Larry Bird always thought that he would die young: “Most of us big guys don’t seem to last too long”
Larry Bird was one of the most confident players to ever step inside a basketball gym. Known as a big trash talker, Bird would tell opponents what he would do and how before executing what he said.
However, while Larry Legend’s belief in his basketball abilities was second to none, he did not trust his body the same way. Late in his NBA career, Bird was bothered by back injuries, which ultimately cut short his NBA career. But more than that, Larry had an abnormal heart condition known as atrial fibrillation, which always lingered in his mind.
In an interview with Jackie McMullan for ESPN, Bird admitted that he always thought that he would die young.
“I tell my wife all the time, ‘You don’t see many 7-footers walking around at the age of 75,'” says Bird, who’s 6-foot-9. “She hates it when I say that. I know there are a few of us who live a long time, but most of us big guys don’t seem to last too long. I’m not lying awake at night thinking about it. If it goes, it goes.”