?Thank Goodness! I?m Tired of Seeing Your Face?: Michael Jordan Got Ruthless When Larry Bird Retired From the NBA

In the early days of Michael Jordan, there were a couple of teams that gave him trouble. One of them was the Boston Celtics, who were led by Larry Bird. The Celtics and Bird swept twice the Bulls and Jordan in the early part of Jordan’s career. And when Bird retired from the game, His Airness got ruthless when giving him his farewell.

Larry Bird was one of the biggest stars in the NBA in the 80s. He and Magic Johnson had a historic rivalry, and they played for two of the biggest teams in the NBA. And in 1984, a new star came into the league in the name of Michael Jeffery Jordan.

Jordan played in the same conference as Bird and he found it tough to get past him. In his second year, Michael Jordan was coming off an injury, but his team made the playoffs and they were facing off against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were the favorites to win it all and the Bulls were no match for them.

But Jordan put in some historic performances and he broke the NBA record for most points in a playoff game. Despite this, the Celtics were too good for the Bulls and they swept them. Even the next year, the Bulls were swept by the Celtics again.

Michael Jordan gave a ruthless tribute to Larry Bird

When Bird was retiring, the NBA greats gave tributes to the legend. His longtime rival, Magic Johnson, was at the retirement ceremony and he called Bird a friend. Even Jordan gave a tribute, but it was not what you would expect.

READ MORE: ?Really Shouldn?t Be Buying?.?: Barack Obama Condemned Michael Jordan?s Business Worth Billions in 2008

Jordan said, ” Hey Larry, I heard you were retiring. Thank goodness, I’m glad I’m tired of seeing your face with a lot of sad memories to me but you know I enjoyed tremendously”

WATCH THIS STORY: Every NBA star pays a Michael Jordan tax to this day which was started for a Lakers revenge in 1991

Jordan said that Bird had a long and successful career, but that included a lot of bad memories for Jordan. Bird and the Celtics caused a lot of headaches in Jordan’s early career. They were the first roadblock in Jordan’s path to glory and they frustrated Mike. Even though Bird and Jordan played together in the Dream Team, MJ was glad that Bird retired.