Celtics Legend Reveals Major Trash Talk Bill Walton Dished to Larry Bird, Others

The late Bill Walton was a legend in the basketball world.

From starting his collegiate career as a player under John Wooden's UCLA dynasty, he won three consecutive national College Player of the Year awards and back-to-back NCAA championships.

After earning the No.1 overall NBA draft selection with the Portland Trail Blazers, his Hall of Fame career picked up right where it left off as a Bruin winning a championship for Portland in his third season.

Before finding his way to the history books of the Boston Celtics, Walton missed the entire 1978-79 season following his first MVP award, played 14 games for the San Diego Clippers, and then missed another two consecutive seasons due to injury.

Before the 1985-86 season commenced, Walton found his way to Boston and found a new element to his game: coming off the bench.

As everything else Walton did, he excelled in this role and even won Sixth Man of the Year on the way to the Celtics 16th franchise title.

Bill Walton was the missing piece for the Celtics in their 85-86 championship season. Had no problem being a role player and simply went out and won the 6th Man of the Year Award and helped bring home an NBA title.. RIP Big Red. pic.twitter.com/YNh3TKm7Av
— Chris Orlando (@ChrisOrlandoHS) May 27, 2024

Although Walton was content in his bench role, the starting center on that roster —Hall of Famer Robert Parish— recently spoke on the competitive edge the UCLA alum brought to the table.

"All of our practices were very competitive; [it] was like playoff-type basketball. And not to mention, we took trash-talking to a whole another level…

"First of all, [Walton] called the starting five 'Stat Rats.' Always concerned about stats," Parish revealed. "So that was Bill's nickname for Larry [Bird], Kevin [McHale], DJ [Dennis Johnson], Danny Ainge, and myself.

"He said, 'All you guys think about is scoring, and that's why you're never going to beat us.'"

Perhaps it was this intensity Walton brought to the practice courts that got Boston over the hump and to forget about the NBA Finals loss a season prior to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Parish went on to say that the trash-talking was used as extra motivation.

"So, that just inspired us and motivated us to be just as competitive as Bill," he reflected. "Bill got the second unit all lathered up and wound up. And he gave them the confidence that they feel like they could beat us every practice.

Parish later joked, adding, "And Bill is the genesis of the second [unit] having way too much confidence because they really wasn't that good except for [Bill]."

The Celtics paid tribute to Bill Walton ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Boston. 💚 pic.twitter.com/JVPTC4nb2g
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2024

In only two years as a Celtic, his impact was felt not just in the championship and Sixth Man of the Year award he won in Boston, but the intensity and motivation he brought to the team.

In addition to his Sixth Man of the Year award, Walton ended his Hall of Fame career with a league MVP award, two NBA championships, two All Star appearances, and an NBA Finals MVP.

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