On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Celtics small forward Larry Bird won the 1988 AT&T Shootout at Chicago Stadium, part of that year’s All-Star game festivities that were held in the Illinois city.
The Hick From French Lick (as Bird was sometimes affectionately called as a nickname) had already made a name for himself in the event — famously asking fellow competitors in the 1986 iteration of the event “Man, who’s comin’ in second?” (per ESPN’s Jeff Caplan) — and did not disappoint the fans in attendance of the 1988 event in terms of performance or trash-talking.
This time, Bird beat Dale Ellis by two points overall, leaving the court with a finger raised to the heavens as if to say he knew he’d already won yet again.
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It is also the birthday of former Boston Celtics big man Kris Humphries, born this day in 1985 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Humphries joined the Celtics as part of the now-infamous trade with the Brooklyn Nets that sent Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to the Nets in exchange for MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, and three first-round draft picks in addition to Kris.
Humphries was never a major part of the Celtics’ plans, spending only a single season with the team, but still managed to log almost 20 minutes an outing in the 2013-14 season, averaging 8.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
After that single season in Boston, the former Gopher was traded to the Washington Wizards for a trade exception and a 2015 2nd-round draft pick.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire
