When Larry Bird passed by the bench during his first season, John Stockton recalled, saying, “He came out and scored 43 points by the third quarter and checked himself out.”

When Larry Bird passed by the bench during his first season, John Stockton recalled, saying, “He came out and scored 43 points by the third quarter and checked himself out.”

Many anecdotes aptly capture Larry Bird’s extraordinary brilliance. The legendary Boston Celtics player was a ferocious rival who didn’t think twice to challenge opponents and humiliate them in order to establish his superiority. Bird was never afraid to put on a show to defeat his opponents and satisfy the needs of his followers.

We already know how serious he took winning and how devoted he was to basketball. Larry had a great deal of faith in his abilities and could foresee events before they occurred. In addition to forecasting his victory in competitions, Larry frequently ventured to estimate his point total ahead of time and achieved that precise total as well.

Another superstar witnessed directly how terrific Larry was and how committed he was to keeping his word when he was just beginning his NBA career. John Stockton will always remember the firsthand experience he had watching Larry Legend perform.

John Stockton recalls Larry Bird’s prediction that he would score forty-three points against the Utah Jazz.
When the Utah Jazz legend was asked in 2018 during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show what his favorite Larry Bird tale of all time was, he quickly selected one from his first season in the league.

“I recall Larry Bird saying, ‘I feel like 43 tonight,’ as a rookie, as he passed our bench. Then he emerged, checked himself out, and scored 43 points by the third quarter.”

John remembers everything vividly, especially those moments. He remembered that game vividly, even though it had been about 40 years since it occurred. Bird did, however, record the highest point total in a game against the Utah Jazz in 1989 when he scored 40 against Stockton and company. Even though this is an amazing narrative, the greatest quarterback of all time has jumbled up the numbers. In 1987, Larry had his second-best performance, scoring 38 points on those plays.