As much as I hated him. Celtics were nothing without Bird. A case can be made for Bird helping make Parrish, McHale great players. I dont think one can say the reverse. Bird made the whole thing work.

How far would the Spurs go without Duncan? The Spurs would have ZERO championships. Would Parker and Ginobili ever have made an Allstar team... I doubt it.

David Robinson knows he would probably not have made the top 50 alltime list without a championship. And that championship in 1999, required a great rookie. Same with Bird. McHale championships without Bird? I dont think so.