Thompson made sure he never irritated Bird on the floor.
Larry Bird’s career averages of 24.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during his 13-year NBA career, while dealing with back issues in the latter stages, demonstrate how difficult he was to defend. Furthermore, if the three-time MVP had extra motive to dominate, it would be a brutal night for any defender. As a result, Mychal Thompson made it a point to never provoke him while on the court. Thompson on incorporating Bird into his three rules of life.
Trying to keep Larry under control was difficult enough, but dealing with a trash-talking and showboating Larry was a whole other story. And ‘Sweet Bells,’ who was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, quickly learned that restraining Bird from being overly motivated was critical to keeping his scoring under control. Eventually, this revelation inspired him to incorporate the 12-time All-Star into his three life guidelines. “There are three rules in life – death, having to pay taxes, and whatever you do on the basketball court, don’t make Larry Bird mad,” Thompson stated.
Mychal’s observation holds true, especially given how Bird dominated Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Finals. During the game, Kevin Willis made the mistake of going to Dominique Wilkins and saying, ‘He can’t guard you,’ referring to Bird. This observation was made in light of the Celtics forward’s 6-of-14 shooting from the field in the opening 36 minutes of the game. Those remarks proved to be the most difficult challenge for the Hawks in reaching the conference finals for the first time in 18 years. Bird went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points on 9-of-10 from the field to help the Celtics win 118-116.
