“If I Coach You, I’d Say You Win”: When Larry Bird Told Reggie Miller He’d Win the 3-point Contest Against Pacers Legend

Larry Bird was the first 3-point shooting specialist in the NBA since the league introduced the 3-point line, the same year he entered the grandest stages of basketball in 1979.

Reggie Miller who came in 8 years later started competing for that spot as soon as he came in in 1987. Both of them would have developed a rivalry because of their inclination toward 3-pointers and trash-talking.

And even though Miller turned out to be a better 3-point shooter after the end of their careers, Bird had won the 3-point contest thrice to assert his greatness at it.

Also read: “Michael Jordan or Larry Bird? They’re 1-2”: Patrick Ewing’s Diplomatic Response When Asked Which Dream Team Player Was a Better Trash Talker

Years later, ‘Larry Legend’ told Reggie on his face that he would win a 3-point contest against him as well.

Larry Bird told Reggie Miller he could only win the 3-point contest if Bird were his coach

In an episode of the Dan Patrick Show from back in the day, Miller, who was guest hosting the show, asked his former rival and coach who would be winning a three-point contest between himself and Larry.

“Here’s how I’ll put it, Reggie,” Bird replied. “If you were my teammate in the pros, I would win, hands down. If I have the opportunity to coach you, I’d say you win.”

Typical Larry. Although Reggie had not won a 3-point contest despite participating in it 5-times, he (39.5) had a better career shooting percentage as compared to Bird (37.6) from beyond the arc.

Bird and Miller’s roller-coaster relationship

They started knowing each other, or we can say started hating on each other when a rookie Miller tried trash-talking Bird in all his consciousness.

And after years of great battles between them, Bird became Pacers coach and led Miller and Co to an NBA Finals which they would lose against Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers.

That was the closest the 5x All-Star would ever go to a championship. The 3-year stint of Larry in Indiana as the Head Coach was enough for the duo to forget the bitterness they had for each other.

Also read: “Michael Jordan is The End All, Be All”: Jamal Crawford Believes MJ Will Stay the GOAT For Million Years

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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