Indiana Pacers forward Chuck Person wanted to go “Bird Hunting” during their matchup against Boston Celtics. Of course, Larry Bird took that personally and put on a show. A day after Christmas, Larry shot a 3-pointer in front of Person and shouted “Merry f**king Christmas”.
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Long before the league was dominated by LeBron James in the 2010s or Kobe Bryant in the 2000s or Michael Jordan in the 1990s, it was Larry Bird who was one of the deadliest players in the league, back in the 1980s.
Long-time Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird is one of the most gifted offensive players the league has ever witnessed. However, apart from being an elite scorer, Larry Legend was also known for his superb trash-talking skills. Bird was so gifted that he would often tell his defenders exactly how he planned on scoring and would end up pulling that exact same move.
On various instances, the 6-foot-9 forward would take his trash-talking skills to a greater level altogether. Like the time he recorded an insane 47-point triple-double using his left hand throughout the game or the time when he was so confident he was winning the three-point contest that he entered the locker room and asked “So, who’s coming in second?” And obviously backed it up.
There are just several savage trash-talking moments in Larry’s career to name. However, amongst the popular ones was the time when Bird decided to teach a lesson to the then-26-year-old Chuck Person for talking trash to Larry.
Larry Bird and the Celtics lit up Indiana 152-132 after Chuck Person wanted to go “Bird hunting”
Back in 1990, Indiana Pacers forward Chuck Person, nicknamed “The Rifleman”, spoke trash to Larry prior to their 26th December game. Person said:
“The Rifleman is Coming, and he’s Going Bird Hunting.”
Of course, Larry took Chuck’s comments personally and decided to light the Indiana Pacers up. When Person was sidelined on the bench during the game, Bird knocked down a 3-pointer right in front of the Pacers bench. Immediately after releasing the shot, the 12-time All-Star turned around and taunted Person by saying:
“Merry f**king Christmas”
And obviously, the shot did fall in. During the end of the game, Larry had a 22-point, 12-assists and 7-rebounds near triple-double performance in a high-scoring 152-132 win.
Despite all their verbal altercations, Bird admitted to actually respecting Chuck.
“I’ve always respected Chuck, because when you’re playing out there in a game, you know the guys are coming after you, certain guys every time you play them, and he was one of them.”
“Chuck brought it every time. I always respect him for that. Yeah, we got in some verbal things. And he talked a lot junk before he got to Boston or I came to Indiana. But when it was all said and done, I respected the guy.”
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However, that day, Bird did get the final laugh as he taught the “Rifleman” an important lesson.
