“In that era, they were hunters, they were sharks!" - Rick Fox draws parallels between Michael Jordan and Larry Bird's competitive mentality

Before Michael Jordan became the force that took the NBA by storm, he would have to suffer at the hands of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. When “His Airness” entered the NBA in 1984, it was “Larry Legend” who had the Eastern Conference by the scruff of its neck. As an individual, arguably, no one was as dominant as the “Hick from French Lick.”

As Bird and the Celtics rolled to one NBA Finals appearance after another, Jordan was carefully learning from the juggernaut Green Machine. As MJ slowly showed what he was made of, it became clear that he was cut from the same cloth as the trash-talking Celtics legend.

Former Celtics and North Carolina alum Rick Fox, via Jackie McMullan's Icons Club, had this to say about both players’ competitiveness:

“In that era, they were hunters, they were sharks! They were looking for every little edge they could get. Just like if you just even try to get their attention, their approval or validation, you were showing a sign of weakness.”

By now it’s well-chronicled how Larry Bird would look for ways to get himself motivated to an unbelievable extent. He would often look for records to break and hype himself up to shatter those records just to get an inch of an advantage.

“Larry Legend” is considered by many to be the king of trash talk. He did it to get into the heads of his opponents and to simply force people out of their preparations. The “Great White Hype” didn’t spare anyone with his head games. He’d talk trash to Magic Johnson, Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.

Years later, Jordan himself would master trash-talking as part of his arsenal. It reached a point where opposing players would rather keep quiet than say something that would result in an embarrassing night.

MJ would also admit years after Larry Bird retired that no one was better at getting under opponents’ skin by simple talk than the legendary small forward. “Black Jesus” learned from the master and relentlessly used it to destroy other players’ will to compete.

In a way, as Rick Fox so aptly described, they were sharks that few have matched or will even touch in the future.

---

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird averaged spectacular numbers in their head-to-head matchups

Michael Jordan once dropped 63 points on Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the 1986 playoffs. [Photo: Celtics Life]

Michael Jordan averaged 33.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.7 steals in 28 games versus Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. He shot 50.6% from the field, including 30.6% from deep despite the consistent double and triple-teaming that the Celtics schemed against him.

Jordan didn’t have the kind of supporting cast that Larry Legend had, which made MJ’s numbers very impressive.

Larry Bird, on the other hand, put up 26.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals. He hit 49.8% of his field goals, including a mesmerizing 46.9% from beyond the arc. Bird didn’t have the athleticism of Jordan but was more experienced, had significantly better shooting and basketball IQ at the time.

Bird, however, would give Michael Jordan the ultimate compliment after “His Airness” dropped 63 points in Game 2 of the 1986 playoffs between the Celtics and Chicago Bulls. The Celtics great would grudgingly hail Jordan:

"I think he's God disguised as Michael Jordan.”