Would you go to him or a guy who has taken that many shots in the course of a year?” – Larry Bird on why he always wanted to take the last shot
Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird always wanted to take the last shot in games because he thought he was just better than anyone else at it. The three-time champion was always confident in his shot-making abilities because he knew he worked harder than anyone, especially at shootaround and in practice.
“When it comes down to the last shot, I would take that shot over anyone because over a period of a whole year or in the Playoffs, I probably would’ve taken two or three thousand shots more than my teammates. Now, would you go to him or a guy who has taken that many shots in a course of a year? So I always felt that I’m the guy they should go to because I’m the guy who is going to hit the shot,” Bird said in a vintage interview with NBA.com in 1991.
Confident for a reason
Bird wasn’t boastful about knowing he would most likely hit a shot late in the game. It’s true because the stats speak for themselves.Throughout his 13 seasons in the NBA, ‘Larry Legend’ put up 24.3 points per game on 49.6% field goal and 37.6% three-point shooting.
Larry could light it up, and as the moment got bigger, his confidence only expanded further.
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“If you’re going to be good at anything, you have to practice it, and I always felt that the only way to get better is to go out there and shoot and get your rhythm. I go at all the time and hit 80% of my shots. But in the game situation, you have to get to where you can hit the shots under pressure, and that’s where I think you eliminate the man from the boys down the game,” Larry added.
Bird on how he made his teammates better
Larry also believes that besides his ability to convert shots late in the game, he made his teammates better because he knew where to always be on the court. For him, the teammate who made him better was Kevin McHale. Because of his experience playing with him, Bird wanted to be that person for his team.
Being a helpful teammate is more than just bailing the team out with one’s shot-making skills. It means knowing how to counter the opponent’s defense by getting to the spots where his teammates can pass him the ball when they’re trapped on the court.
“If the guy’s on me and I’m in trouble, Kev’s down low, I’ll throw the ball just about anywhere, and he’ll get in and put it in and make it look really simple. So I think that’s sort of how other guys feel about me. When they get in trouble, they know they can go to me when they need two points, and that’s basically what’s happened over the last few years,” Bird concluded.
“Bird’s first nine years is the greatest start to a career in the history of the NBA” – Bill Simmons on Larry’s legacy
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BOSTON CELTICSLARRY BIRDNBA
BY NICOLE GANGLANI
Nicole has been covering the NBA for over two years now—she’s been an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan for 16 years.
Follow @nicoleganglani
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