“I was getting ready to start a game, get up to the jumpball, and Larry says, out of the blue, he says “go ahead Kevin, tell Elvin Hayes what you told me.” Source: ESPN Classic 7) “You Said You Were Going to Kick His Ass” – Bird vs Elvin Hayes I don’t wanna hear that, that’s Celtics and the Lakers! Every time he hit one he looked at me.” He walks down to me and says “man, I’m sorry you’re not playing, but I’ma tell you what, you’re here I’m a put on a show for you, so you just sit back and watch.” “I’ve got a pulled hamstring so I’m not playing. Magic Johnson was injured in one match up with the Celtics, but that didn’t stop Bird going over to have a word: Source: ESPN Classic 6) “I’ma Put a Show on For You” – Bird vs Magic “Hey, Frank, haven’t you got anyone on the bench who can guard me? Because nobody out here can.” Frank looks down the Bench and he goes, ‘no!'”. He run by the bench and goes “that’s a heat check to see how hot I am,” he runs by Frank Layden who’s the funniest guy in the league and Frank is coaching and Larry says to him: “I remember the time when Larry got on a roll, started shooting the ball, every shot was going in.
Source: ESPN Classic 5) “That’s a Heat Check” – Larry Got Hot “Larry Bird catches the ball in the corner and I take off running at Larry Bird, and right when he’s getting ready to shoot, I jump and as I go by him, he tells me “fly, bird” and I go right by him, he shoots the ball and it’s nothing but nylon.” Source: ESPN Classic 4) “Fly Bird” – Larry vs Brad Daughertyīrad Daugherty talks about the time Bird got him: “He proceeded to score 10 straight points on me, coach took me out the game, he walks by and he’s laughing at me.” He goes “Confident? You’re a rookie, you don’t know anything!”
“I was guarding him my rookie year, he looked at me and he goes “you can’t stop me”…I looked at him and said “gosh, boy you’re so confident”. Told of Hodges’ challenge, Bird replied, “Yeah, at the end of the Bulls bench.” 3) “You Can’t Guard Me” – Larry Bird vs Clyde DrexlerĬlyde Drexler has a memory of Larry from his rookie year: “He knows where he can find me,” was Hodges retort. Later on, after Craig Hodges won the NBA All-Star Game Three-Point contest in Bird’s absence, Hodges was asked if the victory was tainted because Bird hadn’t participated. Bird said, “There’s no need to talk this time. The following year, in the same All-Star 3-point shooting contest Dale Ellis told the press that Bird didn’t have much to say this year. Of course, he won, lifting his finger in the air before the final shot went in, and not even removing his warm up jacket. “And he started shooting and he just didn’t miss.” “Larry walks in and says I hope all you guys in here are thinking about second place, because I’m winning this…’EXCUSE ME?!’ It was awesome.” 2) “Who’s Playing for Second?” – Bird in the Three Point Shoot Out And he shows this back and forth, and kept rewinding the high five. We had to go back to the room, and Mike Fratello, instead of going out to eat, he had a team meeting and put the film in and says “it’s one thing to be in awe, it’s another thing to cheer for the other team”. They show a shot of our bench, Cliff Livingston and Eddie Johnson are standing up giving each other high fives, it was pretty awesome. “So it was exactly what he said, it was an accident but it was almost fate. Then I think Reggie Brown, I’m not sure who it was, ran out after him, he shot this high rainbow, it goes in, Reggie bumps into him and accidentally knocks him on our trainer’s lap. The last shot, he said “in the trainer’s lap” coming down the court, which meant it was going to be a three and it was going to from deep, and then he said “who wants it?”. “Even as a player, and that usually doesn’t happen, but we were down so much at the time, you got time to realise the game. When he got to about the 55th point you knew it was something special.” He tortured all of us, he was calling shots,”off the glass” “who’s next”, “where you want this one from” and he just made one after another. “He saw Dominique as this up and coming player and he just tortured him, mentally. “Bird got in the zone and he started calling the shots, he started saying “off the glass”, that was the one game I think he tortured Dominique. We’ll allow Doc Rivers to tell the story: Remember Bird’s legendary game against the Hawks when he dropped 60?
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