NBA: Larry Bird Once Bullied Celtics Teammate During Practice

A Boston Celtics legend has opened up about Larry Bird bullying him during a practice session.

Basketball and volleyball legend Wayne Kreklow just opened up about his most memorable experiences as an athlete. Kreklow, who won the NBA championship with the C’s in 1981, looked back at how NBA icon Bird repeatedly destroyed him during a team practice.

In his exclusive interview with Missuorian, Kreklow detailed how things went down in the said practice between him and Bird.

According to Kreklow, he was still on the Celtics scout team when the bullying happened. Their group was running a play where he had a choice to either pull up for a jumpshot or drive to the basket.

“It was in practice. I think I was on the scout team. We were running some play where there was a high ball screen at the top of the key,” Kreklow recalled.

When Kreklow realized that the lane was open for a drive, he took the bal strong to the basket. All of a sudden, Bird came in and took him down hard.

“I’m going, ‘There’s an open lane to the basket.’ So I took it the first time, and Bird came from the weak side and just destroyed me. I mean, not just blocked the shot. It was like Brian Urlacher coming at you. It’s like, you (Bird) just fouled the living crap out of me,” Kreklow revealed.

Kreklow even remembered what Bird told him after the play. As per the Celtic legend, Bird told him, “Don’t bring that in here.”

It was all good until Bird did it again for the second time. Kreklow shook it off and continued playing. But when Bird hit him again for the third time, Kreklow started to get pissed.

“The third time it happened, I went down and I’m starting to get kind of pissed. And he’s talking, of course, he was famous for that. Finally Bill Fitch goes: ‘When are you going to stop and pull up and take the shot, rather than get killed?’” Kreklow stated.

Decades later after the bullying, Kreklow realized that Bird has no chill and that’s the reason why the Celtics legend won his NBA titles.

“I’ll never forget that. Because this was in practice. And that’s why those guys won,” Kreklow noted.

Another NBA legend is known for his competitiveness even in practice. Former Laker Mark Madsen revealed that Kobe gets mad during practice sessions especially if a teammate repeatedly loses the ball.