 Welcome to the complete collection of Larry Bird's Greatest Stories Part 3. It's been a while since I've come on camera and I've shown my face and said what's up, so I wanted to do this really really quickly before the video begins. I just wanted to say a massive, massive thank you. Like I was reading through a whole bunch of comments last week and I was just like, man, look how nice these comments are, unbelievable, you guys are the best. So I just wanted to jump on here and say a massive, massive thank you to everybody, all the subscribers, everyone that shows support on the videos, I really appreciate it. And that's all I really had to say. I hope everyone's enjoying the playoffs. And if you enjoy these videos, it would really help me out if you could leave a like, subscribe if you're new and hit that notification button. But without further ado, here's part 3 of the complete collection of Larry Bird's Greatest Stories. I want to avoid the phrase trash talker, but he did do some of that too. The next man, he didn't play you out of sore knee, but my point to you is this. Larry gave me, he gave me, he gave me 50 and three-quarters. Everybody's shooting the shit. And Ronnie Rogers said, hey, Larry, you ain't here to jump us since 84. And Larry looked at me and then he looked at Mark and he said, Mark, I'm going to go down and I'm going to come off the screen. I'm going to come off the screen, I'm going to catch it right there. I'm going to turn around, I'm going to shoot it in the rookie's face. And then I'm going to run down the floor. And he runs down to the post and posts me up and boom, boom. That's all he said. It's going to be a long night's out. One dribble going right, spin, shot, bucket. And then he did. He did it. But there was nothing I could do about it. I want to avoid the phrase trash talker, but he did do some of that too. What did he say on the court when you guys were having your battles? Larry was not the one to just talk a lot of trash. But the things he would say to you would stick there. I mean, if it was just a simple coup on where you out this play or face, or just the way he said things that made it hard, face, scored two points and in your face, you know, you didn't have to go the extra two words in your he just said face. And you knew he meant business at times, especially I had my differences with Chuck Person, who was a very lively talk on the floor. I think he gets you into that mode of talking a little bit more. I was going to say, you reminded me of a story when I was talking about talking about Chuck Person that Bird apparently was playing one and just torching him one night. I think he had 35. And as he's shooting the ball, he says to Person, I'm the best half player to ever come from Indiana. I'm the greatest player ever out of Indiana. Shoot and shot a three-pointer in his face, all in there. And he says that right to Person. As he's shooting, and of course the shot goes in. One thing Larry said to me, he never did any sugar-honey iced tea talking. He just kind of like played. And but this one time he said, came down and I'm playing him. This is 1987. We're playing for temporary. And he goes, I'm about to wear your ass out. So I'm locked in on it now. And this the bastard behind me and I'm here. And Robert Parrish comes down and sets a pick. And I was hard to set a pick on. So I knew I was going to get through it. But Larry takes me in, he comes off this pick and he comes off right about the elbow. Dennis Johnson threw him the basketball. And Karim steps up. So Larry catches the ball and I'm right behind him. And he catches the ball and he goes up. I said, I'm ready to smack this shit. He goes up. Karim is there. My hands are there. And I'm like this. I don't know how this guy got the ball to Robert Parrish. But he throws the Parrish for a pick and roll plate. Parrish gets the ball slammed down. The ball still goes up. The fan is going crazy. He goes, I told your ass. And to me, that might seem like something simple. But that's the greatness of a great player in Larry Bird. And from that point forward, we never talked. He never said anything else. But it was just the fact that he got, he wore my ass out on that plate. So that's the thing I respected a lot about him. Larry could score with or without the basketball. That kind of player there. That's the ones that you like to see and like to play against. Is there any story that you forgot about, that you found notes for or something like that? So again, Larry Bird, he could hold all these things in his head during the game. So he'd have a shooting drill at the old Boston Garden. That was a routine at the Garden. He'd route 4 or 4.30 in the afternoon. I was an early guy. I'd set up early. The Garden would be dark. Dark Garden. Come out with an equipment guy and just do the perimeter. Shoot for half hours. All you heard was swishing. Be a little bit of light by that court. The equipment guy was Joe Cattado. Larry had come out. I'm an Indiana when he went there and loved this guy, the equipment guy. And Larry, do the perimeter. And I'd be setting up in my Stone Age computer quarter bubble on the sideline right next to the bench when they used to say, let us sit in those seats. The lowly riders had those seats next to the bench. I'd get there early, plug in my Stone Age computer right next to the bench. He'd come over. He called me. He said, Scoop, what are you working on? I'm saying, I'm doing an early story. And Larry, he liked to break chops. He'd come over. And if he missed a shot during that thing, he'd say that the bull gang set up the rims, something wrong with the rim, you know, otherwise that never, that would have gone in. And he'd come over and he'd say, what are you working on, Scoop? And I'd say, well, I'm doing an early edition newspaper story about your free throw streak. He was coming up on Calvin Murphy's 88 consecutive free throws. You are approximating the NBA record for consecutive free throws, Calvin Murphy at 88. So don't miss one tonight or I'll look bad in the paper. It's going to look stupid if they open it up tomorrow morning and you miss. And I'm writing about the streak. This is how it works. Sure enough, first half, he goes to the line for two and the foul line is lined up right where we're sitting. If he looks over. He's at the line, he makes the first. He looks over and winks at me. He looks over and winks at me before he makes the second. I mean, guys, don't do that today. But he was always thinking about these things. It's like paying off a bet in the middle of the game. He was doing two things at once. First made it to the NBA. Who was the first person to bust your ass? Man, I'm gonna keep this real with y'all, man. My ass got busted real early, man. I came into the league, man. I was in the playing team, you know. You know how some of them vets, man. They play you to the team, man. I got played down in Boston one night. We was playing Boston Celtics. So the great Larry Bird. I didn't really know much about it. You know, I'm from Indiana. Larry's from Indiana. I knew about the history of Larry, but I didn't realize how he really got down. When we got to, when we got to Boston that morning, I knew someone, right? I saw an ex-man. He was limping around the court a little bit like he was sore. I figured he'd be all right, you know. Vavy McDaniel. Vavy McDaniel. I figured he'd be all right by that time. I go to the game on the early bus. I get there. They come out on the space and they say, hey, Sean, you starting tonight against Larry. And I was like, what the hell? Oh, I'm all for it, you know? So he gave me 50 and three quarts. Oh, wow. Oh, he was hitting everything. And he talked to me the whole entire game. What'd he say? He talked to me the whole time, dude. Well, first of all, he asked me at the jump ball, he said, you the cat that broke all my records in high school, right? And I was like, yeah. That's me. He said, I got some even nice. So every shot he was calling, at the defensive end, he would tell me, he was like, when I get down to the other end, I'm gonna pump face you. Get a hand warm on you. Look at you, four quats. That's how cold Larry was. And that's the legend. Like people say that he was one of the dirtiest trash talking, one of the best trash talkers, like the one game he played and told him, shoot all left hand buckets on you. So he really talked like that. Larry told all of us and the media, he said, tomorrow night's the last game of the trip, I'm gonna play this one left handed. I remember it because I was there. And it was at a time when, Mikhail was still coming off the bench. And so he had, he's were the first eight points of the game, left handed and Jerome Kersy was guarding him at the time. And I remember this, because we had a great trash talking team. I mean, we had ML Carr, we had Mikhail, we had Bird, we had, you know, Ainge was a yakker. I mean, we just, we had guys with great creativity with that. And I'll never forget it, Mikhail yells out, hey, Jerome, wait till he starts shooting right handed. You know, I mean. You know, so, you know, being from the streets, man, I was to the point of like, look, I'm gonna file him so hard that he's gonna, he's basically gonna take his will. He starts shooting the ball with his left hand, man. I was trying to file his right arm. He was shooting with his left hand, banking it off on me, looking at me, still slapping me on my butt, married thing, man. Tell me everything. I'm telling you. Let's see, that's something that he didn't hit you. He like, he didn't hit you on the butt. Now I got to fight you. They did, man. He actually invited me to his house that summer after the game, man. He told me, he said, that's the best defense I've seen so far, the best effort. I get to eat that. I can't eat 50 and three quarters, but that was the best effort I've seen in a long time. You hit the guard, Larry. What was that like? The worst thing was when you guys were in pick and rolls because, you know, Kevin or you or Chief, yeah, Chief came up and it was a quick pick and roll with a slip. So when I first came over my rookie year, I remember you were talking about 86. Remember the game, my rookie year, Mark Aguire didn't want to play against the Boston Celtics for whatever reason. Bring it up court to Larry Bird from three. Three points shot with four seconds to go from the Celtics lead by one. Could have been. Yeah, played a match. So I was, I think, at that point, the third small forward and Larry gave us 50. Dry again, he scored and Larry Bird. And it'll be both passed right there. This thing finally misses, but Bird does a long arms. Bird gets a three points and three points. Field goal shooters is Larry Bird. Larry Bird. That's a go. Ellesco. Larry Bird with the left hand. Bird, three-pointer. Count it. Game for Boston. Larry Bird. Five-four with 12 seconds. Bird, three-pointer. Count it. Well, next year, for whatever reason, someone else didn't play again. I was starting and I go, okay, do you want Bird or Mikkel? Oh, great. And I was going, isn't Walton starting again? I was listening to Jamal Mashburn on a podcast the other day and he was talking about when the college players were practicing against the Dream Team. And have you heard the story that he was telling? No. To play against the Dream Team. This was the legendary game where the college guys came in and Chuck Daly let y'all tear their ass up and as soon as y'all started getting back, he ended it, right? Chuck Daly had scheduled the scrimmage against a select group of college players. So yeah, so funny. So when we got an invitation, it was eight of us. It was myself, Bobby Hurley, Alan Houston, Chris Weber, Rodney Rogers, Eric Montrose. Shout out Rodney Rogers, man. Shout out Rodney G. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Grant Hill was on that squad. I think it's gonna be a good matchup, you know? There's no advantage on either side. For the college players, it was a chance to see how they'd match up against the world's best. So we get to La Jolla San Diego and we check into the Marriott. We go up to our floor and we're walking in the corridor and we see this tall white guy coming down the hall and I'm like, damn, that looked like Larry Bird. So Larry Bird coming down the hallway, me and Chris Weber and Larry Bird, you don't realize how big Larry Bird is until you stand at the post of Larry Bird. Larry Bird actually has a gap, man. Larry Bird legit 6'10". Nah, real talk, when I first did it against him when he was coaching the place, I was like, damn. So he walked by us and he says, you all those college guys? And we was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we the college guys. And then he said, get some sleep, young fellas. And he looked at us and he said, get some fucking rest. It's gonna be a long week and walked off. And we was like, what the hell? Look how they got us itch. Yeah, I'm like, okay. You know, I'm like, all right, what's going on here? I wanted to say what's up. And he just gave me like, just like, dang. Yeah. So the next morning we get up and we go to practice. And Roy Williams is our coach, but we only got eight. So I'm like, how are we practicing? And what are we practicing for? So we spent, I want to say an hour doing the three man weed. And I'm like, what's going on here? Then they bust us to another location where the dream team is practicing. And these about 400 people standing outside waiting for the dream team to come out. They take us up to a top floor and the dream team is practicing. They're finishing up their practice. And then they say, all right, get loose and stretch out. Okay. We playing? They're like, yeah, yeah, we're gonna play next. So we get out the gates. Like the first 15 minutes, we kicking they ass. We, but we running them all out. Bobby Hurley in the lane, Killins John stopped him. Bobby Hurley was dominant. So they stopped the game. These young kids, they were killing it. I remember Chuck saying, as soon as the game ended, we were getting ready to let media and it was a race of scoreboard. And turn off the score. I think we were up like 72, 66 or something, 64 or something like that. They just stopped the game. So we like, all right, this is half time of some shit. They like not a press coming in. Media comes in, scores, if not hundreds, they can sense something. You can feel the tension or you can feel something in the air. Well, some of these college players we've just got through playing against, probably should be on this team, but they'll get their chance. So that's when the thing came out that Chuck Daley let us win. Because they didn't want to hold a complete game because they knew it was gonna be downhill from there because we were trying to prove that we could wrap it up in the country. So we lit their ass up. And then something happened, we're sitting there and we get back to the hotel. Rodney Rogers says something to, it's a group of them. It's Larry Bird, Matthew Johnson and everybody's shooting the shit. And Rodney Rogers is talking smack to Larry Bird. Magic heard that shit. And we ain't thinking none of it. And Rodney Rogers all of a sudden tugs on Superman's cape. What happened after that? And here goes Rodney Rogers. He's talking the stuff that we were talking about in the hall in the other room. You know, we're talking junk. Like, yeah, Magic didn't know what to do. And he goes to Bird right in his face. He says something like, hey, Larry, you ain't here to jump us since 84. They ain't made any jump shots since the 80s. One of their years they probably won a championship. 84. There you go. And I'd never seen this. And this one I was like, this is a different breed. Magic Johnson fed Larry Bird the ball probably about eight times in a row down court. Larry Bird got the ball on Rodney Rogers and every time he was about to make a move, he told him what he was going to do. Bird, I remember one time coming to the corner, he pump fakes and Rodney Rogers goes by. He says, welcome to the parachute club. Three in his face. You know, after, I don't know if it was Magic or someone said something, something like, you know, that kind of reminds you of 84, a little bit, don't it? One dribble pull up going left, off glass. What the fuck? One dribble going right, spin shot. Fuck it. He scored nine times or eight times in a row, left the court to go lay down because he couldn't sit on a bench. He had to lay down the back and said, young fella look like 84, huh? Last time he made me, he says, so. I'm sitting in, I'm like. It was funny, the first time that I played in my rookie year, I guarded Larry Bird and it took me about 10 minutes to realize I should be probably guarding him instead of staring at him. He came down, it was funny, he came down one time and Mark West was the center on our team and Larry looked at me and then he looked at Mark and he said, Mark, I'm going to go down and I'm going to come off the screen. I'm going to come off the screen. I'm going to catch it right there. I'm going to turn around. I'm going to shoot at the rookie's face and then I'm going to run down the floor and that's exactly what he did. And I'm sitting there. That just happened. But did he talk to you or you weren't good enough? He talked through me. He never addressed me. He never addressed me. I love that. Yeah, because you're a rookie. Yeah, he wouldn't talk. I could imagine. He had no time for me. He just talked right through me to Mark West and told me he was like, I wouldn't even there. And did Mark West go on? Mark was like, all right, all right. Probably will. And then he did. He did it. But he did it. There was nothing I could do about it. I get a charge when I tell someone on the polishing team that I'm going to hit the last second shot and then do it. That's what it's all about. Larry's open once. I remember the Portland game. It was, I think it was Super Bowl Sunday. We were playing the Portland Trailblazers. He had like 52 points or something like that. We were down three. He's a remarkable, crazy three-point shot. He was leaning in and he was like, there's no way he's going to hit a shot. DJ again to make the inbound pass. The double team and Burr, Larry, face, fall away. He's leaning, falling, this is three-point. This guy's amazing. I was a Celtic fan growing up. I'm thinking I'm going to be a Celtic, you know. And then, you know, they pick me in bias and I got to go and play against Larry and those guys. It's something I've watched my whole life. I turn around and Larry goes, what's up, Si? What's up, Si? He goes, he made it. Yeah, man, he goes, you know? They all not double teaming. I said, nah, just me on you. He goes, for real? I go, yeah. Yo, yo, yo, yo, mouse in the house, mouse in the house. And he runs down to the post and posts me up and boom, boom, boom. Score, he said, it's going to be a long night, Si. Ha, ha, ha, ha. And Larry with a long jump shot. You mentioned, you talked about Larry Bird and there was that one moment where I'm not stripped of Isaiah lost his mind or was just a troop and Dennis Rodman said, Larry Bird's just another, he's just another white boy. He's a good player, but it's basically because he's white. I think it was 86, 87. So we was playing Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. So they gave me the task of guarding Larry Bird. So it's guarding Larry Bird. I'm like this 25-year rookie and a lead. They said, Dennis, you have to guard him. And I'm like, you know what I'm saying, guard him. So that was my whole job to guard the toughest guy on the team, on the other teams. So, you know, so I'm guarding him. And every time I turn my head, he's over there in the three-point line. He said, I'm over here, Rook. I'm like, you know, I got to go out there and run out there like a dumb ass. He said, let's go out there and try to contest him. He hit the three. I'm like, OK, da, da, da, that's this. So that's like game six in Boston. So I made the most, I guess, the most wrong decision as opposed to a big six. The Pistons had lost to the Celtics in seven games in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. And in Detroit's locker room afterwards, the questions were about the superstar who dominated them again. And then things got complicated. It starts because an unsophisticated Dennis Rodman is asked about Larry Bird and, let's be real, it's probably the first time in Dennis Rodman's life that a white guy tuned him up on the basketball court. Dennis Rodman just went to Larry Bird University. Larry Bird was the God in the NBA. He's like the great white hole. At that time, I didn't know any better because I'm so used to being in the projects back then. So after the game, I said, that's three questions. How do you think about Larry Bird? And I said, Larry was a black, he used to be a regular basketball player. And I didn't realize what I said. The funny thing about it is just the fact that Rodman was in his feelings. At that time, Warren was in his feelings. It was after a game. And, you know, Isaiah took the heat off. And that's the thing about being a captain of your team. You're going to take the heat. You're going to make sure that you protect your players. I know what I was saying when I was so young and stupid. I said, if he was black, he'd be just an average basketball player. Yeah, you got a lot of flack for that. Oh, yeah. You got a lot of flack. Like it was yesterday. I'm just saying that that's actually what I said back then. Someone ran over with that comment and asked Isaiah Thomas, your teammate said something. Do you agree with it? And Isaiah did a great job of protecting him. It wasn't the fact that it was any disrespect to Larry Bird and his ability. It was just the fact that, you know what, he's a player. We didn't want to look at color. So the thing is, he's a good player. Remember you said, here's the great white hole. But it was just the fact that when you look at it, you're like, that motherfucker bad as hell. You know, he's a white-eaten black. And it was more like, I'm in Boston, but I'm in Boston. I'm in Boston, but you know what was so cool about our team, though, that I still came to my defense. He took all that heat from me. He said, Dennis, just get in your car and drive back to Oklahoma. I mean, if he was black, he'd be just another good guy. Isaiah, who clearly had the sophistication, picked the wrong white guy to make his point. Because Larry was the baddest boy on the planet. With that being said, Isaiah took the heat for that, because all of a sudden, it's like, Isaiah's going to protect us, you know, by all means necessary. You know, it's like, OK, it's just Larry Bird. It ain't like, is he special? Yeah, he's special, he's good. I mean, what else can you say? You know, just walking in this room and seeing everybody, it must have touched a lot of people. And that's why we're here. We're trying to cover up for each other. Isaiah, tell me about the laugh. Now, is that a sarcastic laugh or is that a laugh of someone who's saying, you know exactly what I mean? No, it's a very sarcastic laugh. I didn't get anybody who knows me well. Do you regret the comment? I never made the comment. Did you back it from Dennis' comment? I regret not being smart enough to never repeat someone else's quote. The comment's effect on Isaiah and his image was undeniable. But for the team, the impact was totally different. That was a turning point. Isaiah really came to my rescue. That was a telling moment for me and for the team that we'll do anything for each other. But those times were different then. Those times were different. It's a different era these days. But my career escalated from that point on. From that point on, I learned, I learned, I learned. And the more I learned, the more I respect everything in life. Let's talk about Larry the Legend. Uh-oh. The resume is long. But he's really known for two things mostly. His shooting and talking trash on the court. Which one bothered you the most? His shooting. I mean, his shot was just so perfect. And not only was it perfect, my mother-in-law nicknamed his jump shot silent death. Because when he shot it, the ball just rolled in the air. And it was almost like it was playing a song the way it was just moving in the air and it would just swish through. I mean, his shot was just so, and he was just, you know, as a competitor, I mean, he was a killer. I mean, just a straight killer. And, you know, again, you've heard me mention and talk about the Celtics a lot. They taught us a lot of great lessons. You know, he definitely talked a lot of trash. But at the same time, he was backing it up. And during that period of time, you know, all of us, all of us in the summer, there was an NBA player who didn't try to shoot or imitate Larry Bird's shot in some way, shape or form because it was so pretty and it was just so... He was great. You've told me a story about calling Larry the day after a championship. The day after. And what was he doing? Well, for me, it was a unique experience. First of all, I played with him. But after we won an 84, we went out, you know, after the game, you go eat dinner and do things like, you know, people do. But we get ready, so I call Larry the next day and I call over and ask Dinah. I said, Dinah, where's Larry? The very next day after we won an 84, ladies and gentlemen, Larry Bird is out running, trying to get the championship, the next NBA championship. That's the kind of dedication that Larry Bird had. That's probably true. But I probably felt so bad when I got up, I had to do something to start feeling better. And I hope you guys enjoyed the video. If you did, here are two videos that you might enjoy. Go check it out if you enjoyed this video. And I'll catch you guys in the next one. Peace.