Reggie Miller asked Warriors superstar Stephen Curry whether he trash-talked his competitors like Larry Bird last night, and Steph had a great reply.
Advertisement
Back in 1986, Larry Bird entered the 3-point contest with a swagger hitherto unseen before him. The way he carried himself through the night, not even taking off his warmup jacket, really was something else.
Bird ranks among the greatest trash talkers we’ve ever had in the NBA. The Celtics legend is the last player to win 3 MVPs in 3 successive seasons. At the time of the 1988 All-Star Weekend, Bird was a few months removed from his last Finals appearance.
The Hick from French Lick refused to take his warmup jacket off. He called out the other competitors, saying the famous trashtalk line ‘So who’s coming second tonight?’
Curry is in a similar place in his career, long having established himself as the greatest shooter of all time.
‘Sometimes you just got that look’: Stephen Curry answers Reggie Miller about the Larry Bird
After Stephen Curry won a close final round against Mike Conley, he was interviewed by Reggie Miller about how confident he was, ahead of the contest.
“Steph. Seriously, I have to ask this question and I want you to be honest,” Miller said.
“Did you pull a Larry Bird before the 3-point contest and walk into the rest of the competition and say ‘Which one of y’all is shooting for second?’ Be truthful. Come on now.”
“Hey Reg, sometimes you don’t even have to say it,” Curry said with a laugh. “You just walk in the locker room. You just got that look.”
“Sometimes you don’t even have to say it. You just walk in the locker room.” 🤣@StephenCurry30 & @ReggieMillerTNT joke about pulling a Larry Bird before the #MtnDew3pt contest. pic.twitter.com/p6r5gtPhcN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 8, 2021
Given how Curry set the court on fire with a score of 31 in the first round, this was probably an understatement. Curry’s lights-out shooting was among the highlights of a subdued All-Star night.