“Rolled up his sleeves and made about 15 in a row” – Paul George once raved about Larry Bird’s amazing shooting skills during his Pacers tenure

Larry Bird was LeBron James before LeBron James. He was the best small forward in the game and, upon digging into his tape, most people would agree that his game was tailor-made for today’s basketball.

That’s why, on top of being an outstanding playmaker with an elite court vision and a high basketball IQ, he also happened to be a natural-born shooter.

That didn’t go away even after his playing days. In a 2013 interview with SLAM Magazine, Paul George told a story of how Bird left everybody in awe when they were together with the Indiana Pacers:

"He picked a ball up that had rolled over. He rolled up his sleeves and made about 15 in a row and just walked out like nothing just happened. It was the craziest thing I’ve seen," George admitted.

Trending

Bird inaugurated the legendary 50/40/90 club in the 1986-87 season, and he joined it again in 1987-88. He was a 37.6% shooter from three for his career, and even after all those years, he could still leave people in awe:

"We were speechless. We didn’t know whether to keep shooting or just to end practice. It was sweet, man," George said.

The craziest part about Bird's shooting is that he actually had to change his form after breaking his index finger in the summer right before his first season in the league. He also dealt with countless back injuries throughout the course of his career, so he could've been even better.

Larry Bird was the ultimate trash-talker

Larry Bird was also known for being an absolutely ruthless trash-talker. Among all the stories, perhaps choosing to play left-handed because he wanted to save his right hand for the next game was at the top of the list:

“I’m saving my right hand for the Lakers," Bird told reporters after playing the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 14, 1986.

Despite taking 10 of his 34 shots with his left hand, Bird still finished the game with 47 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in 49 minutes in a 120-119 overtime win.

Ten, true to his word, he dominated the Lakers for 22 points, 18 rebounds, and seven assists in a win just a couple of days later.

Bird just had a way to get under the opposition's skin, and he was the last guy anybody wanted to piss off before or during a game.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

Know More