Larry Bird had arguably the most cold blooded moment ever for any star

[AngelEyes]

Everyone remembers the legendary duel between Nique and Larry Bird in game 7 of the eastern conference semi finals in 1988 but what makes it even more awesome was the trash talk and sheer bravado of Bird before game 7. After game 6 when the younger, more athletic Hawks failed to finish off the Celtics Larry Bird set the tone for game 7:

"well they had their chance, you know they had a big chance to beat us. I think now we're going to come out and play like we did tonight but we're going to be at home and our shots our going to be dropping a little bit better and we're going to be running a little bit faster so I'd say Sunday is going to be a big win for the Celtics".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqOw70lIc6g

The uber confidence in that statement is just incredible. The man had ice water in his veins. Here the Celtics are still a very good team but they're aging and in decline and going against a rising, athletic team led by Dominque Wilkins at the peak of his powers. Bird backed up his trash talk and dropped 20 in the fourth quarter in game 7. He was a cold blooded assassin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfLjD5ft6o4

[Genaro]

Best small forward of all time

[AngelEyes]

Another quote from Bird prior to game 7 against the Hawks:

"They might as well forget it. They've got no chance. . . they had a chance to beat us and we all knew if we lost, it meant vacation tomorrow".

This is the ultimate in a superstar talking trash prior to a huge game and backing it up in a gigantic way.

[hold this L]

MJ said Bird was the GOAT trash talker. :pimp:

[3ball]

Larry was a goat trash-talker, maybe THE goat trash-talker, but the boldest talk I've heard was from 1st Round of 1993 Western Conference Playoffs: #1 Suns vs. #8 Lakers.

The Lakers had 2-0 lead and only needed 1 more win for the historic upset (it was only 5-game series back then)... Here's what Paul Westphal said in post-game presser after Game 2:


"We're down 0-2 and I know the next question will be 'are you guys dead?'

No - we're gonna win the series.. We're gonna win on Tuesday, then the next game is Thursday and will win there, and then we'll come back and win the series on Sunday... and everyone will say what a great series it was"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyzptZmvVGk&t=2m04s


The Suns won 3 games in a row and escaped historic defeat.. They would eventually make the Finals that year.

[Bawkish]

Larry was a goat trash-talker, maybe THE goat trash-talker, but the boldest talk I've heard was from 1st Round of 1993 Western Conference Playoffs: #1 Suns vs. #8 Lakers.

The Lakers had 2-0 lead and only needed 1 more win for the historic upset (it was only 5-game series back then)... Here's what Paul Westphal said in post-game presser after Game 2:


"We're down 0-2 and I know the next question will be 'are you guys dead?'

No - we're gonna win the series.. We're gonna win on Tuesday, then the next game is Thursday and will win there, and then we'll come back and win the series on Sunday... and everyone will say what a great series it was"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyzptZmvVGk&t=2m04s


The Suns won 3 games in a row and escaped historic defeat.. They would eventually make the Finals that year.

i think that's where they coined the term "team of destiny"

[Uncle Drew]

Seattle's Xavier McDaniel was once guarding Bird when Larry explained to him on the court, "I'm going to get the ball right here and I am going to shoot it right in your face." Bird got the pass, found the spot he told McDaniel he would and then buried the shot. "I didn't mean to leave two seconds on the clock," Bird told McDaniel after the bucket.

[Bawkish]

i remember this one where Bird trash talking Chuck Person, who is also a dirty trash talker himself

i don't clearly remember the details, but i think there's this one shot by Bird, as soon as he released the shot, turned to Person and said "Merry f*cking Christmas" :lol (the game was played i think Xmas day)

[Showtime80']

Been looking for that clip for ages!!!

Notice the subtlety of the comment, no over the top pose or bravado like todays facebook/twitter puss!es, just a little remark at the end of a sentence which could go unnoticed if your not paying attention.

Again, the era with THE MOST RIVARLRIES in NBA history!

[Spaulding]

Best small forward of all time

He's a top 5 player of all time.

[jstern]

This reminds me of Lebron celebrating after passing the ball to a wide open Irvin for 3. Such confidence, but it was a miss.

[ShawkFactory]

My favorite Bird one that I've heard was when he had Rodman checking him. He made a couple buckets in a row and yelled at chuck Daly "chuck I'm gonna go for 50 if you don't have someone guard me" (or something to that extent).

He came down and buried another one in Rodman's grill and yelled again "seriously chuck, are you gonna have someone guard me?".

That's just off the top of my head, but that's a pretty cold-blooded thing to do to a 2X DPOY.

[choppermagic]

Seattle's Xavier McDaniel was once guarding Bird when Larry explained to him on the court, "I'm going to get the ball right here and I am going to shoot it right in your face." Bird got the pass, found the spot he told McDaniel he would and then buried the shot. "I didn't mean to leave two seconds on the clock," Bird told McDaniel after the bucket.


Exactly what i was thinking about. Telling the guy what you are going to do and then doing it in his face. EPIC!

[gigantes]

My favorite Bird one that I've heard was when he had Rodman checking him. He made a couple buckets in a row and yelled at chuck Daly "chuck I'm gonna go for 50 if you don't have someone guard me" (or something to that extent).

He came down and buried another one in Rodman's grill and yelled again "seriously chuck, are you gonna have someone guard me?".

That's just off the top of my head, but that's a pretty cold-blooded thing to do to a 2X DPOY.
i read about a different game in which rodman shut bird down after pulling a 'subtle' move on him.

seems that bird was backing rodman down around the top of the post, when suddenly bird let out a little yelp. rodman had apparently goosed him up the ass, and bird was reluctant to get close to him for the rest of the game.

i forget where i read that-- phil jackson's memoir, possibly.

[mr4speed]

Everyone remembers the legendary duel between Nique and Larry Bird in game 7 of the eastern conference semi finals in 1988 but what makes it even more awesome was the trash talk and sheer bravado of Bird before game 7. After game 6 when the younger, more athletic Hawks failed to finish off the Celtics Larry Bird set the tone for game 7:

"well they had their chance, you know they had a big chance to beat us. I think now we're going to come out and play like we did tonight but we're going to be at home and our shots our going to be dropping a little bit better and we're going to be running a little bit faster so I'd say Sunday is going to be a big win for the Celtics".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqOw70lIc6g

The uber confidence in that statement is just incredible. The man had ice water in his veins. Here the Celtics are still a very good team but they're aging and in decline and going against a rising, athletic team led by Dominque Wilkins at the peak of his powers. Bird backed up his trash talk and dropped 20 in the fourth quarter in game 7. He was a cold blooded assassin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfLjD5ft6o4

My favorite Bird trash talk story is one I read about him in college = ISU away game and the other teams big man during the pre-game warm ups was
all over Bird, was going to shut him down, kick his ass, own him, etc. Game starts and Bird is demanding the ball 1st possession - Bird scores on a J. Opponents feed their big man and Bird blocks his shot. Now its Bird's turn and he gets another basket. Opponents feed their big man and Bird steals the ball from him before he can do anything with it. Now its Bird's turn and he scores and draws a foul on their big man. Bird walks straight to the guy and says loud enough for his teammates, the opposing team players and the refs to hear "When this game is over, your going to be kissing my ass!" Their big man fouled out and Bird dominated and ISU won. I will have to find this but its classic Bird - he took no sh-t from anyone, ever.