--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The one thing that always bothered me…" description: "\"The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.\" — Larry Bird" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg" --- # The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the… ![“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.” quote by Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg) > “The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.” [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The player expresses frustration with being matched against a white opponent, highlighting perceived racial dynamics in sports competition. **In simple terms:** Frustration over racial matchups. Key Takeaway Reflect on personal biases in competitive settings. Themes sports race competition personal experience Mood reflective critical Type sports social commentary When to use this quote - basketball games - team selection - player interactions Key Concepts bias team dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do personal biases affect performance? - What can be done to reduce racial tension in sports? A Different Perspective The comment may generalize and overlook individual merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Irritated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritated/) [NBA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nba/) ## Related quotes > [I was hiding out from the celebrity thing, I was smoking way too much dope, I was sitting on the couch, and just turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/i-was-hiding-out-from-the-celebrity-thing-i-was-smoking-way-too-much/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [There are a lot of different things that I just played through. One thing that bothered me, I would go on Twitter, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-huerter/there-are-a-lot-of-different-things-that-i-just-played-through-one/) [Kevin Huerter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-huerter/) > [So the thing that bothered me most was that the condemned man had to hope the machine would work the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/so-the-thing-that-bothered-me-most-was-that-the-condemned-man-had-to/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The thing that bothered me when I was in college was that I saw myself rejecting the way of life that got me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/the-thing-that-bothered-me-when-i-was-in-college-was-that-i-saw/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [She realized all at once the deeper thing that bothered her, the thing that made him not just irritating but intolerable: how he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/she-realized-all-at-once-the-deeper-thing-that-bothered-her-the-thing/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The make up took about an hour to put on, but the wig was a thing that bothered me more than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/the-make-up-took-about-an-hour-to-put-on-but-the-wig-was-a-thing-that/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) > [People put football players up there for being tough, but if you look at the schedule and the actual minutes played, NBA players are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montel-vontavious-porter/people-put-football-players-up-there-for-being-tough-but-if-you-look/) [Montel Vontavious Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montel-vontavious-porter/) > [I am used to the hype because I played in the NBA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/i-am-used-to-the-hype-because-i-played-in-the-nba/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [I've always played 'NBA Live' since I was a kid, so to be on the cover is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-howard/i-ve-always-played-nba-live-since-i-was-a-kid-so-to-be-on-the-cover/) [Dwight Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-howard/) > [I could have played in the NBA. I would have put up 1,000 jump shots a day. I've got that type of work ethic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gonzalez/i-could-have-played-in-the-nba-i-would-have-put-up-1-000-jump-shots-a/) [Tony Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gonzalez/) > [Even though I played in the NBA, we tried to give our kids as normal a life as possible. We gave them everything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dell-curry/even-though-i-played-in-the-nba-we-tried-to-give-our-kids-as-normal-a/) [Dell Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dell-curry/) > [Watching a guy go from not having ever played an NBA game before to growing up and developing into an All-Star player, that's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwane-casey/watching-a-guy-go-from-not-having-ever-played-an-nba-game-before-to/) [Dwane Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwane-casey/) > [When I played in the NBA for 12 years, Seattle had some of the best fans in the NBA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-johnson/when-i-played-in-the-nba-for-12-years-seattle-had-some-of-the-best/) [Kevin Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-johnson/) > [People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/people-who-keep-dogs-are-cowards-who-haven-t-got-the-guts-to-bite/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [When my name started popping up I was quite irritated and a little bit in shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snow/when-my-name-started-popping-up-i-was-quite-irritated-and-a-little/) [Michael Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-snow/) ## More by Larry Bird > [If there was a payment to the bank due, and we needed shoes, she'd get the shoes, and then deal with them guys at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/if-there-was-a-payment-to-the-bank-due-and-we-needed-shoes-she-d-get/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [I just shoot until I feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-just-shoot-until-i-feel-good/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [If you tell a teammate you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better go out there and do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/if-you-tell-a-teammate-you-re-ready-to-play-as-tough-as-you-re-able/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [Basketball has been my life and I worked at it so hard because I enjoyed it so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/basketball-has-been-my-life-and-i-worked-at-it-so-hard-because-i/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [When I was a player, I didn't expect my teammates to play the way I did. I did expect them to work hard every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/when-i-was-a-player-i-didn-t-expect-my-teammates-to-play-the-way-i/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [I've always been interested in jobs in the NBA. But I've been in this for 20 years and it might be time to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-jobs-in-the-nba-but-i-ve-been-in-this/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/you-can-make-all-the-excuses-you-want-but-if-you-re-not-mentally/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [“I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-ve-got-a-theory-that-if-you-give-100-percent-all-of-the-time/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [I have always been confident in my skills and once the game got going I knew I was probably the best player on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-have-always-been-confident-in-my-skills-and-once-the-game-got-going/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [I don't think that once you get to one level, you can relax. You've got to keep pushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-don-t-think-that-once-you-get-to-one-level-you-can-relax-you-ve-got/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you'll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/you-never-make-any-of-the-shots-you-never-take-87-of-the-ones-you-do/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [The best player I ever played with was Dennis Johnson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/the-best-player-i-ever-played-with-was-dennis-johnson/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/i-mean-the-greatest-athletes-in-the-world-are-african-american/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [Strength is not nearly as important as desire. I don't think you can teach anyone desire. I think it's a gift. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/strength-is-not-nearly-as-important-as-desire-i-don-t-think-you-can/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) > [Basketball was always a game to me. One of the greatest things in life for me was to be able to play what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/basketball-was-always-a-game-to-me-one-of-the-greatest-things-in-life/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) [Explore all 76 Larry Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/) ## More Bothered quotes > [Life is such unutterable hell, solely because it is sometimes beautiful. If we could only be miserable all the time, if there could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-such-unutterable-hell-solely-because-it-is-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never bothered about keeping track.Every now and then someone records one of my songs, and I get credit for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mose-allison/i-never-bothered-about-keeping-track-every-now-and-then-someone/) [Mose Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mose-allison/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [He went to Paris looking for answers to questions that bothered him so. He was impressive, young and aggressive, saving the world on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/he-went-to-paris-looking-for-answers-to-questions-that-bothered-him/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [Many people think of me as a perfectionist, someone who polishes and shines each song and performance. I've always been bothered by that assumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/many-people-think-of-me-as-a-perfectionist-someone-who-polishes-and/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [People think unless you have loops and electronics and so on, you must be in your 50s. I quite like a lot of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-thompson/people-think-unless-you-have-loops-and-electronics-and-so-on-you-must/) [Teddy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-thompson/) > [When your house is on fire, you cant be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in Chess, if your King is under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/when-your-house-is-on-fire-you-cant-be-bothered-with-the-neighbors-or/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Sometimes you have to distance yourself from people. If they care, they will notice and be bothered. If they dont, you will know where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-have-to-distance-yourself-from-people-if-they-care-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’m merely talking about learning to be less bothered by the actions of people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carlson/i-m-merely-talking-about-learning-to-be-less-bothered-by-the-actions/) [Richard Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carlson/) > [To combat social awkwardness, I would just act like I couldn't be bothered - that kind of aloof persona or aloof demeanor. It's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/to-combat-social-awkwardness-i-would-just-act-like-i-couldn-t-be/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Quietly, President Obama has done warrantless wire tapping. And it was hardly covered. I don't know if any of the mainstream press bothered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/quietly-president-obama-has-done-warrantless-wire-tapping-and-it-was/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [“I'm sorry I bothered you, Susan. I'm just having a tough time. That's all. Have a good one," I said and walked away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/i-m-sorry-i-bothered-you-susan-i-m-just-having-a-tough-time-that-s/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I'm not bothered by the idea of getting old, or I guess you could say by having arrived at old. I was 10 when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-m-not-bothered-by-the-idea-of-getting-old-or-i-guess-you-could-say/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Many of the factors that we think will cause motivation, such as fair pay and a good manager, won't make you love your job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/many-of-the-factors-that-we-think-will-cause-motivation-such-as-fair/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [“Am I bothered? Am I bothered though. I ain't doing nothing cause I ain't bothered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-tate/am-i-bothered-am-i-bothered-though-i-ain-t-doing-nothing-cause-i-ain/) [Catherine Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-tate/) Browse all 599 Bothered quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Bird" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-when-i-played-in-the-nba-was-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bothered" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-when-i-played-in-the-nba-was-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/larry-bird-8994_bothered_the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-wh_2528171.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a…” — Larry Bird", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Larry Bird", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bird/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The one thing that always bothered...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-when-i-played-in-the-nba-was-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bird/the-one-thing-that-always-bothered-me-when-i-played-in-the-nba-was-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```