The Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics, along with Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers, marked the era of the 80s. The rivalry between Bird’s Celtics and Johnson’s Lakers put the NBA back on the map. The two players went down among the game’s greatest. However, there was a method to their madness. In Bird’s case, it was an intense work ethic and supreme confidence. The same confidence that left him unfazed even in the presence of global stars.

3x NBA champion and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird was known for his brashness and disregard for anything unrelated to basketball. These claims about his behavior hold in a story from 1991. After a crucial game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Hollywood, the Celtics locker room was honored by the Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner. The star actor was greeted by all but found little to no regard from Bird.

Larry Bird once left in the middle of a conversation with Kevin Costner

Coming off a five-game winning streak, the Boston Celtics were matched up against Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Lakers and Celtics matchup had lost the flair it once had in the 80s. But Bird was eagerly looking forward to the matchup.

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After the game, the players in the Celtics Locker room found themselves in the presence of Hollywood star actor Kevin Costner. However one could make out easily who the bigger star was in the room when they saw Costner hesitantly waiting for his opportunity to go and speak to Bird. With conviction, the actor walked up to the 3x NBA champion and talked for a brief moment until Bird got up and left. Costner, who then conversed with McHale. However, the conversation was interrupted by the voice of Bird urging his teammate to hurry up. Bird exclaimed, “Let’s get this going; if we lost, we’d a been outta here a half hour ago.”??McHale followed suit and left for the bus.?

Leading up to the game, the two teams were evenly matched in terms of talent and had a similar record; Celtics (38-12) and the Lakers (36-13). However, the Celtics were missing their Hall of Fame forward Kevin McHale due to an injury. The game that went down to the wire ended with the Celtics on top, with a score of 98-95 at the end of regulation. But Bird had a meek performance that night, scoring just 11 points. The Celtics were carried by ‘Chief’ Robert Parish, who scored a game-high 29 points.

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Plagued by injuries and a declining physique, Larry Bird retired the following season at 36. Bird’s historic run with the Celtics produced some of the most memorable moments in NBA history. Winning 3x NBA titles, 3x NBA MVPs, numerous All-star and All-NBA selections, and a slew of other accolades earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Bird also made his way into the NBA’s top 75 players list.