When sports fans reflect on some of the greatest players in NBA it’s hard not to think of Boston Celtic legend Larry Bird. In order to celebrate his illustrious career in the NBA we compiled 25 Awesome Larry Bird Quotes From The Celtic Legend because even Michael Jordan will tell you just how good of a player Bird was.
Bird amassed three NBA Championships, was a two-time NBA Championship MVP and a three-time NBA league MVP. He spent his entire players career with the Boston Celtics and later on went on to coach the Indiana Pacers from 1997-2000. Bird knew what it took to be competitive in the league during the Jordan years and the two had quite the showdown in 1986 where Bird had a near triple double with 36 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Jordan dropped 63 points during the game but Bird’s heart and skill showed throughout the face-off.
Bird also never took any crap from anyone on the court and knew that he was just as good as any legend that came before him. He was a prolific scorer as well as a great facilitator on the court. That’s why Bird’s impact on the sport of basketball will forever be remembered in the history of the sport. You can check out the 25 Awesome Larry Bird Quotes From The Celtic Legend compilation below.
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.”
“The best players will play. That’s the way it will always be.”
“I knew I was as good as anybody. That’s not really bragging; it’s just that I’d put the time in.”
“The first thing I would do every morning was look at the box scores to see what Magic did. I didn’t care about anything else.”
“I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me.”
“Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.”
“I hate losing more than I like to win.”
“The key to being a good shooter is balance. Everything follows balance.”
“I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.”
“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”
“It doesn’t matter who scores the point, it’s who can get the ball to the scorer.”
“Obviously losing is very difficult, but when you’re rebuilding you know you’re going through stages, it’s going to be tough, but as long as you draft the players and you see a bright future, I think it’s going to be lights at the end of the tunnel, it’s going to be very good, not only for me, but for the franchise and that’s what’s most important.”
“As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me, because it’s disrespect to my game.”
“I wasn’t real quick, and I wasn’t real strong. Some guys will just take off and it’s like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.”
“When I was a kid, like 14 or 15, I played with the waiters from the hotel, ’cause that was the best game. And these guys, they’d let me play. And they were black guys.”
“When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.”
“It’s unbelievable. But I’ve never been to a pro football game. I’ve never been to a pro hockey game, either. I guess I’m not much of a sports fan.”
“The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.”
“When I was a kid, I never thought about anything. Never had to think about where I was going to school or what I was going to do. I just lived minute to minute.”
“It’s been a journey, the NBA. It’s taken me a lot farther than I ever expected.”
“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.”
“You can makes all the excuses you want, but if you’re not mentally tough and you’re not prepared to play every night, you’re not going to win.”
“Well the kids are so young now. I mean, there’s a lot of kids that come out that have great talent, but they’re so young you don’t know how they’re going to mature of the years and I think it’s really just a guess. You know they have the talent, you know they have the fundamentals, it’s just about whether they’re going to get better and better. That’s probably been the hardest thing. We like to take guys that have had a lot of college experience and that had good coaching, and been good kids along the way, but you just never know until you’ve had then for a couple years because you never know how they’re going to turn out.”
“I never learned anything by losing.”
“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.”