Larry Bird was a true trailblazer in the sport of basketball across various facets of the game. The 6ft 9″ forward was one of the first long-range bombers and his shooting range set him apart from the rest of the league.
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Bird was also one of the first few “White” superstars in a league dominated by African-American players. As a sweet-shooting white boy, Larry Legend established himself as one of the most unique players of his era.
And the Great Hick of French Lick was aware of his standing in the league. Bird’s trash-talking tales reveal a player who was supremely confident in his abilities and his game revealed a player who could walk every bit of the talk he talked.
One iconic trash-talking story involving the Celtics forward also features their arch-rivals, the Lakers. Bird’s teammate at the time, Dee Brown, recalled the incident as his favorite Bird trash-talk story when asked about the same.
Brown’s description of the famous story verifies how cold Bird was and how there was no exaggeration involved in the popular rendition of the tale. Larry Legend was every bit the character in the famous anecdotes, evidently.
How does Brown describe the famous Larry Bird incident involving the Lakers?
On The Amateur’s Edge, Brown, a former Celtic was asked about Larry Bird’s legendary trash-talking abilities. The first instance that popped up in Brown’s head, involved Bird’s iconic anecdote involving Kurt Rambis and the Lakers.
Rambis was a four-time NBA Champion and an important role player for the Lakers at the time. In a game against the Celtics, however, Rambis was decimated by Larry Bird. This prompted the famous taunt from Bird to the Laker bench.
The Laker bench at the time included legendary members such as Magic, Kareem, and Worthy. To Bird, all of that was irrelevant. The Celtics legend walked up to the bench with an iconic taunt. In Brown’s words, what Bird said was “You know you can’t put another white boy on me. You better put a brother on me. I’m the coldest white boy in the league!”.
What makes the anecdote resound further is also who the taunt was directed at. At the receiving end of this stunner of a line was none other than “The Godfather”, Pat Riley. One really had to be at the top of their game to go at the Godfather, one of the most respected figures in all of basketball.
If there ever was some doubt about how cold and confident Bird was, this anecdote should clear it up.
Bird was truly the coldest white boy in the league. And it would appear that no reservations were held in the trash-talking department by the Celtics forward. One should remember how this was no run-of-the-mill Lakers squad, they were as strong a contender as any.
While the trash-talker persona dominated, that wasn’t the only side of Larry Bird. Dee Brown once again provided the public with some insight into how teammate Larry was.
What story does Brown have about Bird being an ace teammate?
Dee Brown was a younger player expected to bridge the gap from the Bird era to the post-Bird era for the Celtics. However, Brown’s most iconic contribution to the league was an electrifying dunk contest performance. Dee instantly earned cult status and became a popular figure almost overnight.
Dee still was in Larry Bird’s Celtics. There was only one alpha in Boston. And inevitably, a compliment from the star of the team boosted a young Dee Brown to the top of the world.
Bird congratulated his young teammate with quite the compliment indeed. And while laying it on, reminded Dee of the status Bird held in Boston too.
“Before that dunk, everybody wanted to shoot like me, and now everybody wants to dunk like Dee” remarked the Celtics forward at his young teammate’s success. Bird was also probably hinting at the passing of the torch as Boston’s leading light. However, that didn’t go to plan.
Regardless, to be congratulated in such fashion by the most popular player in your franchise would have done Brown the world of good. And to make such a statement at his level shows how good a teammate Bird was.
A true legend by all means. Larry Legend for a reason, indeed.
