LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the two best players in NBA history, but John Salley believes Larry Bird was better than him in their primes.
Salley said that without any hesitation too, which speaks to how strong his belief is on this matter. He also applauded Bird for dominating on the court while playing through various injuries.
Salley revealed later in this segment that he was a big Boston Celtics fan, so he is perhaps a little bit biased here. Let’s take a look at whether Bird really has a claim to having a better prime than LeBron.
For me, Bird’s prime would be from 1983-84 to 1987-88. In those five seasons, he averaged 27.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. Bird was also remarkably efficient in those years, shooting 51.2% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc.
As for accolades, Bird won two championships (1984, 1986), two Finals MVPs (1984, 1986), and three MVPs (1984, 1985, 1986) in that period. He also made the All-NBA First Team in all five seasons and there is no denying that it was an incredible prime.
When it comes to LeBron, he has been so great for so long that it can be a bit difficult to pick just one stretch of his career as his prime. For the comparison here, I have gone from 2008-09 to 2012-13.
LeBron averaged 27.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in those five seasons. He also shot 51.8% from the field and 35.1% from three in that time.
Like Bird, James also had a lot of success from both an individual and team standpoint in those years. He won two titles (2012, 2013), two Finals MVPs (2012, 2013), and four MVPs (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) in that five-year stretch.
LeBron made the All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team in all those seasons as well. He finished runner-up for DPOY twice in that stretch too.
So, their primes might have been closer than you might think, but I believe James does get the edge. He was a far better defender than Bird was, and while he wasn’t as good a shooter, he managed to be just as effective on offense.
