Rodney Rogers Told Larry Bird That He Hadn't Hit A Jumper Since 1984, So Larry Bird Dominated Him During A 1992 Dream Team Scrimmage: "Young Fella, Look Like 84, Huh?"

Larry Bird is one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. While Larry’s talent alone was enough to elevate him to the list of all-time greats, it was his ability to talk trash that pushed him a rung above to the best ever. And one story from his time with the 1992 Dream Team shows just how great he was trash-talking.

When Larry Bird was invited to be part of the 1992 Dream Team that was going to the Olympics, he was at the tail end of his career, now at 36 years of age. Bird was one of the senior-most players on a squad that even included some college players. One of these college players was Rodney Rogers, who learned firsthand how dangerous Larry Bird could be.

“We get out the gates; first 15 minutes, we kicking their a**. They stopped the game and turned off the score. Press coming in. Chuck Daly said they let us win… ‘Larry, you aint hit a jumper since ’84’. The next scrimmage, Larry got the ball on Rodney Rogers 8 times in a row and he told him what he was gonna do. He scored 8 times in a row and said ‘young fella, look like ’84, huh?’.”

As part of the scrimmages, the players were split into two teams with the younger players being on what was effectively considered the B team. Surprisingly, they were able to beat the A team quite handily, and Rogers told Larry Bird that he had not made a jumper since 1984. The scrimmage was quickly ended as Chuck Daly had to speak to the press.

When the scrimmage was started again, Bird decided to teach Rogers a lesson, turning back the clock and putting on a brilliant showcase in the next scrimmage. Bird took on Rogers 8 times in a 1-on-1 situation and got the better of Rogers each time. And what makes the story even greater is the fact that Larry told Rogers what he would do on each possession.

After the encounter, Bird heckled Rogers, asking Rogers whether his performance against him looked like 1984 or not. 

Bird would go out of his way to talk trash and get under the skin of his opponents, and it resulted in Bird becoming a multiple-time NBA champion and one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His ability might just make him the greatest trash-talker in the history of the sport.