Growing up in Michigan, I disliked Larry Bird and his Boston Celtics a lot.

It wasn’t until later in Bird’s career, and after he had retired that I began to look past my prejudice and really appreciate the man’s basketball ability.

Bird is the owner of one of my top-3 favorite NBA plays of all time. Bird is one of 4-5 players in NBA history that could pull a play like this off; he had the hustle, creativity, and court I.Q.

Amazing. Bird hustles to the rebound, pops the ball out of Clark Kellogg’s hands, and as the ball shoots straight up in the air, Bird sees teammates streaking down the court.

In one motion, Bird jumps up in the air, grabs the ball, cocks back and throws a baseball pass down the court – resulting in a Robert Parish dunk.

Larry Bird was a phenomenal passer in a regular offense, but a lot of his highlight passes were only possible because he sacrificed his body and took chances.

Bird’s hustle caused chaos because if he stole the ball or threw his body around to create opportunities, the defense was unprepared, and Larry Bird took advantage of those situations.

Take a look at some of his career highlight passes at YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.

• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time
• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time part 2
• Larry Bird: Greatest Passer of All-Time part 3