Everyone makes mistakes — but this one was particularly rough.
During ESPN’s Christmas Day broadcast of the Boston Celtics vs. the Milwaukee Bucks, play-by-play man Mark Jones referred to Larry Bird as a “late great” NBA superstar.
There’s no doubt that Bird is an all-time NBA “great,” but the 66-year-old Hall of Famer is still very much alive.
Jones quickly corrected his mistake.
“Not even the late” he said, “the great Larry Bird did that.”
Jones was highlighting the rich history of the Boston Celtics organization while setting up an interesting milestone that Jayson Tatum could eclipse this season.
Larry Bird never averaged more than 30 points per game, topping out at 29.9 in 1987-88. Tatum is currently averaging 31.1 points per game through the first 33 games of the 2022-23 season.