re: NBA question: Better player Bird or Barkley

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Bird but Barkley definitely was a great one

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Bird was a top five player.

Barkley was amazing and one of my favorite personalities. Chuck underestimates Bird for several reasons:

1. His peak really came just as Bird's body gave out.
2. Barkley's greatest abilities were exactly the things Bird didn't have: explosive power, speed, and strength.
3. Bird's greatest abilities were the things Barkley didn't have: great touch and vision.

Both men were tough and would fight rather than back down (on and off the court) but their leadership styles and personalities were very different. Even though both were trash talkers they even did that differently. Bird would tell you what he was going to do in a normal tone of voice whereas Chuck would get in your face and let the spit fly.