Larry Bird was the ultimate gym rat player. He simply seemed like he could knock down any shot — open or contested, he could create just enough space to get a look and he didn’t need much. They guy could just shoot.
Still can, apparently.
Nima Zarrabi of SLAM caught up with Indiana’s Paul George before the ESPYs last week and George told this story (hat tip to All Ball).
SLAM: I believe you had talked about seeing Larry shoot in the gym.
PG: He picked a ball up that had rolled over. He rolled up his sleeves and made about 15 in a row and just walked out like nothing just happened. It was the craziest thing I’ve seen.
SLAM: How did you and the rest of the team react?
PG: We were speechless. We didn’t know whether to keep shooting or just to end practice. It was sweet, man.
The only thing that could have made that better is Bird looking at the team and saying, “Which one of you is going to come in second?”
Larry is still a legend.
