Byron Scott, who played for the Lakers, confessed that Larry Bird was a better trash talker than all others including Charles Barkley.
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The more you read stories about Larry Bird, the more mythical he seems. His legend, his legacy, has remained afloat in the ever-churning sea of NBA talents.
This is a league that attracts millions of athletes. Only a handful actually end up playing in it. And of those handful, the tiniest percentage of players become household names. So to command the respect of generations of fans, to remain relevant even 30 years after your career is truly exceptional.
Larry Bird retired in 1992, exactly 3 decades ago. Yet, he is discussed in the NBA community on a regular basis. Today, we bring to you another story from the Celtics’ legend’s vault of adventures.
Bryan Scott, who played 11 seasons for the Lakers, made a surprising revelation about Bird. He claimed that the 3-time MVP was the greatest trash talker he ever met.
Also read: Why was Klay Thompson ejected? What led to Warriors’ star’s first ever Career Ejection?
Byron Scott crowned Larry Bird the king of trash-talking
Though Byron was never an All-Star caliber player, it’s worth noting that he won 3 championships. And this was at the peak of the Lakers vs Celtics rivalry. Back then, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the two poles of the NBA.
Byron, who played for Larry’s eternal rivals – the gold and purples – faced the Celtics legend 14 times in his career. So, he definitely knows what he was talking about.
Scott revealed how Larry talked more trash than any other player he had faced. He would dictate his moves beforehand so that the defense knew what he wanted to do. And then, he’d pull off the exact move. This must have made the defenders feel like a bunch of amateurs.
Scott: “Larry Bird is one of the biggest trash talkers in basketball. You thought it was Reggie or Charles. Larry Bird talked more trash on the basketball court than anybody I’ve ever played against. He told me 2 things one game. All rotations we double-teamed and Kevin McHale always had to rotate to the corner and Larry Bird was the one shooting it, you know. So he shot one and I mean, I’m trying to block the shot. And he would just tell me ‘Scott, you moved too late. So we played them, and the last play, he says to James Worthy ‘You guys don’t have to worry about it, I’m going right over there in that corner.’ He said ‘They’re going to set a screen for me. I’mma curl right over here.”
Truly proves what an absolute unit Larry Bird was. He was unstoppable even when the defenders knew exactly what he was going to do. For Scott to have put Bird over Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller definitely shows that The Great White Hope had mastered the art of smack-talk.
Lakers and Celtics rivalry lives on
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s contests in the 80s pushed the NBA to the next level. The Lakers and Celtics became eternal rivals under the leadership of these two talents.
They played 18 games against each other in their career. Larry averaged an impressive 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in those games. Meanwhile, Johnson averaged 19.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists.
While the Celts and gold and purple had always been rivals, with the dawn of Larry and Johnson’s era, their rivalry reached new heights. Both teams added multiple chips to their record during this time. To this day, the Hollywood team is the sworn rival of Boston.
Also read: Derrick Rose’s Brother’s Criminal History Almost Cost Chicago the No.1 Pick in the 2008 Draft
