“I believe I understand how to win the game,” Larry Bird said to Bill Russell after disclosing his greatest ability.
There are numerous ways to characterize the greatness of Larry Bird. But only “Larry Legend” himself could accurately describe what he does best.
Bird was asked to identify his best playing technique by fellow Boston Celtics icon Bill Russell during a 1982 special CBS Sports interview. Larry says he can accomplish anything, but his winning attitude has always been apparent.
Without a doubt, I now think that I’m among the league’s top players in the final stretch. In addition to scoring, I might also need to play defense, lead the charge, steal the ball, and get a rebound. At those crucial moments, when there are two or three minutes remaining in the game and it’s tied, I feel like I have something and know how to win the game, said Bird.
He then added, “I think I can make other things happen, but maybe scoring might be my best asset.”
Technically speaking, 11-time NBA champion Russell concurred that Bird possessed the necessary skills to prevail. Wilt Chamberlain, Bill’s eventual opponent, however, believed that in addition to the mentality, “The Hick from French Lick” also played appropriately and correctly—something that not all great players could accomplish.
“In my opinion, he perfectly embodies the role of a forward, particularly in the game he participated in because of his technical accuracy. Chamberlain once remarked of Bird, “He was a correct type of basketball player, and most people today don’t play the game correctly, and he did.”
The other outstanding ability of Bird
Bird’s greatest accomplishments were winning, as seen by his incredible steal of Isiah Thomas’ inbound pass in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals and his famous left-hand putback of his own miss in the 1981 NBA Finals.
But while Bird made a name for himself as one of the best players of all time, a lot of people have forgotten about his ability to trash talk.
In terms of winning, according to Bird, trash-talking didn’t work. But a little bit of brutality always served him well.
I learned early in life to strive to take advantage of every opportunity. I talk less than I used to since I can’t support my statements with the same vigor as before, but it also makes me feel better and boosts my confidence. Bird once said, “I don’t know if it does anything to the opponent, but it gets me fired up.”