Ex-Lakers Champion Reveals How Larry Bird Changed His Game

Getty Larry Bird

Larry Bird is a Boston Celtics legend, having won three titles and multiple MVPs during his time in Boston. However, he also had a profound impact on NBA champions who came after him, like Metta Sandiford-Artest.

On the February 27 episode of “The OGs” with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, the former Los Angeles Lakers champion talked about how a conversation with Bird changed his game completely.

“I remember asking Larry things like, ‘I watch you on tape, Larry. You’re not really fast; you’re getting into the basket. I’m like, no disrespect, but you’re kind of, you’re really slow. I told him no disrespect because I’m watching him, and I’m like how he getting buckets when he wants. He said when you see the lane, take it. I’m like, what else? He said that’s it,” Sandiford-Artest said.

Sandiford-Artest then elaborated on how his game changed.

“That opened up my whole game, and you know, back then, they put hands on everybody, so then that’s when I was doing one dribble pull up, one dribble here. So that’s when I was trying to get to the basket or work on my shot where I can just one dribble pull up, one dribble pull up. So I was super sharp and was in the gym every day, and Larry had to do that.”

Sandiford-Artest played for the Pacers when Bird was their President of Basketball Operations. Though the two did not experience success together in Indiana, Sandiford went on to win a title with the Lakers in 2010.

Larry Bird Says He Had Something Modern Players Don’t

While talking with NBA Hall-of-Famers Reggie Miller and Isaiah Thomas, Larry Bird revealed what made him different from today’s NBA players.

“The one thing that I have that a lot of don’t have — there’s a lot of players who have it — I had the ability to play every night,” Bird said with Miller and Thomas on NBA on TNT. “I brought it every night.

“I had a good understanding that the Celtics paid me to win basketball games. It was my job to win basketball games, so every time I walked out there, I felt like I had to win to make them happy. The one thing I can say in everything that I’ve done is I gave it my all. I paid the price with a lot of injuries I had, but I laid it on the line every night — practice, playing — and it made me better. Plus, I was playing against the world’s best. That’s what it’s all about.”

Bird retired at 35, mere months before the 1992-93 season started.

Larry Bird Mocks Isiah Thomas for Infamous Play

In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics stole a victory away from the Pistons. With seconds left in the game, Larr Bird picked off a pass from Thomas, to which he quickly passed to Dennis Johnson who then scored the go-ahead layup. The heads-up play led to the Celtics winning the game.