1. Larry Bird
Long before Stephen Curry was lighting up from beyond the 3-point line, Larry Bird was creating a legendary career based on pure skill and marksmanship.
Bird is an anomaly in NBA history. He is perhaps the only all-time great who isn’t an elite athlete. Aside from occasionally beating defenders off the dribble and elevating a few inches for a two-hand jam, Bird was mostly dominating due to his IQ and hand-crafted talents.
Bird’s career speaks for itself. He won three championships, reached 12 All-Star Games, 10 All-NBA teams, three All-Defensive teams and captured three MVPs.
The Warriors had a chance to be home to all of Bird’s greatness in the 1978 NBA Draft. Instead, the Dubs selected Purvis Short, a power forward out of Jackson State University. Short actually had a long and productive career with the Warriors, averaging 19.4 points across nine seasons.
But, Short was no Larry Bird. There is no doubt that Bird could have drastically changed the Warriors’ history and helped make them a dynasty back in the 80s. Bird is the biggest star the Dubs ever missed out on.