Bird on Dirk: “There Are a Lot of Similarities Between Us”

NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird joined Galloway and Company on ESPN Radio recently to discuss all things Mavericks. As it has always been a fairly popular comparison, the one between the Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki and Bird--and never more popular than now, with the Mavericks having won their first NBA Championship on the back of Nowitzki’s Finals MVP-worthy performance--the issue was put to Larry Legend himself.

So how does Bird feel about the Big German?

"I can see a lot of the same things that he does that I did,” Bird said, per ESPN Dallas. “We both were tall and able to shoot from outside. We rebound the ball pretty well. We’re dedicated to the game. There are a lot of similarities between us. ... He does everything. And that’s why they compare us. Because we’re big, we can shoot from outside and we’re not only scorers – we try to do it all."

Okay, so Bird certainly understands the comparisons between he and Dirk--but he won’t get into making the comparison himself, as he made clear on GAC.

"I don’t get into that,” he said. “That’s for other people to debate. I just know that I love his game. I like his demeanor on the court, the way that he loves to play. You can compare him to me if you want to. I’m just happy for the young man and it’s an honor for me to just have his name mentioned with mine."