Larry Bird says LeBron James might be best player in NBA, but Kobe Bryant would be the teammate to win with

Former Celtics great says "It would have probably been more fun to play with LeBron, but if you want to win and win and win, it's Kobe."

Associated PressLarry Bird averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists, and won three MVP awards during his 13-year NBA career.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Pick an all-time basketball team of players with the "will to win," and former Boston Celtics great Larry Bird would make the cut.

(Not that he was lacking in physical ability, either)

Bird's Celtics won three NBA championships and lost in the Finals two other times, during an era when the league arguably had its best depth of outstanding teams.

It remains one of college basketball's most improbable stories that Bird led Indiana State to the 1979 national championship game, where the Sycamores lost to Magic Johnson's Michigan State team.

Bird, as reported by ESPN.com, visited "The B.S. Report" with Bill Simmons of Grantland.com and said that former Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James, now in his second season with the Miami Heat, is among the sport's greatest players, maybe today's best.

(The Cavaliers play in Miami tonight against James and the Heat)

Bird's absolute priority on the basketball court was always winning. Given that, Bird picked Los Angeles Lakers' veteran Kobe Bryant when he was asked to choose which current NBA player he'd most like to play a season with.

From ESPN Los Angeles, Bird's reply to which of today's players he'd most want to play with:

"Well, probably Kobe, because of the fact that ... well, of course he wouldn't have been shooting as much as he does now ... but his desire to win, his dedication, to always get better, uh, and he's just, he's just tough," Bird said. "He's just a tough cat.

"But, if you want to have fun, like I did with Bill Walton, play with LeBron. It would have probably been more fun to play with LeBron, but if you want to win and win and win, it's Kobe. Not that LeBron's not a winner, just that [Kobe's] mindset is to go into every practice, every game, to get better."

Bryant has won five championships with the Lakers, one short of the legend he's most often compared to, Michael Jordan. James joined the Miami Heat last season and fell short in the NBA Finals, leaving him searching for his first title.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2012/02/larry_bird_says_lebron_james_m.html

Pakistan cricket betting scandal Egypt Botswana Sir Michael Lyons Robert Schumann Energy