Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird had some epic battles on the court during their illustrious careers and while their rivalry wasn’t quite as iconic as some others, it was still quite special. Wilkins spoke about it during his recent appearance on the All The Smoke podcast and revealed they never spoke to each other during their playing days.
“Larry and I, we played against each other like 12, 13 years. We never shook hands. We never spoke,” Wilkins said. “As great players back then, you didn’t want another great player to get that close to you. So, none of us liked each other. Never spoke.”
“Again, never talked till we retired,” Wilkins added. “And then he had an interview and they was talking about trash-talking. He said, ‘You take Dominique, I have more respect for him than any player I ever played against.’ I never knew he felt that way. That was one of the few times he ever said anything to me. Now, today, we’re friends.”
Stars not being all that close was certainly the norm back then, with Bird and Magic Johnson being rare exceptions. Once the stars were done competing, though, hostilities tended to die down, for the most part.
Thankfully, that happened in the case of Bird and Wilkins as well. As for how they fared against each other during their careers, the Boston Celtics icon had the clear upper hand. Bird had a 30-12 record against Wilkins in the regular season and was 10-5 against him in the playoffs.
Of all those clashes, the most iconic one was Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Wilkins had 47 points that night while Bird had 34, including 20 in the fourth quarter. They traded buckets in that final period and Bird’s Celtics would eventually emerge victorious, winning 118-116.
Dominique Wilkins Blasted Dennis Rodman And JJ Redick For Their Comments On Larry Bird
While Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever, it doesn’t mean he has no detractors. Dennis Rodman claimed Bird would be playing in Europe if he played in this era while JJ Redick felt he isn’t one of the top five shooters of all time and didn’t have the physicality needed for today’s game. Wilkins blasted both Rodman and Redick for their comments on Bird.
“I respect Dennis. A lot of respect, Dennis. No, Dennis was either a good dude, but that’s delusional. Delusional. Larry Bird could play in any era and do the same thing he did in our era. It couldn’t handle him. Today’s players could not handle him. Period.”
“He’s (Redick) stupid. I mean, it’s a stupid comment because Larry Bird played the most physical era ever. He’s 6’10”, almost 6’11”, and he was physical himself to say that he wouldn’t be playing this league because this league is too physical.”
“Like, what league are you watching? Physicality is gone. It’s not like it was back then, and it’s nobody’s fault. It’s just times change. And for JJ Redick to say stuff like that is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard.”
I think Bird would have been a great player in this era as well. Sure, he wasn’t the greatest athlete, but the likes of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic have shown that it is possible to dominate the game without being one. I believe great players like Bird, would have figured out a way to excel in any era.
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