Former Celtic Ed Pinckney has epic story about Larry Hen’s competitiveness

Former teammate has epic story about Larry Hen’s aggressive streak initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Boston

Earlier than Kevin Garnett, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant used the deadly mixture of nice play and savage trash speak, there was Larry Hen.

The tales of Hen’s aggressive nature are legendary, with probably the most well-known stemming from the 1988 3-Level Content material at All-Star Weekend, the place the two-time defending champ requested his challengers, “Who’s coming in second?”

However Larry Legend’s aggressive streak wasn’t restricted to his opponents, as his former teammate Ed Pinckney relayed this week on the Blueblood on the Mainline podcast.

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The ahead, who performed for the Celtics from 1989 to 1994, mentioned what it was like going up in opposition to Hen and fellow Corridor of Famers Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in follow every day — and the way Hen did not precisely take it straightforward on his teammate.

“You recognize as a competitor, while you’re matched up in opposition to somebody who’s touted as the most effective, you might have delight as a person participant. You are not simply gonna go into follow and lay down,” Pinckney instructed host Jason Fraser. “And this dude used to return into follow day by day and go, ‘Pinck, sorry. I gotta kick your ass right this moment.’

“And I might be like, ‘Nah, that is not gonna occur,’ ” Pinckney continued. “He’d be like, ‘Yeah, nah, sure, it’s. Do not take it private, however I am actually gonna kick your ass.’ And that is how follow would begin off. And I might be like, ‘Alright, let’s go. Let’s go at it.’ “

Completely epic.

After all, Hen additionally saved loads of savage trash speak for his opponents. Pinckney relayed one other story about Hen, the place close to the tip of an in depth sport, he instructed an opposing coach that he was going to hit a 3-pointer from the nook to win the sport… after which proceeded to do precisely that. 

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“That was certainly one of my first years on the group, and I am saying to myself, ‘The dude simply instructed the opposing group the place he was going to shoot the ball from!’ ” Pinckney mentioned. “And everyone was like, ‘Yeah, Ed, he does that on a regular basis. That is simply what he does.’ And it was unimaginable to look at him play and to witness his greatness. It was unbelievable.”

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Hen’s mouth did not have an off change, in response to Pinckney, who added that he did not even wish to take his sons trick-or-treating close to Hen’s home on Halloween as a result of he did not wish to hear Hen’s trash speak. 

Larry Hen: Corridor of Fame basketball participant and Corridor of Fame trash talker.