When Larry Bird was a rookie with the Boston Celtics, he refused to let anyone intimidate him.
Larry Bird is a living legend these days. The forward established himself as a lethal shooter, a vicious trash talker, and a serial winner while playing with the Boston Celtics. However, he was unable to demand any preferential treatment when he first teamed up with his NBA teammates. The lowest link in the food chain, even Larry Bird, went inside the locker room.
But Larry Bird was never going to be anyone’s lackey when it came to rookie hazing. He was clear from the beginning that his goal was to win games, not to perform errands for the senior players of the Boston Celtics.
Larry Bird’s ascent to fame in the NCAA
On paper, the best high school players will all enroll in big-time colleges and play their NCAA ball in the power conferences. Larry Bird, however, did things a bit differently.
During high school, Bird made a name for himself as a prolific scorer; he showed enough talent to earn a scholarship to the University of Indiana. The forward, however, wasn’t destined to be a Hoosier.
Although Bird had proven himself in the NCAA ranks and clearly possessed plenty of talent, he was still an NBA rookie. That meant he was expected to pay his dues as the new man at the bottom of the food chain. Larry Legend, however, was too confident for any shenanigans; from the start, he made it clear that he didn’t have any interest in running errands for the senior players.
Bird was still a rookie in the NBA, despite having established himself in the NCAA and having a lot of talent. That implied that as the new man at the bottom of the food chain, he had obligations. But Larry Legend was too self-assured for gamesmanship, and he was upfront about his lack of interest in doing errands for the elder players.
“Back in the old days, every rookie had to carry bags on the road,” Jeff Judkins told Jayson Jenks of The Athletic. “I’ll never forget our first road trip. He stood up in front of all the guys on the bus and said, ‘I want you guys to know: I’m never going to get you any water, and I’m never going to carry one bag ever.”
It’s safe to say that Larry Bird backed up his word.
“Every rookie had to carry bags on the road back in the day,” Jeff Judkins said to The Athletic’s Jayson Jenks. “I will always remember our first road trip. “I want you guys to know: I’m never going to get you any water, and I’m never going to carry one bag ever,” he declared as he got up in front of all the males on the bus.
It’s reasonable to conclude that Larry Bird kept his commitment.
