Larry Bird forced his preferences on his rivals. He even did so while playing alongside a Hall of Fame point guard as a young up-and-comer for the Boston Celtics.
Bird shared the ball without hesitation. Even though he believes assists are overvalued, his superb playmaking and vision made him a premier assist player, particularly among forwards. However, Larry Legend also insisted on holding the ball, and he didn’t hold back in telling Nate “Tiny” Archibald about it.
Former Celtics point guard Nate Archibald was instructed by Larry Bird to feed him the rock.
Nate Archibald was already regarded as one of the top point guards in basketball when he signed with the Boston Celtics before to the 1978–79 campaign.
Tiny’s agility and ability to make shots allowed him to dominate despite his little frame. With the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the 1972–73 season, he averaged 34.0 points and 11.4 assists, making him one of just seven players in NBA history to lead the league in both categories in the same season.
However, Larry Bird was not at all intimidated by Archibald’s notoriety when he joined the Celtics. Conversely, Bird stood up and told his point guard (via MassLive) that even if Tiny was the leader of the team, the ball still needed to return to him.
Bird was quite impolite to expect so much from a more well-known celebrity. If Archibald had been more self-assured, Larry Legend’s arrogance might have caused problems.
But during his Celtics tenure, Tiny showed himself to be a willing passer and competent orchestrator.
