Larry Bird Says NBA Needs More White Stars...

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Reuters) - Hall of Famer Larry Bird says the NBA needs more white stars if it is to continue to appeal to its fan base. In an interview with ESPN to be aired Thursday ahead of the Game Three of the NBA finals, the former Boston Celtic, widely considered one of the greatest players ever to hit the hardwood, was asked if the league lacked white superstars. "Well, I think so," Bird said. "You know when I played you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league. "I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. "But it is a black man's game and it will be forever. I mean the greatest athletes in the world are African-American." Bird, now the Indiana Pacers (news) president of basketball operations, made the comments during a round-table discussion that included Magic Johnson and NBA rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Former Los Angeles Lakers (news) great Johnson said: "We need some more Larry Birds. I mean, you know, you want that. Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood. "When you say 'Larry Bird', black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him respect." While Bird had the respect of basketball fans, the former-Celtic felt he was not always respected by opposing coaches when they sent out white players to guard him. "I didn't care who guarded me -- red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me because it's disrespect to my game," said Bird in a portion of the interview played on ESPN. While the NBA has a breakdown of players by nationality, the league said it does not breakdown players according to race. A report in the Chicago Tribune, however, said that of the 408 players in the NBA last season, 76.5 were black.