Celtics legend Larry Bird was a legendary trash talker
When you think of Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, you think of the purity of basketball. From the Hoosier state, Bird was born and bred in “The Middle” state, where basketball was (and still is, for many) first and foremost.
His scoring and shooting abilities come to mind first, as his offensive game was potent. Playing his entire career with the Celtics, he averaged 24.3 points per game over nearly 900 total games, good enough for third on the all-time points leaderboard (21,791).
Shawn Kemp tells of how Celtics legend Larry Bird was a legendary trash talker
Some younger fans may not realize, but Bird was one of the coldest trash talkers in the league during his playing days, and rivals some of the worst trash talkers in league history. While he wasn’t quite as brutal as say, fellow Celtics champion Kevin Garnett, he did have some absolutely incredible disses and subsequent performances.
Speaking to The Knuckleheads podcast of The Players’ Tribune, Shawn Kemp told a story about how Larry Bird put him in his place when he was younger.
"“The great Larry Bird. 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.”"
Kemp went on to talk about how Xavier McDaniels didn’t play that game, and Kemp started in his place. Looking forward to the chance to play against a legend, Kemp’s night was quickly spun on its head.
"“Larry gave me 50 in three quarters. And he talked to me the whole entire game.”"
Bird was well aware of the reputation Kemp had in his own home state, as well as the records Kemp had broken on his way to the league.
"“He asked me at the jump ball, ‘you the kid that broke all my records in high school right?’ And I said, ‘yeah that’s me.’”"
And he told him from the jump what he was going to do.
"“He said, ‘I got something for you tonight. Every shot he was calling.”"
Kemp went on to explain that Bird would literally tell him while on defense what he was going to pull out of his bag on the next offensive possession. Even though Kemp knew what was coming, he couldn’t stop Bird.
Larry Bird was one of the coldest players in NBA history, and this story is just one of many examples of that. Kemp was a 6-time All-Star who averaged 14.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game throughout his career, and he was just one of many star players in the path of Bird’s trash-talking games.