“It’s just God disguised” - NBA legend shares rare insight he had while meeting Michael Jordan for the first time

When Larry Bird looks back at his long and successful basketball career, one early memory involving Michael Jordan still stands out. It happened in 1984, when Bird had just won his second NBA championship with the Boston Celtics and won his first MVP award. At the time, Jordan was only a college star preparing for the Olympics.

Larry Bird was asked to play in exhibition games against the young USA Olympic team, made up of top college players. Among them was the future NBA great Michael Jordan. Bird didn’t expect anything special. To him, it was just another game against talented youngsters.

Larry Bird reflects on watching Michael Jordan early in his career, saying he did not initially stand out

When Larry Bird first saw Jordan on the court, he immediately noticed his talent, but nothing more than that. Jordan was athletic, confident, and aggressive, always looking to score. Bird later said that Jordan kept shooting again and again, showing fearlessness rather than patience at that stage.

Larry Bird admitted that while Jordan could jump, pass, and do many things well, he didn’t yet feel like someone he would watch nonstop. There were many other good players on that Olympic team, and Jordan didn’t stand out from the rest. No one walked away thinking they had just seen the future face of the NBA. But years later, Bird realized he had seen the beginning of a player who would go on to change basketball forever. “I would never have called him the greatest player I’d ever seen if I didn’t mean it. I think he's God disguised as Michael Jordan,” Larry Bird once went candid with “The Boston Globe” about Michael Jordan's 1986 playoff performance, where Jordan scored 63 points against Bird's Boston Celtics.

Larry Bird recalls an early encounter with Michael Jordan that pushed him to prove himself against NBA veterans

Before mutual respect grew between the two legends, Larry Bird made sure Michael Jordan understood his place. During a warmup session before one game, a ball rolled toward the professional players. Jordan chased it, but Bird picked it up first and kicked it away instead of handing it over. That small moment carried a big message. Bird wanted to show that this was serious business, and Jordan later admitted he never forgot that moment. It had added to his desire to prove himself against some of the best players in the world.

When the actual game was played, Bird and his teammates weren’t extremely intense. Jordan, however, played with purpose. He wanted to show that he could compete with grown men and NBA champions, not just college players. Jordan showed signs of greatness, confidence, and fearlessness.

Also Read: Michael Jordan shared heartbreaking story of how his fame posed a ‘heavy burden’ for his kids


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