Kevin McHale telling his favorite Larry Bird story on Inside the NBA. Credit to / @runthroughthetape for uploading the episode from which this clip was taken.
Back in the 1980s I was at Logan Airport in Boston to repair a computer at one of the gates and saw Larry,Kevin and Robert Parrish getting off a commercial flight. I jumped up to see if I could get some autographs but Larry and Kevin kind of peeled off to a restricted area but Robert kept walking right at me. I didn't know hi family was standing next to me . I jumped at Robert and asked for his autograph and I'll never forget his words to me. He said " hold on right her while I greet my wife and kids and I'll get you that àutograph. After about a minute he came back to me with the biggest smile I had ever seen on him and asked me my name as I handed him my pen and note book. One of the most pleasant people I've met.
You got a smile from Parish👍No emotions on the floor. It was all business. Of course that was pretty much Boston's style. Very seldom did they celebrate or have any emotional display on the floor.
McHale was one weird-looking badass ball-playing machine...I remember one sportswriter saying early in his career that he 'looked like the coat hanger was still in his jersey' because of his narrow for his frame shoulders and military posture...but McHale was so competitive and so tough, and really a practical 7 footer because of his loooong arms...the dude made an entire playoff run on a stress fracture in his foot, and the minutes he gave were good minutes...that really says it all: he was willing to run on a broken foot for his teammates
mchale looked odd and graceless but was strong as an ox and wily as a fox. as a kid growing up in boston in the 80s i tried to emulate each of the big 3's moves. i could do mchale's the least. so unorthodox. i could do the step throughs and up and unders but the shots that he mastered for use to TORTURE the 4/5's of the time were just uncanny. absolutely one of the all time greats. career effectiveness cut short by the nevicular fracture that would have sent anyone else packing. he played 6 or 7 more years after that. it was sad to see him struck down in his prime- he was getting to be a 30 and 10 playoff performer and every opposing team's worst nightmare in the post
That was pretty much that entire Celtics team of the 80s. Parish was wiry, looked like he could barely jump, yet he was a great shooter and defender. DJ and Danny Ainge didn't look like very athletic guards at first glance, but they were physically tough, scrappy players. With the teams they had to get through every year, they had to be.
matrixphijr DJ was tougher than a 99 cent steak!!!! always had the scrap rep and playing TALL for his height. as his career went on he added a bit of weight each year. if the celts had been more resourceful at finding some basic bench help they could have won more cups for sure. i thought sam vincent was a perfect back up point guard- he added instant quickness and up tempo. i was sad he didn't stay around longer. and he knew isiah like the back of his hand. as for ainge- he was scrappy. and pretty tough though he sure didn't look it. i'm 99% sure that bird said of ainge "he was the best athlete i every played with" and of DJ = "the best teammate i ever had" the latter year bird and DJ line drive 70mph passes through traffic to net bird a layup were just insane. if i had to pick one moment though- it's the bird between sikma's legs for a big parish jam play- pretty sure old jack is still waking up crying in the night over that one lolll
Joe: EVERYBODY in the NBA was just stunned at McHale. He sure did look goofy. But especially when he was young, Parish and he would reject shots like crazy. Guys would get past Kevin and start to lay the ball up, when suddenly McHale's "condor arm" would swipe the ball away. Opposing forwards would be STUNNED the first time they played against him. True story.
Also, I remember seeing a poll of former NBA players and sportswriters who had been active since mid-1970s. Poll was taken in something like late 1990s. About 30 people voting in all, and from all over the nation. Who had the best offensive moves in the post/pivot area. I knew that "Kevin-me-boy" was outstanding, so I was hoping he might get some votes .......
McHale was one of the best low post players ever. He was damn hard to stop.The combo of Bird, McHale, D.J., Ainge, Parrish and Walton was one of the best ever. And when in top form as they was in 1986 they knew nobody was going to keep them from the title.
The McHale "up and under" move was deadly. Watching old games I've changed my opinion and truly believe the top 80's team could out finesse and beat up on most of todays teams. Even with modern training methods and PEDs and the like.
They sure were. It (3 stars) didn't guarantee anything other being competitive. Beyond LA, Boston and Philly, Detroit, Mliwaukee, Houston knocked them out of the playoffs some yrs. G.S, Denver, Phoenix and San Anton all had stars who gave the powerhouses trouble.
Especially if you had to played in a smaller market like Sacramento or San Antonio because youd have to make connecting flights at an airport like LAX, Dallas-Ft Worth, or Bush Airport in Houston.
I can tell you as a 6'3" and 250lb person, it wasn't as bad back then. Things definitely changed in this century with the airlines letting people reserve their own seats, months ahead, without regard to taller people. Then you have to go into a legal dispute to get a seat that isn't a torture chamber. The last time I flew they had remodeled the planes, about 10yr, ago, and my femur was physically trapped between the seatback of my seat and the seatback in front of me. This is not a safe, or comfortable, situation... Which I'm sure the taller players experienced in the 80s and prior...
Best Larry Bird story: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4euGhz7DdvY.html Bird to Dominique Wilkens: "You don't belong in this league rookie." Hits a three. "You can't guard me." Hits another three. Wilkens fast breaks, dunks on Bird and knocks him down. Bird: "I like you rookie; you've got guts. But I'm still going for 40 on you tonight." Wilkens: "But I got the best of him...he only got 39."
Bird excelled against the likes of Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Reggie Miller, Isaiah Thomas, Julius Irving, Dominique Wilkins, James Worthy, Charles Barkley and that bastard Bill Lambier. We won't see anything like that again in our lifetime. The NBA's Golden Age.
NBA in the '80s was supposedly when the game was at its pinnacle. I was born in '90, so I wouldn't know. As a Boston fan I love hearing a good Larry Bird story though.
I think this is one of those "it was always better back then moments." Like today we can say LeBron had to compete against players like Curry, Kobe, Durant, Westbrook, CP3, Duncan, Pierce, Garnett and so on. Don't get me wrong though, I love Bird. I just don't agree when people make it seems like the NBA was miles ahead back in the 80s and 90s
I think you're wrong. Every few years, players in all of sports, but especially basketball, become more athletic, which has a tendency to look like they're better overall. But Bird proved over and over again that you don't have to have the athleticism to be a badass, and can in fact go against that athleticism and beat it!! The 80's were more athletic than the 70's, the 90's were more athletic than the 80's, and so on. Today, the league and the players are more athletic than ever, but here's the problem. Superstars are superstars, they'd be superstars no matter what generation you put them in! Wilt Chamberlain would still be a superstar today, and LeBron James would still be a superstar in the 1970's. But compared to the 90's, the league sucks!!! Great players today were pretty average players. Dwight Howard led the league in rebounds for years, but in the 90's, he would've just been an average center. The Detroit Pistons team that won the championship back in 2004 and 2005, were the worst championship team ever, they never would've won in any other era. Overall, the training and nutrition are better, the way they deal with certain injuries, and ACL doesn't mean the end of a career anymore, but the game is only different because of rules the league has put into place, and they're hurting the game. Otherwise, ball is ball, and Cousy can compete with Stockton, Paul, or Westbrook!!
Love Magic and Kareem, but u gotta give Legend Larry his due. The league was at its best back then and Larry was unstoppable !! Kevin could play a little too!! They broke my heart more than a couple of times in LA v Celtics! Great competitors!! Great Champions!
This is a great story because it can be applied in any competitive team sport in the world and to any age or level of play. Larry Bird takes a lousy situation and turns it on its head.
No they are talking about flying commercial, that means in regular planes with normal people. Teams today and during Shaq's time fly with private airplanes just for the team
That's Larry FN Legend for you folks, great story but imho nothing beats the All Star Game 3 points contest story where he walked into the locker room where all the contestants were sharing and asked "which one of you is gonna be the runner up" or something along those lines.
I am a Celtic fan and love this video.Could somebody please tell me what Larry said at 1:09? Something like I am gonna take out on their end? Thanks a lot!
He said "I'm going to take it out on their rear ends," though I'm sure he actually used a different word for backsides that Kevin changed for a family-friendly show.
Someone should tell shaq that it wasn’t always about them. This league wasn’t based on star athletes but a TEAM GAME. Sometimes I think today’s players could learn a little more about the history of the game.
***** How many championships did Wilt win? He may have been the most selfish player of all-time. Mind you, he was a man among boys, but your statement is incorrect. 1. Jordan. 2. Russell 3.Magic/Bird 4.Kareem. 5.Wilt 6.Hakeem
This story also tells how weak the league is today. Back in the day they didn't have first class flights or private planes. Imagine the players right flight being delaye and a then bus ride they're going to use it as an excuse. If this happens in this era, there will be so many injuries and star players playing sluggish. Like for example, when Lebron was pulling cramps because the ac in the spurs building went out. Back in the days in the early 90's and down there was no ac or heater in the building. Imagine playing in Boston building when it was winter or in San Antonio when hot, give George "The Iceman/Mr. Finger roll" Gervin props (four times scoring champ). That's why I like old school basketball. They didn't complain and always coming doing work. To many complaints about the game today and the players want to shorten the season. This is why, the oldschool basketball players talk so much shit about the new school players today's game play and people complain about it and say they're old, wash up, and can't move on with themselves playing.
Rookies were not handed a golden spoon and teams had plenty of "seasoned" players. It seems in todays game that athleticism and youth are praised when that is rarely what wins chips. I'd trade most all my draft picks and skip the 19 year olds since it is 25 when they usually understand the game to be great and win titles.
First of all foolish one. How the hell you get roman gladiators mix with the NBA??? Second, I never once bash on the progress, nor on the NBA success, I think it's great. Third, I never said anything about money, or suggest letting fat cat owners pocket the money. I'm saying there's to many excuse, in today's game.
It's crazy, when you think about big tall dudes and then also really fat people throughout history getting into the all airplane seats. I have legit asked fat people how they got into those things I use to be skinny as fk and those things were too small
I love how Chuck complains about the current players being spoiled but he was saying flying commercial was spoiled. Well how does he think the previous generation of players felt when they had to take buses everywhere instead of planes. He’s always so quick to say the current generation is soft but he was soft compared to those that came before him.
Old school goin to work every game no matter what!!! no off nights!!!! And I don't even want to think about today's players can't compare !!!! Nba today crybabies!!!!
Can you imagine if you were an NBA player and you had to fly coach? First of all, these are big, tall guys, and the lack of legroom would be super uncomfortable. I'm 5'7", and I don't like it. But I don't know any different because I've never even flown first class. But also being stuck on a flight with autograph-hungry fans or worse fans of your rivals talking shit to you for the whole flight. I don't blame them for using charters. Plus, that way, they can always fly direct.
Unfortunately some part of the story is wrong because the Celtics never played at Cleveland followed by at New Jersey during Bird’s career, except once at the end of the season when they lost both games. all the game logs are available online
When comparing different eras of the NBA u have to take the travel into account. Today’s players think they’re rock stars and want to be treated as such.
solephonic Seriously though, sports science and teams of doctors work on them like it's nobody's business, the most advanced workout machines they have access to, all the latest and greatest gear from head to toe with the superstar players getting everything made specially for them etc...etc... The 80's all the way up to the mid 2000's was my favorite era not only in basketball but also soccer, music, television shows and some other things I can't remember right now. 🏀⚽🎼📺
How does Shaq make it into retirement and not know that just one generation before him the players flew commercial... It just goes to show the ignorance of folks at times, even if it's the history of their own business...
Can any please help explain, Charles mentioned they even "fly coach", does that mean they took economy class ? Or some other meaning ? I'm not native English speaker, trying to understand
