Meanwhile, Bird's playing style lends itself to longevity. She is not overly reliant on speed or athleticism. She knows when to defer and when to attack. It's no coincidence that as her scoring average dipped to a career-low 10.1 this year, her assists spiked. And besides, scoring was never what made Bird great.
"If she scores zero points, she'll have 10 or 15 assists," says Tamika Catchings, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer. "Even if she might not be scoring, she's always a threat on the floor. She's that silent killer."
Adds Alana Beard, the Defensive Player of the Year: "It's the control. You can't get her to do anything she doesn't want to do. You can't speed her up or slow her down. One thing I notice with her, you gotta pressure her, make her feel you the entire game. Hopefully at the end she's too tired to do anything, but that's never the case."
Parker, who's won two Olympic gold medals with Bird, feels that Bird has gained a mastery of on-court action that few possess. "As she has continued to age, she has done so while making the game slow down and be played at the pace and speed she wants," she says. "She's two possessions ahead of everyone. Bird is a mentor in the way she thinks the game, but most of all the way she dictates it." |