Larry Bird is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. During his remarkable 13-year NBA career, all with the Boston Celtics, he led them to 3 championships and became a three-time NBA MVP, 13-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
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Larry Legend’s fierce competitive drive and clutch performances in big games were also quite famous in the 80s. Apart from Magic Johnson’s Lakers, Bird and the Detroit Pistons had a rivalry during his playing career with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s.
The two teams met in the playoffs several times, with the Celtics and Pistons each winning a few series. The rivalry was known for its physical play and intense competition. And a legendary Piston, 30 years after most of them retired from the sport, reminisced what exactly it meant to them when they faced Bird and Co. in TD Garden.
Joe Dumars remembers facing Larry Bird and the Celtics back in the 80s
In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Joe Dumars, one of the best two-way guards in the NBA of the 80s and the 90s, talked about his 14-year career and his life since. And obviously, Larry Bird and the Celtics must have to come up when somebody from the ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ is on the hot seat.
Apart from all the typical nuances of playing in Boston like playing in an air-conditioned court in the winter while playing with the blowers in the summers, Dumars remembered how focused one needed to be when facing prime Bird and his Celtics.
“It was impossible to go there (TD Garden) and beat them (Celtics). You could not make a mistake!” Dumars said while crediting Larry with most of it, calling him a “savant”.
