Earlier this summer, ESPN hoops commentator and analyst Jim Durham sat down with two of basketball's biggest coaching legends: Dr. Jack Ramsay and Hubie Brown. In a series entitled "Legends from the Legends," one of the questions posed to both was: "Who was the best opposing player you ever had to coach against?"
Dr. Jack doesn't hesitate to answer with "The Birdman" although he wasn't referring to the Denver Nuggets designated energy man, Chris Andersen. No, he was referring to Larry Bird and he discussed in detail, one particular game at the Boston Garden in January of 1985. It's one of Bird's most memorable game-winning shots, also one of the most difficult he ever made. Dr. Jack does get one of the details wrong however when he states that this game was before the 3-point line existed, but nonetheless it's great to hear him tell the tale. Here's the clip from the game ending sequence, with Johnny Most on the call:
Hubie Brown briefly touches on Dr. J and George McInnis from his ABA days, then discusses Magic Johnson and the two times Michael Jordan dropped 50 on his teams. Then, he also tells the story of how he felt when Bird and the Celtics defeated Hubie's New York Knicks in 7 games during the 1984 playoffs. Could it be that Hubie was the first to give Bird the nickname "Larry Legend" in the aftermath of that series? It's possible. The clip below will take you to the entire Game 7: