John Stockton recalls Larry Bird’s prediction that he would score forty-three points against the Utah Jazz.

John Stockton recalls Larry Bird’s prediction that he would score forty-three points against the Utah Jazz.

Larry Bird wrote a good deal of the stories from his illustrious NBA career. The forward never lacked confidence, whether it was in telling the defender how he was going to score or biting off pieces of trash talk. Larry Legend was a self-starter who would always come through when the game was close.

When seen from that perspective, John Stockton’s account of a meeting with the Celtics appears to be somewhat typical. After three quarters of play, Bird had fulfilled his promise to the Jazz bench to drop forty-three points. He saw out a comfortable victory for the remainder of the evening by putting his feet up on the bench.

It sounds really awesome, doesn’t it? However, there’s a catch: according to Stockton, it never actually happened.

Before a 1985 game, Larry Bird allegedly promised John Stockton and the Jazz that he would score precisely forty-three points.

John Stockton had a great basketball career despite never winning an NBA championship. He played against several legendary opponents during his career. For instance, the guard saw Larry Bird up close and personal during his freshman season.

While the star of the Celtics avoided explicitly insulting Stockton, the guard did get a real Larry Legend experience.

The Gonzaga product recalled seeing him as a freshman in an interview with Dan Patrick in 2018. I feel like 43 tonight, he muttered as he passed our bench at the Salt Palace. And he emerged, scoring forty-three points in the third quarter to evaluate himself with a victory of twenty points. That one impressed me a little bit.

After hearing a good number of Bird anecdotes, Patrick questioned Stockton about whether Bird actually chose a random number to score that many points.

“Well, it was pretty amazing,” the legendary Jazz musician replied. “Especially with his support for it.”