A prime Larry Bird was a full-blown nightmare for anyone in his path. Ask the Los Angeles Lakers, ask Magic Johnson—they’ll tell you exactly how it felt. During the Boston Celtics’ dominant ’80s run, especially across Bird’s three straight MVP seasons, he wasn’t just great; he was inevitable, untouchable.

Now, his former teammate and NBA legend, Robert Parish, shared a hilarious behind-the-scenes story about Bird. Parish recently joined the Run It Back crew for a conversation. “We were playing the Phoenix Suns out in Phoenix, and Tom Chambers had just put them up by two points,” Parish shared. “And we needed a three-pointer to win the ball game. So KC draws up a play, a three-point shot for Larry to take the last shot.

“So we break the hurdle sooner than the Suns does. Larry walks over to the Phoenix Suns and steps in front of Chambers and tells Tom Chambers, ‘The only white man that can guard me is God.’ And then he pointed to the spot where he was going to take the shot,” Robert Parish continued.

Meanwhile, Parish was left surprised when Chambers let Bird catch the ball exactly where he predicted. In simple terms, Larry Bird intimidated and controlled the moment. Despite warning the defender, he still got to his spot, received the pass cleanly, and confidently took the decisive shot as planned.

“He was doing the Steph Curry shooting and walking away before it hit, before it goes through the net. Larry was doing that before Steph Curry was,” Parish added. So, well, Stephen Curry wasn’t always the first one to make dance moves after hitting lethal 3s.

Meanwhile, Larry ” had that crooked finger up like that and walked off the court. All net, by the way, and he’s never looked back. Never looked back one time. All net. That is incredible. That just tells you the confidence and the arrogance of Larry Bird.” Many might not know this, but a 1982 softball injury permanently bent the NBA Hall of Famer’s right index finger at a 90-degree angle.

However, no injury was big enough to control Larry Bird’s leadership and arrogance on the court. He started his career as the 6th overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft for the Boston Celtics. And when he hung up his boots in 1992, he wore the same green with pride.

Also, everyone knew Bird as one of the most fearless trash-talkers in the league. And no one in the NBA tried riling him up, unless you wanted to face the wrath of the most unstoppable hooper of his time. But Reggie Miller and Chuck Persons were seemingly different.

Larry Bird gave a rookie, Reggie Miller, a taste of trash-talking

“It’s a toss-up between Chuck Persons and Reggie Miller. They tried. But the thing is, they couldn’t talk that talk like Larry did and then had the performance that Larry had,” Robert Parish said. “They couldn’t bag it up basket-for-basket. That was the one difference.”

He added, “See, Larry talking trash to you, he’s telling you he’s kicking your butt, but he’s actually showing you he’s kicking your butt. He’s not talking to talk, he’s walking the walk too. That’s a big difference.” Well, no one knows this better than the Indiana Pacers legend, Reggie Miller.

Reggie Miller recalled an incident in one of his rookie season games against the Celtics. With about 20 seconds left, they fouled Larry Bird while trailing by three. As a rookie, Miller tried to distract Bird at the line, only to realize he was facing one of the greatest free-throw shooters ever. “I said out of the side of my mouth, ‘Hey, hey.’ He stopped right before he shot, looked at me, and said, ‘You gotta be kidding me. Rook, you gotta be kidding me.'”

Meanwhile, Larry Bird got the ball, and before he took the shot, he looked Reggie in the eyes. And said, “Rook, I’m the best f—ing shooter in the league right now, in the league, understand? And you’re up here tryna say something?”

Fear was inevitable when Larry Bird stepped on the floor. Therefore, whether it was calling his shot, backing every word, or silencing rookies, he controlled every moment. Moreover, even flaws became statements of dominance. Thus, Bird set the standard for confidence, forcing opponents to accept one truth: he always delivered.