“Get Some Rest”

No one worked harder than Larry Bird, so when a late bus caused the legend to steal a few winks, who could blame him? With the U.S. Olympic Dream Team in 1992, Bird had a famous incident with Rodney Rogers, who was playing with a group of star collegiate players brought in to train with the Dream Team. Rogers started taunting Bird which led Bird to fire back, “Get some rest, it’s going to be a long week.” Recalled Rogers’ teammate Jamal Mashburn about practice the next day: “Magic Johnson fed Larry Bird the ball probably eight times in a row down court. Larry Bird got the ball on Rodney Rogers, and every time he was about to make a move, he told him what he was going to do. ‘One dribble, pull-up, going left, off glass.’ Bucket. ‘One dribble going right, spin, shot.’ Bucket.” Clearly, Bird took moments of rest to recharge for on-court dominance!