Larry Bird stories

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Richfield, Ohio. April 25, 1985

A bad elbow kept him in the Holiday Inn while his teammates lost Game 3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was bad enough. But when the Cleveland fans and moronic electronic media had the audacity to cry, "We want Bird!" Larry needed no more motivation to suit up for Game 4. "They don't know what they're saying," he snarled. "They don't want me. They don't want no part of me. I'm gonna throw both barrels at 'em." It was vintage WWF. It was vintage Larry Bird. He made sure he came out early for warmups. He waved to the crowd. He took a lap around the floor. And then he buried the Cavs with 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. Talk about John Wayne clearing the room . . . "I loved it," he said. "I loved every minute of it."

Larry: "I remember one of the referees came up to me before the game and said that if the crowd came out of the stands they would protect me. Oh, I had the fans riled up, but I knew we'd play well because I knew the other players would back me up. I was ready to play that night."

 

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Portland. Feb. 14, 1986

Mr. Ambidexterity

As if 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and the game-winning basket with three seconds left in overtime weren't enough, Larry spiced this one by making seven lefthanded shots. Memorial Coliseum was always one of his favorite arenas, but this was his Northwest Picasso. So what was the deal with all the southpaw baskets? "I'm savin' my right hand for the Lakers," he said, alluding to the Celtics' next opponent.

Larry: "I told 'em I was workin' on that lefthand shot all summer to go at Michael Cooper, and I was just tryin' it out."

Breh lmao.....

 

[nieman]

Portland. Feb. 14, 1986

Mr. Ambidexterity

As if 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and the game-winning basket with three seconds left in overtime weren't enough, Larry spiced this one by making seven lefthanded shots. Memorial Coliseum was always one of his favorite arenas, but this was his Northwest Picasso. So what was the deal with all the southpaw baskets? "I'm savin' my right hand for the Lakers," he said, alluding to the Celtics' next opponent.

Larry: "I told 'em I was workin' on that lefthand shot all summer to go at Michael Cooper, and I was just tryin' it out."

Breh lmao.....

 

[Listen]

Can you imagine if he was a current day player????

 

[CJ]

Portland. Feb. 14, 1986

Mr. Ambidexterity

As if 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and the game-winning basket with three seconds left in overtime weren't enough, Larry spiced this one by making seven lefthanded shots. Memorial Coliseum was always one of his favorite arenas, but this was his Northwest Picasso. So what was the deal with all the southpaw baskets? "I'm savin' my right hand for the Lakers," he said, alluding to the Celtics' next opponent.

Larry: "I told 'em I was workin' on that lefthand shot all summer to go at Michael Cooper, and I was just tryin' it out."

Breh lmao.....

These Larry stories are honestly the GOAT for me. Just sheer swag and 0 fukks throughout And had the game to back up all that shyt talking.

 

[Da_Eggman]

I know there are some more gems we haven’t heard yet

 

[Listen]

Reggie Miller recalled his encounter with Larry Bird’s legendary trash talking ability in his book “I Love Being The Enemy”. Reggie tried to disrupt Larry’s concentration when he was shooting free throws late in a game. Larry glared at him, made the first free throw and said, “Rook, I am the best ****ing shooter in the league. In the league, understand? And you’re up here trying to ****ing tell me something?” Then Larry buried the second free throw.

 

[Juggalo Fred]

Portland. Feb. 14, 1986

Mr. Ambidexterity

As if 47 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and the game-winning basket with three seconds left in overtime weren't enough, Larry spiced this one by making seven lefthanded shots. Memorial Coliseum was always one of his favorite arenas, but this was his Northwest Picasso. So what was the deal with all the southpaw baskets? "I'm savin' my right hand for the Lakers," he said, alluding to the Celtics' next opponent.

Larry: "I told 'em I was workin' on that lefthand shot all summer to go at Michael Cooper, and I was just tryin' it out."

Breh lmao.....

 

[TNOT]

Larry got his swag from playing with black dudes on the county jail court. That’s why he wasn’t afraid to talk shyt to black dudes.

 

[Regular_P]

Remember Bird’s legendary game against the Hawks when he dropped 60?



We’ll allow Doc Rivers to tell the story:

“Bird got in the zone and he started calling the shots, he started saying “off the glass”, that was the one game I think he tortured Dominique.

“He saw Dominique as this up and coming player and he just tortured him, mentally. He tortured all of us, he was calling shots,”off the glass” “who’s next”, “where you want this one from” and he just made one after another. When he got to about the 55th point you knew it was something special.”

“Even as a player, and that usually doesn’t happen, but we were down so much at the time, you got time to realise the game. The last shot, he said “in the trainer’s lap” coming down the court, which meant it was going to be a three and it was going to from deep, and then he said “who wants it?”. Then I think Reggie Brown, I’m not sure who it was, ran out after him, he shot this high rainbow, it goes in, Reggie bumps into him and accidentally knocks him on our trainer’s lap.

“So it was exactly what he said, it was an accident but it was almost fate. They show a shot of our bench, Cliff Livingston and Eddie Johnson are standing up giving each other high fives, it was pretty awesome.

“That night was not awesome. We had to go back to the room, and Mike Fratello, instead of going out to eat, he had a team meeting and put the film in and says “it’s one thing to be in awe, it’s another thing to cheer for the other team”. And he shows this back and forth, and kept rewinding the high five. It was awesome.”

Look at those two.

If that happened today, there'd be a ten page thread on here calling them c00ns and social media would have had a fukking meltdown over what they did. Probably would have had to hold a press conference or something the next day.

 

[YoungMoneyCashMoneyBoy]

Larry got his swag from playing with black dudes on the county jail court. That’s why he wasn’t afraid to talk shyt to black dudes.

 

[Guile]

Wasn't he a flake in college?

 

[Listen]

Wasn't he a flake in college?

For his college career, he averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, leading the Sycamores to an 81–13 record during his tenure.

Nope, he wasn’t a flake in College. He lost to Magic in the NCAA championship game, which started their entire rivalry, the best in NBA history.

 

[Listen]

That whole 86 Celtics squad was full of trash talking.

“The first time I got into a game against the Celtics, they were up by 20 points in the fourth quarter,” he said. “Kevin and I were coming up court, and he whispered to me: 'When you get the ball, just move in close and shoot a jumper. I won't even block it. I want to make you look good.’ I thought it was nice of him. So the first time I got the ball, I took my time and went up for my shot. Next thing I knew, Kevin was slapping the ball off my forehead. He smiled and said, ‘Sorry, I lied.’ ”

“I felt so bad for the guy,” Bird said, “and he was pissed. I went over to K.C. Jones and I said, ‘Get me out of here. This kid’s out of control.’ It was the worst thing I’d ever seen on the basketball court, but that’s why I remember it to this day. You don’t do that to your friend.”


- When Kevin McHale fukked with an old college teammate

 

[Guile]

For his college career, he averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, leading the Sycamores to an 81–13 record during his tenure.

Nope, he wasn’t a flake in College. He lost to Magic in the NCAA championship game, which started their entire rivalry, the best in NBA history.

He left the Hoosiers and took a year off from hoops, right?