That Old Celtic Magic

SLAM: You played with some talented players—Bird at the end of his career, Reggie Lewis, a young Vince, TMac when he led the league in scoring—are there one or two guys that stick out as the best you played with?
Dee Brown: Bird. Even though it was the end of his career, he was one of, if not the best player on the court every game. Reggie was so talented, I think he was really the next great two-guard. I saw him do some things in the playoffs against Cleveland that Jordan didn’t do. He was just so talented on both ends of the court. Vince and Tracy early in their career, they brought another element to the game. Guys who could score and elevate. They brought an aura to Toronto that was not there before. But the guy that really always comes to mind is Larry Bird. Just how he approached the game. Guys like Bird don’t come around [often]. We used to shoot after practice for hours, just to show me that he was the best shooter to ever play. He was always the first one at pratcie and the last one to leave. Even in that state of his career, where he wasn’t the healthiest, he was still the best. To play with him for a few years was incredible and really humbles you as a player, because a guy that good always wanted to continue to become great.