Over 75 years of history, the NBA has witnessed many controversial moments, including infamous fights that people haven’t forgotten yet, and won’t probably do in the future. One of the most overhyped incidents happened in 1984 when Larry Bird and Julius Erving starred in a very dramatic moment.
In an early season meeting between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, Bird and Erving were going at it, with the former taunting his rival, as he usually did. During the last minutes of the 3rd quarter of that game, Bird and Erving started to fight, with many players from both teams getting involved to break up the brawl.
It’s been almost 40 years since that moment, but NBA fans still remember that Bird and Erving, two of the greatest players the league has ever seen, went at it during a supposed meaningless game.
Robert Parish, who was part of those Celtics, recently opened up about that incident, claiming that Larry Bird often crossed the line with Dr. J, which is why Erving exploded and hit him in the face. Talking with Steiny & Guru on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, Parish recalled that Erving had a terrible game the night of the fight.
“He had probably one of his worst basketball outings ever at the most inopportune time,” Parish said. “Larry constantly reminded him of it.”
While Larry had 42 points, Dr. J only scored 6, something that Bird used against him to make him mad. He added more of his infamous trash-talking until Erving couldn’t take it anymore and attacked Larry Legend.
“If you heard what Larry said to him, you’d understand why,” Parish told the hosts about Erving losing his cool. “And we all know Larry is legendary at trash-talking.
“Oh, man, the trash-talking. Oh my goodness. I would’ve threw a punch if it was me.”
Nobody actually knows what was said at that moment, even though one referee claimed he knew what Larry told Dr. J. Parish didn’t reveal any of that out of fear to do some damage to the show.
“You guys wouldn’t be on the air anymore,” he laughed.
This is a big mystery that won’t be solved anytime soon. It’s been almost 40 years since that happened and neither Larry nor Julius have intentions of addressing something they moved on from the next day. Parish’s words, however, can make people curious to know what was the last straw for Erving during that November 9 game.
