Larry Bird Once Embarrassed A Group Of College Stars During Dream Team Practice

An aging Larry Bird put on a show against college All-Star team that included Chris Webber and Jamal Mashburn

At the time, Boston Celtics great Larry Bird's best years were behind him. 

Aside from age, he was also dealing with back problems. Still, it didn't prevent a 35-year-old Bird from schooling the youngsters on a college squad picked to scrimmage against the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. 

Former NBA player Jamal Mashburn was one of the members of the college team. A few years ago, he told a story during an interview with The Players Tribune about Bird talking trash before the practice. 

As they entered the gym, Bird told them, "get some (expletive) rest, it's gonna be a long week.”

Another college player, Rodney Rodgers, responded, “Hey Larry! You ain’t hit a jumper since ‘84.”

That's all it was needed to motivate Bird, who took exception to the comment. According to Mashburn, Bird called out his shots each time he was defended by Rodgers. 

He then had a special message for Rodgers after embarrassing the college stars. 

“One dribble pull-up, going left off glass," Mashburn said. "One dribble, going right. Spin. Shot. Bucket.” Mashburn said mimicking Bird. “He scored nine times or eight times in a row. Left the court to go lay down because he couldn't sit on a bench. He had to lay down because of his back and said ‘Young fella, look like ‘84 huh?’”

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