Gary Payton: “Larry Bird used to tell me ‘Look here, man. I’m gonna go shoot this motherfuckin’ jumper in your face right there in that corner. And it’s gonna be your Christmas present. I’m gonna wrap it up and bust your head open.’ All that shit. The coldest dude I ever seen with that shit, man.”

43 comments

  5. This isn’t anything new. Stories about Larry’s shit talking has been recounted by so many players who have played with/against him. What doesnt get talked about more is how tough he was (as a player) Larry will throwdown. Draymond and his antics…Larry would drop 40 on him…and look for him…talk more shit…then beat his ass on the court😂

  8. And that’s old man Larry, not even young Larry.

    Bird was 34, injured, and in his second last season when Gary even came into the league

  9. What’s more noteworthy is Draymond pretending to be amazed at the extremely well known fact that Larry Bird talked shit

  13. Larry Bird is a little like Joe Montana for young fans looking back. They can see the clips and the stats, but they can’t feel “my team is up two with 6 seconds left and the Celtics have the ball so they’re going to win” with Bird or “my team is up 4 with 1:15 left in the 4th quarter, but SF has the ball on a touchback and Montana is going to go 80 yards and get a touchdown”. These guys had that ineffable superstar ability to just rip a victory away from defeat. You can’t really get that no matter how many players from that era line up and say “Bird was cold” or “Bird would rip your heart out”. Best summary I’ve heard – “Larry Bird was a bad man”.

  15. Draymond’s “yaahhh” sounds like he still only half believes. Which is sort of on brand with his mentality that guys from previous eras are beneath him.

    People just can’t put into perspective how good Larry was because he wasn’t some high flying over the top athlete. It’s as if we aren’t living an era right this moment where guys like Jokic and Luka are dominating with technique > athleticism.

    It’s not farfetched to understand that Larry was similar during his time. He was an absolute beast.

  16. >Like us?

    Well, he didn’t follow it up with a kick to the groin if that’s what you’re getting at….

  17. It’s gotta be so cool to be that confident in your skills at a professional level that you can talk ridiculous shit to one of the best defenders ever

  21. And remember that gp was the best defensive player in the league for a few years, and the best defensive guard not named jordan maybe ever, and he couldnt do a thing to old man broken down larry….

  24. I feel like Draymond asked that question, which the answer is extremely well known, as a way to get Payton to say Dray is on the same level of talking shit. Not sure how the rest of the clip plays off and maybe GP does say that

  28. Did GP really overlap with Bird like that? His rookie season was 90-91 which was Bird’s last good season. Bird retired in 92. They played in different conferences and Bird was injured quite a bit. I’m guessing they faced each other less than ten times, probably five or so? Bird was still great and probably still talking shit so GP might be telling the truth though.

  29. As a white guy, I can’t help but smile whenever I hear a “that white boy is cold tho” dialogue.

  30. Saw Draymond’s ugly ass 2 seconds into the video and decided not to watch. Ruined it for me

  33. Larry was 6’9” 220lbs and quick. I know, I know.. he wasn’t fast but he had a very advanced skill set and that included a deceptive first step.

  34. Larry Bird was a fucking next level trash talker, and he backed up all that talk with his play. Even as a longtime Lakers fan, I gotta respect that shit.

    And Payton was no scrub, dude was a 9 time All-Star and 9 time First Team All-Defensive Player.

  36. There needs to be a doc of all of Larry’s trash talk, like an and1 mixtape, but of that

  37. Lol at Draymond having to compare it to himself, thinking his trash game is even close to Bird. He sounds clueless here.

  40. I love content like this. OGs and new Gs showing love to each other and the history of the game

  41. My second biggest regret in life is not being born enough to see magic and Larry play

  42. larry legend. the hick from french lick. the great white hope of round ball. an american treasure.

  43. Larry Bird will do your driveway, mow your lawn and give you a Christmas present in a NBA Game.

    What a nice dude!

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