Quote:
Originally Posted by Headliner
Shit talking is apart of the game. It's a psychology thing that Jordan was the master of in a very clever way. Many greats talked shit. Payton, Miller. The list is there.
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you also have to include Bird.
During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986, Bird entered the locker room, looked around without saying a word, then finally said, "I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up second". He won the shooting contest.
Reggie Miller recalled his encounter with Larry Bird's legendary trash talking ability in his book "I Love Being The Enemy". Reggie tried to disrupt Larry's concentration when he was shooting free throws late in a game. Larry glared at him, made the first free throw and said, "Rook, I am the best shooter in the league. In the league, understand? And you're up here trying to tell me something?" Then Larry buried the second free throw
Late in a tied game against the Seattle SuperSonics, Bird told Supersonics forward Xavier McDaniel, who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot. After a timeout, Bird made two baseline cuts, then posted in the exact spot he had indicated to McDaniel, paused, turned, and hit the shot in his face
On November 9, 1984, Bird was ejected along with Julius Erving in the third quarter after an on court scuffle. At the point of both ejections, Bird had outscored Erving 42 to 6. Eventually a shoving match ensued, then swings taken by both players, and finally a bench-clearing brawl