Larry Bird was known during his time to be an intense trash-talker and someone who could back it up after doing it. There are many legendary stories of him destroying his opponents while talking smack to them, but there was a time he completely destroyed Dominique Wilkins. During a crucial do-or-die playoff game in 1983, Bird dominated Wilkins and did so while telling him to enjoy his summer.
“I took him completely out of his game, which is what I set out to do,” Bird said, as reported by Sports Illustrated at the time. “I told him to go back to the bench and sit down and that I hoped he had a nice summer. He’s just a rookie, so you got to take your shots wherever you can get ’em.”
The interaction occurred in the middle of a big brawl between the two teams, which goes to show that Larry Bird was focused on the game even when tensions were rising. He finished the game with 26 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds. Not just that, he was the player guarding Wilkins, who he limited to just 8 points in the contest.
During the 1982-83 season, the Boston Celtics weren’t exactly at their best and they didn’t even make the NBA Finals. But Larry Bird still found time to have an iconic playoff moment while welcoming rookie Dominique Wilkins to the league. He truly was in a league of his own as a superstar.
Gary Payton Once Explained How Larry Bird Would Trash-Talk Player
Larry Bird’s trash-talk wasn’t limited to just his opponents, he would be doing it to his Celtics teammates in practice as well. And he could be really ruthless too, Gary Payton once spoke about what made his words so potent.
“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.’ He used to tell you when he was gonna shoot it in your face and how you couldn’t stop [him] and how you ain’t no good to him.”
There has never been another superstar quite like Larry Bird. Even when the Celtics weren’t winning championships in the 1980s, he was still ensuring that he was the best player on the court on any given night. It would be great to see more players with swagger like his in the current NBA.
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