Larry Bird Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Talking Trash to Dominique Wilkins
Larry Bird may not be able to light up the scoreboard like he once could, but he can still talk trash at an All-NBA level.
On the occassion of the Atlanta Hawks unveiling a 13.5-foot statue of Dominique Wilkins at Philips Arrena, the Boston Celtics legend took yet another verbal shot at his former foe.
The burn was nothing but net.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not made in a defensive stance,’’ Bird quipped about the statue in a video shown at the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, via Chris Vivlamore of the Altanta Journal Constitution.
Dubbed “The Human Highlight Film’’ for his dynamic, acrobatic game during a career that stretched from 1982 through 1999, Wilkins is no stranger to the sound of Bird’s chirping. The pair delighted fans with their high-scoring battles over the years, notably in Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals when the two combined for 81 points. Wilkins outscored Bird, 47-34, but the Celtics prevailed 118-116 to win the series.
As noted by Bird, Wilkins wasn’t heralded for his defensive prowess.
Decades before his own NBA accomplishments were immortalized in granite and even before the majority of those heroics took place, Wilkins was welcomed to the NBA by some of Bird’s famously antagonistic banter.
“One of the first times I ever played against him, I went out for the opening tip and I went to shake his hand. He just stood there and looked at me stone-faced with his hands behind his back,’’ Wilkins told the Boston Herald ahead of the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in February.
“I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then we were getting ready for the tip and he says to me, ‘You don’t belong in this league, Homes.’ I couldn’t believe it, but it happened so fast, I didn’t know what to think.’’
Wilkins would more than prove he belonged over the course of his career. But Bird has also shown that he’s never going to let Wilkins have the final word.
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