in shooting from 21 or 22 feet."
"No one's found a way to play him, he has an answer to whatever teams might do. This year he's not going to the line that often, because they are giving him the outside shot, which is considered the weakest part of his game. He's just taking what they give him, but the problem is that the weakest part of his game is better than what 90 percent of the other players can do," Bob added.
An impressive feat at the time
That was Bird's prime in a nutshell, turning what his opponents thought was a weakness into yet another weapon in his arsenal.
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That 1984-85 campaign marked Bird's sixth All-Star selection in as many seasons. Every year since he entered the league, he had proven himself to be one of the top players on the planet. And while the game has evolved a ton since then, what Bird was doing from beyond the arc during that season was way ahead of its time.
Today, we're used to guys lighting up eight or nine threes a night. But back then? The three-pointer wasn't the focus of offenses the way it is now. And yet there was Bird — a 6-foot-9 forward, not some small, speedy guard — leading the NBA in makes and hitting them at a ridiculous 48% clip.
But Bird was never just about the long ball. His all-around game that season spoke volumes: over 27 points a night, double-digit rebounds, and a free-throw percentage north of 90%. He didn't force anything; Larry just took what defenses gave him and made them pay.
Related: Rick Fox explains why Kobe never hung out with other teammates: "He was on a course and any minute or day wasted doing something else was going to slow him down getting to that point"
Bird always went all out
When people wonder how Bird managed to stay at that level, it all comes back to his mindset. The man played every game, every possession, like it mattered. And nobody put it better than Bird himself.
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"My game is all-out. If I don't play like that, I'm not going to play that well. If you don't go all-out, but just play half-way, it will catch up with you. Otherwise, you'll start playing with just half the ability you can use," said the best player ever to come out of French Lick, Indiana.
That's what separated Bird, except for the one-of-a-kind talent he possessed, the motor, the commitment, the refusal to coast around not doing enough for his team. Larry Legend understood that greatness came from pushing yourself to the limit, night in and night out. And push himself he did. The Celtics legend captured two more consecutive MVP awards after that 1984-85 campaign, making it three in a row — a feat that cemented his place among the all-time greats and is still discussed today.
Related: When K.C. Jones called Larry Bird the best of all time after just six seasons: "Go down the list of the greats and I doubt you'll come up with anyone with all those credentials"
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.