Old heads say that Larry Bird is not white, Larry Bird is clear. And I’m pretty sure that the same courtesy could be extended to Klay Thompson.
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There are few NBA players who plied their trade in the 1980s and didn’t get shown up by one Larry Bird. The Hick from French Lick took particular pleasure in savaging his opponents, both with his game and with his words.
Larry Legend might legitimately be the most effective trash talker of all time in NBA history, bar no one. Gary Payton, Reggie Miller and Kevin Garnett may have the volume stats, but nobody had better dialogues, moments and lines than the Celtics legend.
Bird was also the greatest shooter of his generation by a sizeable distance. His extremely high release point made him virtually unblockable even by the behemoth all-time great centers of his generation.
And in case you didn’t know, the 3-time MVP walked into a 3-point contest after a hiatus wearing a warmup jacket and didn’t take it off at all before registering yet another win in those festivities.
Klay Thompson wears Larry Bird costume, posts himself nailing 3s like the Celtics legend on Halloween
All of this just goes to say that there’s a reason why even young black NBA players look up to the 65-year-old for inspiration. The likes of Klay Thompson, for example, will not let Larry Legend’s legacy die.
The Warriors’ 4-time All-Star posted a tribute video to the Celtics legend on his Instagram today. Klay Thompson donned a vintage Larry Bird jersey and swished a few deep bombs from his favorite spot.
We’ve all seen tons of cosplays by NBA players on Halloween nights over the years. But this is one of the most fitting, best-suited tributes to an NBA legend we’ve seen yet. Klay might be one of the few shooters who deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Larry Bird himself.
