Gary Payton admits Bird was the only one who made him think twice about talking trash: "I didn't get discouraged by MJ, I didn't get discouraged by Reggie Miller"
Gary Payton was tireless both in his defense and with his mouth. He was verbal and could rattle opponents' rhythm with a hand on their chest and throw off their confidence with a word in their ear. Night after night, he brought that Oakland spirit and kinetic fire to the floor, never backing down, never letting up.
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Yet for all the noise he dished out over a 17-year Hall of Fame career, there was one name that brought a pause to the barking.
Bird is next level
Payton, for all his trash-talking, also got his fair share dished out to him. He faced a lot of trash talkers in his time, but one man gave him a run for his money.
It was Larry Bird.
"I didn't get discouraged by Michael Jordan, I didn't get discouraged by Reggie Miller," Payton said. "I thought they were great trash talkers, but if [there was] anyone that gave me some good lines and would come back and can back it up and hit a jump shot in your mouth, it was Larry Bird."
Payton came into the league in 1990, a sharp-tongued point guard drafted second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. By then, Bird was already a legend, three-time MVP, three-time NBA champion and the cerebral anchor of the '80s Celtics dynasty. But even in the twilight of his career, Bird commanded respect.
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Payton, whose trash-talking résumé was nearly as decorated as his defensive accolades, quickly learned that the Boston icon was fluent in the very language he thought he'd mastered.
Bird didn't just talk. He spat back. He'd tell opponents how he'd score, where he'd shoot from and when it was coming and then he'd go do exactly that, calmly walking back down the court without a smile or smirk.
What made Bird different wasn't just the bite in his delivery; it was the precision in his execution. The man didn't need theatrics. His mouth worked like his jumper, smooth, calculated and darn near automatic.
Payton, who averaged over 20 points and seven assists across seven straight seasons in the '90s, was the kind of player who made his living off disrupting confidence. But Bird was the kind of player whose confidence didn't crack. His lines were dry but devastating and his game was simple but surgical.
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Even with a bad back and slowing legs, Bird still had that ghostly calm.
Related: "We gave them a champion, and we didn't get Zion?" - Arenas isn't pleased with the Wizards' giving away Jordan Poole
Legendary trash talker
Bird's power came from his presence. And for a talker like Payton, it wasn't just about the words you threw; it was whether they could land.
Apparently, the three-time MVP had the last word far too often.
"I think Larry Bird was pretty good," Payton said.
In the history of the NBA, the greatest trash talkers form a sort of underground lineage. Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell had their duels. Michael Jordan turned it into an art form. Reggie Miller weaponized it against crowds as much as players.
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But Bird had a stoic, brutal efficiency.
Payton, who retired in 2007 as the only point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year in over two decades, made a career out of taking away comfort. But Bird was never bothered. He wasn't louder. He was smarter. He had already read the script and chosen his shot.
Bird's career numbers back up his trash-talking. He scored over 24,000 career points and earned 12 NBA All-Star nods. But it's not just the numbers. It's the mythos. The memory. The fact that even the loudest man in the league knew when he was talking to someone who didn't need to yell.
Related: Seattle had to assign a player to drag Gary Payton to practice: "I'd challenge him and talk trash to him to get him going"
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
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