More than two decades after he officially retired, the great Larry Bird still possessed a sharp tongue. Whenever he was around in the Indiana Pacers training facility as the president of basketball operations, nobody was safe, as any simple conversation with Bird could affect your confidence as a player.
That’s exactly what happened to Bojan Bogdanovic. According to him, Bird didn’t really say a lot, but his words were profound and impactful.
Advertisement
Bogdanovic revealed that more often than not, Larry Legend would let him know how great a player he was during his time. For some strange reason, Bogdanovic said Bird usually left him doubting himself every after their brief dialogues.
“Most guys will try to pronounce my name,” Bogdanovic once said. “And when they stumble, they end up giving me some sort of nickname. Mr. Bird doesn’t do that. He just calls me number 44 and sometimes he tells me how many times he scored more than the number on his jersey when he played and that I should have picked a lower number.”
“When he says these things, I have to make a choice: Do I become better, or do I cry?” he continued.
Advertisement
Bojan stuck to No. 44
Fortunately for Bogdanovic, he was mentally tough enough to endure the stinging words of Bird.
Despite making him think that he was not that good, Bogdanovic managed to stay focused on his game.
Bojan’s highest-scoring performance with the Pacers was when he dropped 37 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2019. Even though he never scored more than the number on his jersey like Bird effortlessly did back in the day, Bogdanovic refused to ditch the No. 44.
Advertisement
In 2021, Bogdanovic finally went over the 44 mark and scored a career-high 48 points against the Denver Nuggets. However, he was already with the Utah Jazz at the time.
Needless to say, he would’ve loved to see how Bird would’ve reacted to it.
Bird let the Pacers know why he was better than them
Bogdanovic wasn’t the only player who experienced almost the same thing with Bird. In recent years, there have been a number of former Pacers players who have opened up about how savage Larry Legend was as a trash-talker.
Advertisement
The good thing about it, though, is that unlike other boastful legends, Bird could really walk the talk. In fact, he proved that he still got it by randomly hitting shot after shot during a Pacers team practice.
Apparently, Bird has done it more than once during his tenure as a Pacers executive. Peja Stojakovic once talked about it but the most recent one was from Paul George.
In an interview, Bird was quizzed about it. Unsurprisingly, Larry Legend said something to the Pacers players when he was done knocking down a bunch of 3-pointers.
Advertisement
“I didn’t notice (people were watching) until I quit and somebody said, ‘Why are you quitting?’ I said, ‘Well, why shoot if you’re making all of them?'” Bird told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
In retrospect, it’s hard to tell if Bird intended to break the Pacers’ confidence by talking trash or showing off his shooting skills.
It just goes to show why there is no other NBA legend quite like Larry Legend.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.