basketball player & coach (1956- )
Maybe it's because growing up in Indiana we didn't have very much, so I never got used to counting on having things. I guess we were poor, but we didn't know that. We were just like all our other neighbors in West Baden and French Lick--just trying to get by.
LARRY BIRD
Bird Watching
Well the kids are so young now. I mean, there's a lot of kids that come out that have great talent, but they're so young you don't know how they're going to mature of the years and I think it's really just a guess. You know they have the talent, you know they have the fundamentals, it's just about whether they're going to get better and better. That's probably been the hardest thing. We like to take guys that have had a lot of college experience and that had good coaching, and been good kids along the way, but you just never know until you've had them for a couple years because you never know how they're going to turn out.
LARRY BIRD
interview, Slam Online, Jan. 22, 2010
You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win.
LARRY BIRD
Chicago Tribune, Feb. 17, 1998
Retirement is fine for some people, but I got bored. I'm used to more of a fast-paced life.
LARRY BIRD
The Sacramento Bee, February 3, 1998
I'm a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.
LARRY BIRD
The Journal Gazette, May 24, 2000