Even among the pantheon of great NBA trash-talkers, some stories stand apart. A newly shared anecdote from Hall of Fame teammate Robert Parish about Larry Bird’s confidence might just top them all. During the Boston Celtics’ dominant ’80s run, especially across Bird’s three straight MVP seasons, he wasn’t just great — he was inevitable.

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.

Parish was left stunned when Chambers let Bird catch the ball exactly where he predicted. Despite warning the defender, Bird 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.

Parish described Bird’s reaction after the shot: “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.

Yet no injury was enough to diminish Bird’s command on the court. Bird’s legendary arrogance was a constant throughout his career, from the moment the Celtics drafted him 6th overall in 1978 until he retired in that same green uniform in 1992.

Everyone knew Bird as one of the most fearless trash-talkers in the league. No one tried riling him up, unless they wanted to face the wrath of the most unstoppable hooper of his time. But Reggie Miller and Chuck Person was seemingly different.

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

“It’s a toss-up between Chuck Person 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.

No one knows this better than Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller. He recalled an incident from his rookie season 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.'”

Bird got the ball, 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?”

From calling his shot in Phoenix to putting a rookie like Reggie Miller in his place, Bird didn’t just play the game — he dictated its terms. His confidence was his ultimate weapon, and for more than a decade, the rest of the league had no choice but to respect it.