ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - Other Sports Your respect for Larry Bird just increased

Garcia Bronco · 06-04-2012, 02:53 PM

-Larry Legend (Bird) was well known for his competitive fire and high bball IQ, but it is rare that people expose Larry as one of the NBA`s alltime greatest smack talkers. Stories have been told of Larry pointing out the spots on the court he was going to score from, BEGGING his defender to "try and make it tough on me this time" Then he would dribble to that spot and stick the jumper in the defenders face. I remember Rodman telling a story about Larry`s trash talk---
"I would be all over him, trying to deny him the ball, and all Larry was doing was yelling at his teammates, I`M OPEN!!! HURRY UP BEFORE THEY NOTICE NOBODY IS GUARDING ME!!!!!!!" then he would stick an elbow in my jaw and stick the jumper in my face, then he would start in on my coach"Coach you better get this guy out and send in somebody who`s going to D me up, becuase its too easy when I`m wide open like this"

-Larry Bird trash talk moment in a game against Seattle. He told Xavier McDaniel where he'd score from, got the ball, and scored with 2 seconds left on the clock. He said, "Damn! I didn't mean to leave any time left on the clock."

- During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he would give him a Christmas present. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after the shot, Bird said to Person, "Merry Christmas!", and then the shot went in

- During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986, Bird came in, started looking around without saying a word, then finally said "I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up second." He indeed won the shooting contest

- In a game against the Seattle SuperSonics with the game all tied up, Bird told Supersonics forward Xavier McDaniel, who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot. After a timeout, Bird made two baseline cuts, then posted in the exact spot he had indicated to McDaniel, paused and turned and hit the shot in his face.

- On a night in 1984 versus Philadelphia where Larry Bird was outscoring Julius Erving by a margin of 42–6, he continuously informed Erving of their tallies every chance he got, which resulted in first a shoving match, then swings taken by both players and culminated in a bench-clearing brawl

Xavier McDaniel Story of Larry Bird

I remember Shawn Kemp was guarding Larry Bird one night, and during the time out, Shawn shared Bird’s comment. On the last three-pointer, Larry Shot in Kemp’s face and he said, ‘I’m the best damn player from Indiana.’ We ended up hearing this story during the time out and started laughing. He was on fire that night; he ended up with 50-plus points.

(Shawn Kemp, for those that don't know, is from Elkart, Indiana)

06-04-2012, 02:53 PM	#31
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $5253136	-Larry Legend (Bird) was well known for his competitive fire and high bball IQ, but it is rare that people expose Larry as one of the NBA`s alltime greatest smack talkers. Stories have been told of Larry pointing out the spots on the court he was going to score from, BEGGING his defender to "try and make it tough on me this time" Then he would dribble to that spot and stick the jumper in the defenders face. I remember Rodman telling a story about Larry`s trash talk--- "I would be all over him, trying to deny him the ball, and all Larry was doing was yelling at his teammates, I`M OPEN!!! HURRY UP BEFORE THEY NOTICE NOBODY IS GUARDING ME!!!!!!!" then he would stick an elbow in my jaw and stick the jumper in my face, then he would start in on my coach"Coach you better get this guy out and send in somebody who`s going to D me up, becuase its too easy when I`m wide open like this" -Larry Bird trash talk moment in a game against Seattle. He told Xavier McDaniel where he'd score from, got the ball, and scored with 2 seconds left on the clock. He said, "Damn! I didn't mean to leave any time left on the clock." - During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he would give him a Christmas present. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after the shot, Bird said to Person, "Merry Christmas!", and then the shot went in - During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986, Bird came in, started looking around without saying a word, then finally said "I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up second." He indeed won the shooting contest - In a game against the Seattle SuperSonics with the game all tied up, Bird told Supersonics forward Xavier McDaniel, who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot. After a timeout, Bird made two baseline cuts, then posted in the exact spot he had indicated to McDaniel, paused and turned and hit the shot in his face. - On a night in 1984 versus Philadelphia where Larry Bird was outscoring Julius Erving by a margin of 42–6, he continuously informed Erving of their tallies every chance he got, which resulted in first a shoving match, then swings taken by both players and culminated in a bench-clearing brawl Xavier McDaniel Story of Larry Bird I remember Shawn Kemp was guarding Larry Bird one night, and during the time out, Shawn shared Bird’s comment. On the last three-pointer, Larry Shot in Kemp’s face and he said, ‘I’m the best damn player from Indiana.’ We ended up hearing this story during the time out and started laughing. He was on fire that night; he ended up with 50-plus points. (Shawn Kemp, for those that don't know, is from Elkart, Indiana)
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