Without uttering a word, Larry Bird was able to make his opponent “look like a real douche bag.”

Without uttering a word, Larry Bird was able to make his opponent “look like a real douche bag.”

Larry Bird is almost as well-known for his trash talk as he is for his basketball abilities. Throughout his illustrious career, Bird frequently used his cutting remarks to demoralize and instill fear in his opponents. But during the height of his career, the Boston Celtics Hall of Famer was rumored to have had such a rapid tongue that, without speaking, he could reach into opponents’ heads.

Without uttering a word, Larry Bird could enter his opponents’ thoughts.

Without uttering a word, Larry Bird could enter his opponents’ thoughts.

Leo Rautins was an excellent college player at Syracuse and the second-ever Canadian player taken in the 1983 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-8 forward had the distinct (dis)pleasure of playing against Larry Bird even though he didn’t participate in many NBA games.

In 2020, Rautins told The Athletic a couple tales about his interactions with Larry Legend during a reflection on Bird’s renowned trash-talking.

In the most positive of ways, Rautins said to writer Jayson Jenkins, “Larry was a prick.”

To put it in the best possible light, Larry was a prick.

He went on to discuss what had led him to make this statement, beginning with his memories of their courtside matchup.

I spent the preseason with the Nets. I’m taking care of Larry’s belongings. He curls up from the baseline to the top of the key after coming off this screen. I’m way back when he catches the ball. Rautins remembers, “I’m trying everything to get past these screens and get to him. “I swear to God, even though he remained silent, he was thinking, Come on, keep coming, keep going, you’re nearly here, jump… Alright, let me shoot the ball. I had never felt something so strange.