On Thursday, the NBA community found out about this great story of Nolan Richardson and the first time he ever heard about Larry Bird, how he believed he was a black player, and how great he was the first time he heard about the young baller. Richardson, a legendary basketball coach, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and he delivered a great speech, remembering Larry Bird.
“I’m listening to a game. New Mexico State vs. Indiana State. No clue of the players. This name keeps coming… ‘To the right, Bird! Makes the shot, Bird!’ I said ‘goddamn who is Bird?! ‘Did you see the pass that Bird made? I can’t see it, I just had to imagine it. At the time I got to the arena, I said, ‘damn, that brother can play.’ Let me tell you something, when I got the newspaper the next morning and saw Larry’s picture, I said “damn,” Richardson said back in 2014.
Nolan Richardson talking about Larry Bird might be the funniest clip you see on Twitter today 😂 pic.twitter.com/cDKoPMfJuT
— Tye Richardson 🐗 (@TyeSportsRadio) February 11, 2021
That video resurfaced in recent hours and everybody was laughing about it, including LeBron James, who was in awe with the story and didn’t hesitate to pay respect to the Boston Celtics legend. After Dwyane Wade reacted to the video with a laughing emoji, the King went further and expressed his admiration for Larry, one of the greatest to ever do it.
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 12, 2021
“That’s INCREDIBLE!! And Larry Legend was an ABSOLUTE MONSTER!!! love his game so much!! IQ insane and passion about just playing winning basketball was through the roof! RESPECT beyond he even knows,” James tweeted.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!! That’s INCREDIBLE!! And Larry Legend was a ABSOLUTE MONSTER!!! love his game so much!! IQ insane and passion about just playing winning basketball was through the roof! RESPECT beyond he even knows https://t.co/vnZPREm0zW
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 12, 2021
Bird was really one of a kind, a tricky player who looked like a regular guy but was incredibly athletic and one of the biggest trash talkers ever. The 3x NBA champion left his mark on the league and everybody respects him for what he did. Larry was something else and one of the most influential players of his time; LeBron’s big praise for him is the prime sample of that.
