During the heat of the legendary Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons rivalry of the late 1980s/early 1990s, Dennis Rodman famously said, "If [Larry Bird] Was Black, He'd Be Just Another Good Guy." Bird's Celtics faced off against Rodman's Pistons in five separate playoff series from 1985 to 1991, with Rodman's teams winning three of the battles. Although Rodman would go on to win more two NBA Championships than Larry Bird, the latter is widely viewed as one of the ten greatest NBA players of all time, having won three straight MVP awards from 1984 to 1986. In a recent VladTV interview, Dennis Rodman doubled down on his viewpoint regarding his old rival, saying the following:
“If Larry Bird played in this era, I think he’d be in Europe,” Rodman explained. “I’m just letting you know, man. He’d be somewhere over there. His game was fit for Boston at that time in the 80s and stuff like that. In today’s world, oh hell no, there’s no way. I’m not downplaying him because he was a great player at that time, just like I was, but I’m saying no, there’s no way.”
Yesterday, a panel from First Take on ESPN chimed in on Rodman's controversial take. This sparked a debate about one of the greatest European-born players of all time, the 2023 NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokić.
Scroll up to hear what they had to say.
Source: Youtube
