Larry Bird came into the league with many expecting him to become a superstar. Even as a rookie, it was obvious that Bird was special. He could do things on the court that looked set to lead the Celtics back to winning NBA championships.
And even as a rookie, Larry Bird struck fear into the hearts of opposition fans. He revealed in his book, ‘Bird Watching’ that he received death threats in his first year, including when he was in Bew York.
“I remember during my rookie year, we played an exhibition game in New York City,” the forward recalled. “I was rooming with Tiny Archibald, and the phone rang and I picked it up, and somebody was on the other end telling me they were going to kill me. I hung up, and Tiny said, ‘Who was that?’ I told him, ‘Some guy that’s going to kill me.’”
Larry Bird was the sort of man who wasn’t scared of anything, as he would go on to prove during his career. However, at that moment, it was still a nasty thing to experience, and Archibald ended up stepping in for Bird.
“The phone rang again, and this time Tiny picked it up,” the forward continued. “He chewed the guy out for 10 minutes, but I wasn’t upset about it.”
Larry Bird may not have been fazed by the encounter, but it shows the importance of teammates, with Archibald stepping up to defend his rookie. The entire episode is a crazy one, but Bird always gave as good as he got, as evidenced by his legendary trash-talking on the court.
Gary Payton Revealed How Cold-Blooded Larry Bird Was
Larry Bird played in front of one of basketball history’s biggest audiences in college, he wasn’t one to be too shaken by a random death threat. And his cold-bloodedness translated to the court as well, as seen by how he would psychologically go at his opponents.
“He’d tell you like this … ‘You know what? I don’t know what you got for Christmas, but I know what I’mma give you. What I’mma do is I’mma take you on this block, I’mma dribble two times, and then Imma pull up in your face … and that will be your Christmas present from me.’
The mentality Larry Bird had hasn’t been seen in the NBA again. He was ruthless, so much so that real-life death threats didn’t affect him too much. That element of the game needs to be checked and reigned in, no player should ever have to deal with it, but Larry Bird and Tiny Archibald did the best anyone can do in that situation.
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