--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember when I was a rookie, there was…" description: "\"I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in 'USA Today' that said, 'Larry Bird, he's lost a step.' That night I went out to guard him, he s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/shawn-kemp-6170_bird_i-remember-when-i-was-a-rookie-there-was_2827498.jpg" --- # I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in… ![“I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in 'USA Today' that said, 'Larry Bird, he's lost a step.' That night I went out to guard him, he scored, like, 47 on me.” quote by Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/shawn-kemp-6170_bird_i-remember-when-i-was-a-rookie-there-was_2827498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/shawn-kemp-6170_bird_i-remember-when-i-was-a-rookie-there-was_2827498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa3/shawn-kemp-6170_bird_i-remember-when-i-was-a-rookie-there-was_2827498.jpg) > “I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in 'USA Today' that said, 'Larry Bird, he's lost a step.' That night I went out to guard him, he scored, like, 47 on me.” [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kemp recounts a game where he was underestimated, yet performed exceptionally, showing that doubt can motivate superior performance. **In simple terms:** Being doubted can fuel great effort. Key Takeaway Use criticism as motivation. Themes sports confidence motivation Mood determined reflective Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - basketball games - career challenges - public scrutiny Key Concepts psychology performance competition Questions to Reflect On - How does doubt affect your work? - Can criticism improve performance? A Different Perspective May not apply outside sports. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Guard Scored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard-scored-3634077/) [Larry Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/larry-bird/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Rookie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-rookie-1575025/) [Rookie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rookie/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Went Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/went-guard-3634078/) ## Related quotes > [It's a compliment that people think that I'm a good player. I remember when people didn't think I was good. And I remember being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-dempsey/it-s-a-compliment-that-people-think-that-i-m-a-good-player-i-remember/) [Clint Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-dempsey/) > [I remember my rookie hazing. It wasnt fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gio-gonzalez/i-remember-my-rookie-hazing-it-wasnt-fun/) [Gio Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gio-gonzalez/) > [I remember my rookie hazing. It wasn't fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gio-gonzalez/i-remember-my-rookie-hazing-it-wasn-t-fun/) [Gio Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gio-gonzalez/) > [I remember when I was a rookie, Jerry Rice, I worked out with him, and he always told me, 'You take less hits, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/i-remember-when-i-was-a-rookie-jerry-rice-i-worked-out-with-him-and/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [I always found it a great challenge playing against Michael Jordan, to play against Magic Johnson, to play against Larry Bird, to play against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-always-found-it-a-great-challenge-playing-against-michael-jordan-to/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [In the old days Michael Jordan and Larry Bird worked for everything they got. They worked hard on their game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-oakley/in-the-old-days-michael-jordan-and-larry-bird-worked-for-everything/) [Charles Oakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-oakley/) > [I've got to give Larry Bird his due; he was a great player. He knew the game and he was smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/i-ve-got-to-give-larry-bird-his-due-he-was-a-great-player-he-knew-the/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [I got really depressed when Sidney Moncrief lost to Larry Bird. That really depressed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-besser/i-got-really-depressed-when-sidney-moncrief-lost-to-larry-bird-that/) [Matt Besser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-besser/) > [I love Larry Bird, but I don't agree with him. I love him and respect everything about him. I learned a long time ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/i-love-larry-bird-but-i-don-t-agree-with-him-i-love-him-and-respect/) [Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/) > [Magic Johnson didn't play the style that Larry Bird did, and Michael Jordan sure didn't play the style that Magic or Bird played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-j-mayo/magic-johnson-didn-t-play-the-style-that-larry-bird-did-and-michael/) [O. J. Mayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-j-mayo/) > [One of my dear friends became Michael Jordan. That gave me a lot of access there. But I had access to everybody from Larry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-rashad/one-of-my-dear-friends-became-michael-jordan-that-gave-me-a-lot-of/) [Ahmad Rashad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-rashad/) > [“This is the Los Angeles Lakers of sunsets. Purple and yellow, it reminds me of Larry Bird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/this-is-the-los-angeles-lakers-of-sunsets-purple-and-yellow-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“More recently, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird faced each other on the basketball court as arch-competitors—first in high school, continuing through college, and culminating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/more-recently-magic-johnson-and-larry-bird-faced-each-other-on-the/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“At the age of six, the criteria for handsome was simply: "Is he not related to me?" and "Have I seen him on television?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/at-the-age-of-six-the-criteria-for-handsome-was-simply-is-he-not/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) ## More by Shawn Kemp > [I'm relentlessly aggressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-m-relentlessly-aggressive/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I played so many years without having a big contract, to have the big contract and not win and not have the appreciation, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-played-so-many-years-without-having-a-big-contract-to-have-the-big/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I love Karl Malone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-love-karl-malone/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I was known for a lot of dunks, but my first big dunk really came here in New York. I had some others back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-was-known-for-a-lot-of-dunks-but-my-first-big-dunk-really-came-here/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I'm not U.S.A. Olympic image. I didn't go to college. I came from a different route.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-m-not-u-s-a-olympic-image-i-didn-t-go-to-college-i-came-from-a/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [Anytime you struggle, people are always going to say something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/anytime-you-struggle-people-are-always-going-to-say-something/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I've always thought I could shoot from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-ve-always-thought-i-could-shoot-from-the-outside/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [Most of the time when you're going for a championship, unless you have guys who are willing to sacrifice, you're not going to win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/most-of-the-time-when-you-re-going-for-a-championship-unless-you-have/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [Anytime you're playing with a team that's losing, the main guy is going to take a lot of the heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/anytime-you-re-playing-with-a-team-that-s-losing-the-main-guy-is/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [When you lose you try to learn from your mistakes and build on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/when-you-lose-you-try-to-learn-from-your-mistakes-and-build-on-them/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I wasn't in the right place at Kentucky, and I don't think I ever would have been comfortable in college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-wasn-t-in-the-right-place-at-kentucky-and-i-don-t-think-i-ever/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I started jogging, jogging and jogging. I ran this weight off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-started-jogging-jogging-and-jogging-i-ran-this-weight-off/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [You won't see me doing a lot of talking, but you'll see me doing a lot of playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/you-won-t-see-me-doing-a-lot-of-talking-but-you-ll-see-me-doing-a-lot/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [You know, I'm not going to be on a losing team. That's just not going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/you-know-i-m-not-going-to-be-on-a-losing-team-that-s-just-not-going/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [If I read an article and believed everything a guy said about me, I'd believe I was the best person in the world or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/if-i-read-an-article-and-believed-everything-a-guy-said-about-me-i-d/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) [Explore all 99 Shawn Kemp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember when I was a rookie, there was an article in 'USA Today' that said, 'Larry Bird, he's lost a step.' 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