John Stockton's 'Fairly Impressive' Larry Bird Story Didn't Actually Happen

Larry Bird told the Jazz bench that he'd drop 43 points that night and, after three quarters of action, had done just that. Bird spent the rest of the evening on the bench with his feet up, seeing out a comfortable win.

Larry Bird told John Stockton that he would score 43 points before a 1985 game. Bird scored 43 in the third quarter and the Jazz won the game 20-0. John stockton never won an NBA championship. He was impressed with Larry Bird's performance. Larry's story is not true.

Larry Bird predicted scoring 43 points against the Utah Jazz during John Stockton's rookie year. Bird only scored 22 points in the only other meeting between the teams. StatMuse records show that Bird scored 40 points only once against Utah, in 1989.  The moral of the story is that it's not worth getting caught up in NBA stories. It's better to check the box score before you believe everything you hear.