Larry Bird is one of the biggest legends in NBA history. The Boston Celtics icon made a huge impact on the league, collecting many honors while leading the C’s to the promised land.
Even though he didn’t look like a threat, Larry was a real menace and his trash-talking skills were out of this world. He was a very humble guy when he didn’t have a basketball in his hands, but once he entered the court, Larry Legend became a different person.
Incredible trash talkers like Gary Payton have named Bird the coldest trash talker he ever faced, and Bird wasn’t afraid of admitting he enjoyed destroying rivals, as he did with Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Even after his retirement, Bird was a terrific shooter, and many years after hanging the boots, the small forward still knocked shots, surprising former and current players. During his time as the president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, Bird once shocked Paul George and the rest of the team when he made 15 straight shots while wearing a suit.
Back in 2013, the current Los Angeles Clippers player revealed a curious story about Bird’s incredible shooting talents. During a Q&A session with SLAM, George recalled how impressive Bird was.
SLAM: You rocked the Petros and Money radio show when you interviewed with them last year. I loved some of the things you had said about Larry Bird. How influential has he been on your growth?
PG: He’s had a lot of influence. Larry was the first person I really talked to when I was struggling in the Playoffs last year (2012) against Miami. We had at least a one-hour or two-hour phone convo about what I need to improve on, what areas I can get better at. How to attack, how to play within the team. He’s been someone in my corner during my career.
SLAM: I believe you had talked about seeing Larry shoot in the gym.
PG: He picked a ball up that had rolled over. He rolled up his sleeves and made about 15 in a row and just walked out like nothing just happened. It was the craziest thing I’ve seen.
SLAM: How did you and the rest of the team react?
PG: We were speechless. We didn’t know whether to keep shooting or just to end practice. It was sweet, man.
This is major proof of the talent Larry had. He didn’t attempt as many long-range shots as Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, or Stephen Curry, but he was a terrific shooter. Many years after he called it a career, he kept making those shots with extreme ease.
PG13 saw that firsthand and he couldn’t believe what his eyes witnessed. Larry Legend was something else and these stories only confirm that he was a terrific scorer, and one of the best all-around players in NBA history.
