Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Larry Bird Gets Absolute Unfair Comparison To Kyle Korver

Shandel Richardson

Unknown date; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird (33) in action against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images
Unknown date; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird (33) in action against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images / Imagn Images
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The Internet is full of knowledgeable information.

It's also a place for erraneous claims.

That was displayed with a recent meme of NBA great Larry Bird and Kyle Korver. It suggested Bird would be the equivalent to Korver in today's game.

No way.

Korver had a solid career as one of the best 3-pointers in league history. That was the major asset of his game: score from the arc and create opportunities for others because of his shooting. In 2015, he was a key cog in the Atlanta Hawks having the best record in the Eastern Conference. He was an All-Star that season. Korver also helped LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals in 2018.

Bird, who also an elite 3-point shooter, was much more than that. He was among the league's best rebounders and facilitators while also being able to score off the dribble. Bird's 1985 MVP season is arguably one of the best ever when he averaged 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

Unlike Korver, Bird was far more well rounded.

SPIKE LEE HAD OTHERS IN MIND FOR MOVIE ROLE THAN RAY ALLEN

NBA great Ray Allen starred in one of the most iconic basketball films.

He played the lead character, Jesus Shuttleworth, in the movie He Got Game. Allen starred alongside Denzel Washington but it almost never happened.

During an appearance on the Jim Jackson Show, director Spike Lee said he first asked Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson about the role.

"I asked Kobe," Lee said. "He said he was glad that I thought of him. It was summertime, he was working. AI didn't want to audition. He just wanted the part."

It made Lee think of Iverson's infamous "practice" rant.

Lee said, "I was thinking about, `Rehearsal! Rehearsal!"

It's probably better Lee went with Allen, who handled the role with ease. It remains one of the best basketball movies in history.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com