Larry Bird on The Dan Patrick Show (Full Interview) 07/27/2015

the Indiana Pacers will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Hoosiers by wearing the film's chicory uniforms during select games this season paulie's actually wearing the uniform the George Hill wore during the press conference there and then you have to send this back to the Pacers right Paulie unless mr. bird allows us to yeah Larry how do you think you would look in those uniforms I couldn't fit in any uniform right now give me a couple months on my bill fit in one but George looked pretty good in it so I think it's going to be a big hit for us explain that whole phenomenon of Hoosiers that in Indiana that the small school is competing against the big ones even your your how small was your high school I don't know we want to smallest in the state what happened what what it is damn back in the day back when I played they were we didn't have class basketball now they do so the dream was to always be able to be good enough to play in sorry about that play against the big schools and that's what we try to do we try to be good enough to maybe have an opportunity one day play against the Crispus Attucks or Jeffersonville or New Albany but unfortunately I played with the kid that kept missing free throws at the end of the game and we didn't get there what wait was there a hacker Shack going on with your team back then well with my point guard he got a little nervous and they knew it so they started fouling him and we just didn't make it you're not over it are you never you know what the loss is a loss and a big loss but hey you know what's funny I was at a party about two years ago and a party of the cookout and this lady's been her 70s she looked at my friend says what are you doing here he goes why come the cookout she was after missing in Fritos back in 74 you should even show your face now just been 35 years I understand that but that happened damn yeah but that's it's so important to the fabric of a town there I mean yeah I mean it was that was everything back then of how good the basketball team was yeah not just a basketball but sports back in the day you know I mean they went to football games basketball games and our gymnasium held 2800 and we used to get 4300 in there but it you know I mean it's big Indiana basketball especially in my hometown back when we we plan not only me but my brothers and my cousins and all that it was a big it was a big deal it's not as big now because of class but I don't think it's just because of class basketball but the excitement and tear the teams are not as good how biggest are were you in high school well I mean there's how many billions of people they are in China they all knew me well know in high school that's why I'm saying high school they knew who you were in China sure they did Dan okay nobody knew about me in the States but my second but it's kinda know I was from a town of 2,000 people 10 I was 6 1 it says a sophomore 6 3 as a junior and 6 7 as a senior you know I mean I averaged a lot of points a lot of rebounds and won a lot of games but I don't know I didn't go around and you know ask people if they knew I noticed that you averaged only four assists your senior year in high school now they did that by quarters yeah everything they do it always by Corps really ya know so you averaged look but 16 assists there oh I'm sure I did man well I don't know I don't think so because guys couldn't make less they made all the layups yeah but I did have a pretty good team I played on my teammates for good in high school we just couldn't win the big one how would things be different for you would they be different if you were coming out of high school now yeah oh I don't know it would be as much fun but would you be a one-and-done no I don't think so I don't think I would do it Dan when I was 18 Jesus Christ it's a little different now these kids are seem like more mature the body's filled out you know they're ready for the challenge I was never there's no way I could come out at 18 19 years old go to the pearl but when did you know that you you were you had that ability to be something different that you could play it possibly play in the NBA well when I was in the summer I was at rookie free agent camp in Boston they had some veterans there and they played a couple days with us and I know it's just summer I know it's not in the games and no but I know I remember one day I walked out and I go I'm not gonna have any problem this league that's the first time I really felt that you know growing come from a small school high school then went to a mid-major you know there's always doubt people always told me what wait you get to the pros this and that but it didn't take long it didn't take long for me to feel that I could pack a play in this league did you see that story about I guess it started with Shaq and Scottie Pippen on the all-time Bulls team against the old-time Laker team and Jack and Scottie were going back at each other and then then people started looking at if I had the old-time Celtic team against the old-time Laker team how would that work out did you follow that story at all no but you know I see things all the time I mean who really cares people really care about that I think they like to argue it yeah it's court one error you're in though I mean in 80s they always think that people from that era think that that was the best time for basketball and now you know it's completely different well why was it so much better the appearance it was so much better in the 80s than it is now well the parents is because most of the big stars came out then you know Jordan Pippen Jordan had his run he had Carl Malone John Stockton Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing Chris Mullin and me just go to the you know it just goes on and on and on and I mean there's a lot of great players I said Thomas Kevin McHale you know just from the mid eighties early the 83-82 all the way through there just so many names that people can recognize with and I think that's why they think it was the best time and to me I always felt our 8016 - how could you get anything better than that but I'm sure there are teams out there were better than that but the style though of what was played in the 80s is what made it so much fun well the style was there was two different styles there's either the beat down the east and there's a run-and-gun in the West and you had to be able to play both styles to win a championship that's why that's why I always liked it in the East you know against New York you know Philadelphia people don't talk about Philadelphia's great teams they've had grad great teams in the 80s early 80s as a beat down then you go the Lakers you know they walk through the championship every year out there then you had to go against Sam and you had to score 125 points a game to win so how would you done in the Lakers style oh we got a lot of sleep after the game I can tell you that beautiful tired well that's a lot of running yeah I can beveren 84 we they were in a championship game we were playing them they had us down in a CEREC mexico said something to me about hey you can't beat what you can't catch run for bath but you guys ran with them when you play them in the end but that wasn't our style I mean we could do both styles but if we did it all year long yeah I wouldn't been a big deal but you know we really we did it we go on the west coast trip for two weeks we knew it was going to be up and down running gun and all that but then you go through the playoffs and you know you score 100 508 points games all sudden you're up 225 that's a whole different ball game Michael Jordan said he could beat anybody on his roster pal yes oh gee come on he believes it though well you can believe what everyone but I said there's no way and what's it say about his roster Larry if we can beat everybody on the roster I don't know if he can do that or not he had to prove that to me these people when I got with this stuff go dance that's like no you going to tell on your radio shows that you could beat me one-on-one I don't know this redic I could score on you hey bikes cool okay I just want you on record I just want proven okay if we played to 21 well first of all I'm not playing the 20 okay go by three okay we'll go bite I like about 10 we'll play to 10 okay no make it take it oh well that's no well no I can't there's no make it take it how do I do I need to say this is probably 10 date all right fair enough cuz I just sit down and take a break when you got the ball was there and was there ever a point though after when you were coaching that you were better than somebody on your roster back when I was 40 no I don't know about that what about shooting oh yeah yeah yeah ain't no problem okay but was there a point where you were the best shooter on the team and you weren't on the team you were coaching the team no I Reggie Reggie was here crystal chrismole and Sam perk there's pretty good shooters okay but after those guys left well I'll get an older after they left wait you were just on that Jordan letting it go yeah you can still take these guys and shut up nobody take them on or not then I mean you know you talking about I would say I was probably 40 yeah 40 and Reggie them guys were coming into her prime and Chris was a little bit older Sempron no I couldn't I had a hard time staying with Chris Mullin Wow shooting with him back my in Olympics when I was playing an Olympics try are not trial to the game but do you see Steph Curry can you say after four or five years that he's the best shooter that we've ever seen I don't know about that Chris Mullin was pretty good you just getting out there shooting around you mean game shots I don't know even how you characterize it because when somebody says if I say the best deep shooter in the game yeah I'd say he's prayer cuz you know there are so many good I mean people don't even know who Joey hasit is and he's one of the best deep shooters I ever saw know or Conner Henry was good Bale Ellis I mean there's so many guys in there how about Mark Price and you know there's something I always thought deep shooter occurs about one of the best would be who would be in the conversation though are you in the conversation yeah sure I am okay he says Bess or something yeah did i insult you by asking you that okay good now I'm consoled Reggie Miller yep Reggie hit as many big shots if you go back and look over over the years as anyone he's a tie the game or are go up by one or win the game as many as anybody I mean I've seen it I played against him and I coached him he's hit a lot of big shots so there's something to be said for the guy who does it when you have to have it done that's right those those guys that can do it for the first three quarters all right well the thing is you know anybody can shoot it one's tied it's when you're down one or down two I mean how many guys make that shot I know that you know they're people like you and Jerry whether there's certain guys that it's not in their DNA to to not try to win or tank I just how do we how do we prevent tanking in the NBA well there those I don't know I don't have the answer but mine I've always said these teams has been in the lottery for more than three years should have to sit out one time and what they would do they would trade that pick away when they knew it was coming up then they get back in again the next year there's there you know there are league's full lawyers they can come up with something well I was wondering if you did this once you're eliminated the more wins you have after you're eliminated the more ping-pong balls you get well many nights now think about it but if you say it along with you then who's calling you right now when you're trying because you know tomorrow they're gonna have a big story Larry Bird said but you really said it I disagreed with it is that Jordan calling you right now probably I want to play me one-on-one yeah could you take Jordan right now could I take Jordan where's this going what kind of where my Hickory uniform yes you can well that'd be a good game Jordans gonna wear his North Carolina jersey and you're going Hickory Hickory a one-on-one with Jordan yep kind of hate to admit this but he killed me I don't know if I honestly believe that but then I come 40 pounds more and I was when I played I'm broken down I really don't care like I used to I don't I have a fight in me but it's not the fight that I once had but it'd be a pretty close game hey thanks for joining us with the the Hickory uniforms and should be great 30th anniversary of Hoosiers the Pacers will celebrate that with select games next season wearing those Hickory uniforms don't be awesome Damon thank you thanks for having good to catch up with you Larry thank you lovely all right that's a labor on the Famer

Channel: Dan Patrick Show

Views: 653,685

Keywords: Dan Patrick, The Dan Patrick Show, Danettes, Sports, Larry Bird (Basketball Player)

Id: o56BffdgoH0

Length: 14min 25sec (865 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 27 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/SilentGinger89]

Larry Legend, still a fucking g and funny as hell

[u/coda19]

This was so awesome. Please stay with the Pacers forever!

[u/doitforthepeople]

Larry Legend...great interview. I don't know people's opinion on Dan Patrick but he's a great interviewer.

[u/trexdracula]

Thanks for sharing. Always love listening to some Bird stories.