Back in the 80’s, the two teams that went back and forth as NBA champions and had arguably one of the biggest rivalries in sports was the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. The two players that were the faces of the franchises back then were none other than Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. These days both Bird and Magic are highly involved and highly respected in terms of their opinions in the NBA and recently the Celtics legend made an interesting statement.

Apparently, Larry Bird believes that the Miami Heat’s LeBron James is the best player in the league today. Bird believes that the fans should sit back and watch history being made with LeBron at the helm, but the three-time NBA champion also believes that if he had the choice to play alongside either Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers or LeBron James that he would take Kobe.

This is an interesting choice for Larry Bird as it could be argued that the former Celtics forward plays much more like LeBron James rather than Kobe Bryant. Maybe that is the reason he would choose Kobe Bryant as the two would have more chemistry and wouldn’t play the same position, but one of the thing the three-time NBA champion said that sticks out about Kobe is his desire to win and get better.

Those attributes alone are enough to convince the three-time NBA MVP and NBA champion that Kobe Bryant would be the better teammate and the best chance to be an NBA champion once again. In my opinion, Larry Bird is right on the money with this one as Kobe Bryant would be the better teammate in terms of chances of winning consistently. Until LeBron James wins his first title, this will be the consensus.

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