Larry Bird is one of the most legendary players in NBA history. The ‘Hick From French Lick’ in a top-10 all-time player and has a heap of accolades to his name. He is the only player to have ever won a hattrick (3 consecutive) of MVP trophies and is a 3-time NBA Champion. Bird was the cornerstone of 80s basketball alongside Magic Johnson, as their Lakers-Celtics rivalry burned bright.
During that time, Bird also developed a reputation of being one of the most lethal trash-talkers ever. He used to tell players they need to double team him, he told them where and when he was going to shoot, and he even kept trash-talking players after he became a coach.
Former NBA All-Star Jamal Mashburn was on the Knuckleheads podcast and told a story about the time the 9th pick from the 1993 Draft, Rodney Rogers, got into a talking match with him at practice.
“[Larry Bird] walked by us and said ‘yall those college guys?’ and we said yeah. He looked at us and he said ‘get some f***ing rest, it’s going to be a long week.”
“So we lit their a** up and we get back to the hotel. Rodney Rogers says something to them and everybody’s shooting the sh*t. And Rodney said, ‘Hey Larry, you ain’t hit a jumper since ’84.’ Magic heard that sh*t. The next day we came in, Magic Johnson fed Larry Bird the ball probably 8 times in a row. Bird got the ball on Rogers and every time he made a move, he told him what he was going to do. ‘One dribble, pull-up, going left, off glass? Bucket’. He scored 8 or 9 times in a row, left the court to lay down, and said ‘young fella, you like ’84 huh?”
Bird was extremely cold-blooded and even when he was on the verge of retirement, he taught the young Rogers a lesson. While Rodney Rogers was a great NBA player and a former Sixth Man Of The Year winner, he never really came close to equalling what Larry Bird achieved.
The Celtic great has left players all throughout eras with some great stories like this. He was the most confident man on the court and that is what enabled him to dominate during his NBA career.
