Dominique Wilkins has never minced words when it comes to respecting greatness, and in a recent interview on a Hawks podcast with DC YoungFly, the Hall of Famer gave a raw, unfiltered look into just how ruthless Larry Bird was not just with his game, but with his mouth. In Wilkins’ eyes, if you stepped on the court and weren’t 100% ready, Larry Bird would take your heart.
“Larry Bird, if you weren’t ready, he took your heart. You know, Larry was great. There were quite a few guys that talked like that. But Larry and Chuck were some of the best. Larry was number one because everything he said, he did it. He backed it up.”
That’s high praise coming from “The Human Highlight Film” himself, who played in one of the most brutal and competitive eras in NBA history. Wilkins had his share of run-ins with trash talkers – Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas – but none seemed to haunt his memory the way Bird did.
According to Wilkins, it wasn’t just Bird’s words that stung, it was the cold, clinical way he followed through on them.
Wilkins got a firsthand dose of that in March 1985, during one of Larry Bird’s most legendary performances. That night, Bird dropped a jaw-dropping 60 points on the Atlanta Hawks, and he did it with the kind of flair, arrogance, and surgical precision that only Larry Legend could deliver.
It was the type of moment that left even Wilkins’ Hawks teammates dumbfounded.
While Chuck Person may have been the trash talker who brought the most physicality, Bird was psychological warfare personified. He didn’t need size or flash. He used precision, timing, and words that cut deeper than elbows. And the most terrifying part? He meant every single one of them.
For Wilkins, Bird was a different breed.
Trash talk has always been a part of the NBA’s DNA, but only a handful could weaponize it like Bird. And if Dominique Wilkins, a man who put up 26.4 points per game over a 15-year career, says Bird “took your heart,” you better believe him.
Because when Larry said it, he meant it. And more often than not, he made you watch him do it.
