When it comes to swagger in NBA history, perhaps no one had more of it than Larry Bird. “Larry Legend” wasn’t a supreme athlete, didn’t drive fancy cars, wasn’t a fan of fashion trends, or sought out extravagant parties. Still, his on-court presence was unmatched.
An NBA floor was Bird’s playground, so much so that he reshaped what it meant to be “cool” as a superstar. The greatest example of Larry’s unconventional swagger was during the 1988 three-point contest, where he opted to not even take off his warm-up jacket before proceeding to humiliate the competition. It was a lesson in true basketball pontification and left even the likes of Michael Jordan stunned.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect during NBA All-Star weekend, as the Chicago Bulls icon was being interviewed during the three-point contest and gave live commentary to Larry’s shooting clinic.
“He didn’t take off his top yet. I’d hate to see when he takes off his top. I tell you, it’s hard to shoot after Bird just made 23,” he said in amazement.
On February 6, 1988, Larry Bird won his 3rd consecutive 3-point Contest while still wearing his warm-up jacket 🤯☘️#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/dR41Sjdx3X
— NBA UK (@NBAUK) February 19, 2022
The 1998 three-point contest
Given Bird’s unbelievable performance during the contest, one would assume that he easily strolled to victory. However, the Seattle SuperSonics guard Dale Ellis pushed him hard.
After leaving the rest of the competitors behind, Ellis and Bird would face each other in the final round. It came down to the very last shot in which Larry connected on his money ball with just five seconds left to lift himself to victory. It was the perfect ending to the event.
“The Kodak” took the title and the highest-scoring performance in the second round with 23 points that left the stadium overjoyed.
Advanced for his time
It wasn’t just that “Hick from the Lick” beat out the best shooters in the world with a warm-up jacket on; it was the fact that he was so evidently ahead of his time as a shooter. While it’s hard to make a case objectively on paper that he was one of the greatest shooters to ever live, with a mere 1.9 three-point attempts per game for his career, when adjusting his efficiency and proficiency to the modern NBA, it’s clear that Bird was operating at a far more advanced pace from beyond the arc relative to his peers.
In more ways than one, the Boston Celtics legend made high-volume jump shooting cool and more widely accepted at a time when the Association was still dominated by traditional centers. He gave superstars the license to think about being dominant with their shooting as an alternate path outside of living in the paint, and that legacy has lived on and blossomed as the decades have passed.
When you leave someone like Jordan in awe, you’re definitely doing something right. Bird’s shooting performance in the 1988 three-point contest with his warm-ups on may be the greatest single piece of NBA swagger we’ve ever seen.