Chris Mullin vs Larry Bird $100 bucks a shot

[KevinNYC]

If there was a shooting contest between Chris Mullin and Larry Bird, who would you pick?

Think about that and then read this

One day, in a quiet and near-empty Barcelona gym, Bird and Mullin got into a shooting contest: man on man, match the other guy's shot or you owe him a hundred bucks. Stays even if both guys make it.

[xcesswee]

Tough one. I'll pick Bird but its close to 50/50

[get these NETS]

walking off with the (money)ball in the air

[AMISTILLILL]

Bird all day, every day.

[BoNafidde]

If they would have kept playing that day, Bird would have won.

[inclinerator]

id go with mullen on 3s and everything else to bird

[KevinNYC]

id go with mullen on 3s and everything else to bird

id go with mullen on 3s and everything else to bird

I have heard stories of both of them going shooting dozens and dozens of shots without a miss. I personally saw Mullin shoot what felt like 30 or 40 20-25ft shots without a miss.


Mullin Link Check out the comments on the page, search for Tokyo and read that comment and the next.

I can't find the Bird link, but it was from a TV guy, maybe for ESPN. Mickey Mantle had come in for interview and just waiting in the back room watching the camera feed from the Boston Garden before a game and he notices Mantle watching closer and closer and then Mantle says, "this guy doesn't miss." And they watched some more without Bird missing.

[DuMa]

If they were drinking, Mullin in a heartbeat

[97 bulls]

I'm going with mullin. He had arguably the sweetest shot in the game.

[Da_Realist]

I have heard stories of both of them going shooting dozens and dozens of shots without a miss. I personally saw Mullin shoot what felt like 30 or 40 20-25ft shots without a miss.


Mullin Link Check out the comments on the page, search for Tokyo and read that comment and the next.

I can't find the Bird link, but it was from a TV guy, maybe for ESPN. Mickey Mantle had come in for interview and just waiting in the back room watching the camera feed from the Boston Garden before a game and he notices Mantle watching closer and closer and then Mantle says, "this guy doesn't miss." And they watched some more without Bird missing.

From Those Guys Have All The Fun

Bill Fairweather (Sportscenter Producer): As I prepared, I remembered when I was twenty-one years old and working at this local station in the sports department and Mickey Mantle came by as part of a promotional tour. He came into the sports office and wound up sitting there while the PR guy was doing some other stuff. So we're in this room together, but I'm not going to bother him. He's Mickey Mantle, right? The office had TV screens with different feeds and games that are going on, but one of the screen had the live feed from Boston Garden. So now it's like 4:30 p.m., and the lights are not even on at the Garden, but Larry Bird is out there shooting, as is his pregame ritual. He would always be out there hours before anyone else, shooting a half an hour or an hour by himself. Not even anyone retrieving the ball.

So Mantle sits back and starts watching Bird shooting, and two minutes go by, and I notice Bird hasn't missed a shot. Two more minutes go by; Bird still hasn't missed a shot. And I see Mantle start to sit up, to get on the edge of his chair and get more and more intently focused on watching this. No joke, Bird has probably taken a hundred shots in a row and not missed one. Mantle is just totally amazed by what he's seeing, and I'm watching him watch Bird. I'm getting a real kick out of this because I'm seeing this guy, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, watching one of the greatest basketball players of all time, all the while knowing that there are only two people in the world who are aware of what's going on now, and it's me and Mickey Mantle.

I think Bird was shooting for close to ten minutes without missing a shot, and finally Mantle gets to the point where he has to say something. He's just so amazed by what he's been seeing that he looks at me and says, "This boy doesn't miss." And I looked at him and I said, "Yeah, but you're Mickey Mantle."

[ballerz]

Larry Legend

[KevinNYC]

Oh yeah, that new ESPN Book.

Wow, just read the review in Time which led to this clip.

Didn't know about this, but I bet everyone who ever watched Jim Rome wanted to do this.

[KevinNYC]

Learned a new word too. The Time review calls Jim Rome rebarbative.

re

[jlauber]

I have mentioned it before, but I attended a Knicks-Warriors game in Oakland in the early 70's, and in the pre-game shoot-around, Jerry Lucas hit some 20 straight shots from between the circles (about 25 ft on average)...high-arching rainbows, and very few even rippled the net. He was past his prime by then, but even years before the media coined the term "Lucas Layup" in his honor. There is also some footage available on YouTube with him swishing FT line HOOK SHOTS (in at least a couple of videos for sure.) All of this from the premier PF of his era. A player that had TWO 20-20 seasons (and several more near-misses.) He was the Kevin Love of his era.

Jon McGlocklin was a 6-5 220 lb. guard that also had 25+ ft. range. He had some outstanding seasons, but in the 70-71 season he shot .535 ... much of it from what would be the 3pt line in today's NBA.

For pure shooting, how about the name of Wilfred Hetzel (article taken in 1970)?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...3519/index.htm

[QUOTE]World's Greatest (and doubtless only) Freak Shot Expert Wilfred Hetzel, who was discharged from the Army in 1943 "for nervousness," is nervous now. In the assembly program at Ladysmith (Va.) High School this morning, the kids were a little restless, and his performance a little ragged. True, he hit over 70% of his gallimaufry of shots

[Miserio]

I'm going with mullin. He had arguably the sweetest shot in the game.

I agree and i'm the biggest larry bird homer of ALL TIMEEE