"I’ll never forget it": Dennis Scott affirms Larry Bird's legendary trash-talking by premeditating post moves with hysterical story

Even if Larry Bird was already past his prime, he was still successful in psyching out his opponents through trash talk, as a young Dennis Scott learned the hard way.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's Mark Medina, Dennis Scott recalled how a simple trash talk from Larry Bird eventually brought him back to the bench. It happened in Scott's debut year in the 1990-1991 NBA season when Bird dared him to defend him at the post.

"Larry would take you in the post and punish you," Scott said. "There’s an infamous story with me. He would say, ‘Hey, Rook, I’m going to go in the post, I’m going to catch it, pump fake and you’re going to reach in and foul me. I’m going to score on you. Next thing, you’re going to be on the bench.’

"The next thing I knew, I reached out, I fouled and I was sitting on the bench."

Scott then said that Bird talked trash to him again later in the game:

"I’ll never forget it. I checked in the game and he said, ‘What’s up Rook?!’ I’m doing well and off to a great start but he says, ‘I’m about to catch it in the post. I’m going to give a little pump fake. You’re going to reach in.’

"I reached in because I was one of those guys that tried to use my fast hands to get the ball before it went up. I came down the court, Scott Skiles hits me and I knock down a 3.

"I was like, ‘Yeah, I got him back.’ Then Larry comes back and catches the ball right back in the post again. I reach in again and get a second foul. Then he says, ‘See you in the second half, Rook!’"

Dennis Scott believes Larry Bird 'didn't take enough' to be called an elite shooter

Dennis Scott and Larry Bird are known to be two of the league's greatest three-point shooters. However, Scott believes Bird's status as an elite shooter is up for debate considering that he did not take as many threes as him.

Scott clarified that Bird is still a "Deadshot" from long range:

"If we’re just talking 3-point shooting, that’s what separates, in my opinion, the rankings as a shooter. Larry didn’t take as many 3s as we did. That’s the only thing. So for the Larry Bird lovers, I’m not saying Larry is not at that level. He just didn’t take enough 3s."

For context, Larry Bird shot 37.6 percent from beyond the arc in his career, but he only averaged three or more three-point attempts a night in three seasons.

On the other hand, Dennis Scott, a career 39.7 percent three-point shooter, averaged at least four three-point attempts per game in his first eight seasons in the league. However, his average attempts dipped a bit in his last two years.