When it comes to legendary trash-talking stories in the NBA, one guy stands above all, and that is Larry Bird. The Boston Celtics legend might be one of the greatest players ever, but the Hick from French Lick added spice to his game with his relentless mouth and fiery competitive approach.
Nobody was safe from Larry’s wrath, and if you even thought about talking back to him, you were in for a long night. A rookie Clyde Drexler learned that the hard way, as the confident Portland Trail Blazers guard decided to go at Bird. It was a tough day at work for the young Glyde, as Larry couldn’t help but be surprised by his boldness.
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“I was guarding him my rookie year,” Drexler said. “He looks at me and he goes, ‘You can’t stop me.’ I looked at him and I said, ‘Gosh. Boy, you’re so confident.’ He goes, ‘Confident? You’re a rookie. You don’t know anything.'”
Play with fire and get burned
Drexler might have been a hot prospect coming out of Houston and with sound reasoning — ending his career as one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. However, despite Clyde’s talent, jawing with an experienced Larry in your rookie season wasn’t the most intelligent decision.
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“He proceeded to score like 10 straight points on me,” Clyde added. “Coach took me out the game, and he walks by and he’s laughing at me.”
The stats back up Glyde’s story, as Bird was fantastic in his two outings vs. the Blazers during Drexler’s rookie season. In the first game, Larry dropped 41 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and then followed it up with a 34-point, 18-rebound and nine-assist performance — both in Boston’s victories, of course.
The 21-year-old Drexler couldn’t do much about it, scoring just four and six points, respectively, in not too much playing time. However, it was enough for Clyde to piss off Larry and make Portland pay.
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Good guy, but fierce competitor
While most stories about Larry revolve around his blunt, hard-nosed and sometimes rough approach to his opponents, that was all part of his competitive mindset. According to Bird’s former Celtics teammate Danny Ainge, the legendary small forward was laid-back and cool off the court but a demon on the hardwood, using trash talk as a firestarter to get himself going.
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“Larry was a quiet guy, and he wasn’t a loud and obnoxious personality. But he had a great sense of humor. He was a character,” Ainge said. “Most of the time, it seemed like his trash-talking was for motivation. It wasn’t like he was always just trash-talking to everybody. It was spotty, but when he did it, it was big.”
Bird knew how to distinguish his on-court and off-court personalities well, as they were polar opposites. When playing, you couldn’t miss him, either dropping bombs from outside or getting into it with the best opposing players, while outside, he was just a humble family man out of Indiana.
However, the best always knew when to turn it up, and Larry Legend was one of them. Many fell victim to his trash-talking greatness and tried to match it, as Drexler was just one of many. After all, Clyde the Glyde became a better player after that experience and became a great player himself.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.