Gill, Perdue recall Larry Bird's epic trash talk skills originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Before the Bulls' Monday night matchup with the Boston Celtics, Kendall Gill, Will Perdue and Brian Scalabrine traded trash talk stories from their time in the NBA on NBC Sports Chicago's Bulls Pregame Live.
Gill, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, including one with the Bulls, recalled an encounter with Larry Bird during his rookie year with the Charlotte Hornets.
"When I was a rookie, Larry Bird at the Boston Garden said to me, he had the basketball out at the 3-point line — and by then Larry was done because of his back, but he could still shoot the basketball," Gill said. "He has the basketball right here and he goes 'Come here rookie, come here rookie.' And like a dumb rookie I went. And he rises up, knocks down the shot and then all the way back down the court he's like 'You dumbass rookie, why did you go over there?'"
Perdue, who played 13 NBA seasons, also had a welcome to the big leagues moment against Bird when he was a rookie.
"I had a situation where I jumped out, had Larry Bird dead to rights, took a charge, whistle blew, I was all jacked up," Perdue said. "And he goes, 'Rookie, what're you talking about? That foul's on you.' And I said 'What?'
"And then (Celtics guard) Danny Ainge walks by and he said 'You better know who you're talking to, rookie.'"
Scalabrine never played against Michael Jordan, but got a taste of his competitiveness counseling at one of his basketball camps.
"The first half, you play with all the kids there, and Jordan was all high fives and all this stuff. All of a sudden they let all the kids go back to their rooms, to the dorms, and a different guy comes out," he said.
Perdue described a similar vibe to Bulls practices during his first seven seasons in Chicago, which featured three championships. Especially when Scottie Pippen thought to challenge Jordan.
"When MJ thought that Scottie was feeling his oats a little bit, he went to Phil and was like, 'Phil, put Scottie on the other team tonight. Make sure he guards me in practice.'" Perdue said. "And basically it was a 1-on-1 game and the other eight guys just stood around and watched. Because it was entertaining, but he also let Scottie know who the king was."
And Gill recalled a timeless classic, which you can read in full below.
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