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Former NBA player sparks heated Larry Bird-Kawhi Leonard GOAT debate

Matthew Wadleigh

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Former NBA player sparks heated Larry Bird-Kawhi Leonard GOAT debate image

The GOAT debate will never get old when it comes to the NBA. Of course, superstars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan will live in those GOAT debates for a long time. 

After the Los Angeles Clippers' Game 2 win over the Denver Nuggets, the Kawhi Leonard conversation was brought up. Is Leonard one of the best small forwards in the history of the game? 

When he's healthy, he definitely belongs in that conversation. However, there are plenty of superstar small forwards in the history of the NBA, including Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. 

Well, former NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner Lou Williams surprisingly said Leonard deserves to be ahead of Bird in the all-time SF conversation. 

"Why is Larry Bird an untouchable in this conversation," Williams said. "I'm not challenging nothing about Larry Bird. I'm asking why he's an untouchable in this conversation when we're out LeBron James, Kevin Durant."

"I know exactly who he is," Williams said about Bird's NBA resume. 

Of course, there are other star power forwards including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, but Williams was wondering why Bird is never a player who gets knocked out of the conversation. 

 

The Run It Back crew debated the SF debate, and Bird's name was tossed around quite a bit. 

"Why are we stopping the buck at Larry Bird is what I'm asking," Williams stated. "So let's put Kawhi at 3 then, are you comfortable with that?" 

DeMarcus Cousins and Chandler Parsons also chimed in on the debate, but Williams continued to ask about Bird's status on the list. 

"My list is LeBron, KD, Kawhi, Larry Bird and then it gets choppy from there," Williams concluded. 

Cousins kept saying "LeBron and Bird" on the list, and everything after that didn't matter to the former Kings big man. 

It's a fun debate, and only time will tell how Leonard's career comes to an end. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.