Quinn Buckner is one of only eight players in history of the game to win the Triple Crown – an NCAA title, an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal. While he never reached the legendary status of names on that list such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Anthony Davis or Bill Russell, he was one of the best role players of his era.
Larry Bird experienced that firsthand when Buckner joined the Boston Celtics from the Milwaukee Bucks. Upon his arrival, Red Auerbach called the trade a home run because the team had gained a relentless worker and a proven winner.
Still, in Buckner’s first season in Boston, the Celtics suffered a significant setback when the same Bucks team swept them in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This blow definitely struck Bird’s ego, as it was then and there that he decided to out-train his competition and put in the most work humanly possible in preparation for the upcoming campaign.
Buckner, already six seasons into his NBA career, thought he had seen it all until he went to train with Larry Legend in his hometown of French Lick, Indiana, that off-season.
“I actually came to work out with him in French Lick, and I thought I worked hard. I really did. And we started running up and down the hill over there. If you’ve ever been to French Lick, there’s a hill on the back side that now goes up to the Pete Dye, and I thought I was gonna die.”
“He’d been doing it routinely,” Buckner recalled.
French Lick always brought out the best in Larry
French Lick always brought out the best in Larry, not only because of its basketball obsession but also because it was a working-class town. Anyone who made something of themselves there had to rely on hard work and self-belief.
Even though he was already an NBA champion with the Celtics, that wasn’t nearly enough for Bird. He decided to spend the entire offseason working like a beast, determined to enter the next season fully prepared to chase another title. He wanted his teammates to see what it takes to get to the top and replicate him as much as possible.
“His passion for being so supportive of whatever it is he’s doing, and in this case the Celtics and Red Auerbach, had him at a high level in terms of his competitiveness and his ability to prepare, because you can’t have success unless you prepare. I don’t know anyone in my life that’s ever prepared better,” Buckner added.
That was exactly Bird’s mentality, especially when training back home. Slower than many of his rivals, he won with his IQ, but none of it would have been possible without the countless sets he performed throughout his career. And that wasn’t the only time Buckner was stunned by Bird’s elite mentality.
After winning the 1984 championship and celebrating throughout the night, Bird’s dedication once again left Buckner stunned.
“The morning after Boston’s celebration, Bird finally went home for a little shut-eye. Around mid-afternoon, Buckner, who was experiencing his first-ever NBA title, drove to Bird’s Brookline home with the hope of celebrating all over again. Larry’s wife, Dinah, informed Buckner that Larry wasn’t there,” Jackie MacMullan wrote. “Buckner said, I said to him, ‘Man, what are you doing?’ Bird looked at him quizzically before he answered, ‘I’m getting ready for next year.'”
The edge that separated Bird from his rivals
Buckner was clearly left in awe because he never shared the court with anybody so dedicated, but that was the edge that separated Bird from his rivals – the edge that separates the best players from the rest. Buckner saw it firsthand more than once. Without it, the Celtics likely wouldn’t have won three championships during his era against fierce competition.
Through his example, Bird also set a standard that the rest of the team, including Buckner that year, tried to match. That’s one detail that often flies under the radar when people talk about the greatness of the Hick from French Lick – making his teammates better and leading them by example.