Former NBA guard Brian Shaw has shared a story about Larry Bird’s competitive personality, recalling how the Boston Celtics legend once challenged him and Reggie Lewis to a two-on-one game during practice and nearly defeated them.
Shaw admitted that before joining Boston, he had underestimated Bird’s abilities. Growing up on the West Coast as a Los Angeles Lakers supporter, he initially struggled to understand how Bird consistently dominated more athletic opponents.
“Yeah, that was it. I mean, how much shit he talked, right? Because I thought when I first got there, having grown up on the West Coast and always pulled against the Celtics when they were playing against the Lakers during the Showtime days, I was like, ‘Man, they letting this white boy who can’t jump, who’s not athletic, kill them like that? He ain’t that damn good.’”
However, Shaw’s opinion quickly changed after he became Bird’s teammate.
During one of his first practices with the Celtics, Bird challenged Shaw and Lewis to a game in which the two younger players would face him together.
“Until I got there. And I remember one of the first practices, he told me and Reggie Lewis, he said, ‘I want to play you guys one-on-two, up to seven.’ So we’re like, ‘Come on, man.’ He’s like, ‘The only catch is I get the ball first.’”
Shaw and Lewis accepted the challenge, believing their numerical advantage would make the contest relatively easy.
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Instead, Bird made his first six shots, taking a 6-0 lead before either opponent had an opportunity to possess the ball.
“So me and Reggie look at each other, we’re like, ‘Yeah, all right, man, whatever.’ So the next thing you know, it’s 6–0. We ain’t even touched the ball yet. He hits his first six shots.”
Facing the possibility of losing without scoring, Shaw and Lewis decided to change their defensive approach and double-team Bird.
“So when it got to be 6–0, and we go to seven, we’re like, ‘Fuck that.’ Because it would be like one of us would guard him, and the other one would be ready to try to get the rebound. So we double-teamed him.”
The strategy eventually worked, as Bird missed a shot and the two teammates finally gained possession.
Shaw explained that they then avoided giving Bird another opportunity to score, completing an unlikely comeback.
“He finally missed, we got the ball, and then we just kind of played keep-away from him. We ended up coming back and winning 7–6.”
Although Shaw and Lewis ultimately won the game, the experience completely changed Shaw’s perception of Bird.
“So that was one of my early experiences with him. I was like, ‘Okay, all right. He got a little bit more than what I thought he had.’ Then when we started playing, he was cooking everybody, but talking shit and telling them about it.”
Shaw played alongside Bird in Boston from 1988 to 1989 and again during the 1990-91 season.
