Isiah Thomas has a wealth of stories, and one of his most memorable involves Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird feeling ‘disrespected’.
Sitting down ALL THE SMOKE hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Isiah shared one of the most interesting Larry Bird stories:
“One time, we had Kelly Tripucka, Bill Laimbeer, and Kent Benson, all white guys. So we walk out on the court, and Larry says, ‘who guards me?’ Larry always calls me Cheesy, so he asked, ‘Cheesy, who guarding me? And I’m like, we got Kelly, Lamb, and Benson, and he’s like, you ain’t got no brothers? That’s disrespectful, you can’t put no white guys on me!”
Check the clip of Isiah sharing the story, and then continue with the article below:
The incident occurred when Bird noticed that only white Pistons players were assigned to defend him. “I don’t know how this gonna play with America,” Thomas said with a chuckle on ‘All The Smoke.’
This reaction from Bird wasn’t surprising. As the focal point of the Celtics’ offense and one of the best white players in NBA history, he was vocal about being guarded by white players before.
Thomas’s anecdotes are always engaging, but this one will surely be remembered for years to come.
