Quote:
Originally Posted by ChampsAgainShoon
I don't think Luka will ever be like Larry Bird in that aspect either, but from talent you're just born with he's probably more talented than Bird without being the assassin Bird is. OTTH, Bird was a better shooter and better defensively.
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I actually think Luka's ceiling might be just as high as Bird's. I think he might be every bit the "assassin" Bird was. Their skillsets are different, but Luka seems to have the same flare for the moment that all the greats do. If nothing else though, Luka might have advantage over Bird just by staying healthy. It's mostly been forgotten as the years have passed, but Bird actually had a pretty short career for an all-time great. He retired at 35, but his body started to break down while he was still in his prime. By 1988, he was in constant pain and could barely move. He sat out virtually all of '89 season, and in his last two years, he missed nearly half the games and spent many nights in the hospital
in traction to rest his back, and then even when he wasn't missing games, he was wearing a back brace.
Medical science has come so far since the 80s, that as long as Luka doesn't destroy his back lifting cement for his grandmother's driveway, he should have a much longer career than Bird.