Al Harrington on missing first meeting with Larry Bird: 'I feel like to this day he held that against me the whole two years he coached me'
Al Harrington on missing first meeting with Larry Bird: My mother was like ‘I can't believe you missed this flight blah blah’… When I walk into the arena for the press conference I see my mom and I see her face, she looks so disappointed, right? So I walked in and Larry Bird looked at me, reached his hand out to me and he said ‘Don't f*cking be late again.’ That's what he told me! He didn't say ‘hi’, he didn't say ‘welcome to the team’, he said ‘don't ever f*cking be late again’. That was the first thing Larry Bird said to me, Larry Legend bro, the dude I used to watch on TV dog, like that's how he greets me, I'm excited to meet Larry Bird and that's how he greets me, bro. So yes I missed it, I feel like to this day he held that against me the whole two years he coached me. I really do. (…) I think it definitely worked against me, man. I just feel like Larry never liked me or like you know because of that he really held that against me, and it wasn't my fault, it was my fault but it was… I mean, the dude could not get his big behind in the damn car! Q. Maybe Larry will see this and he'll finally know the reason behind it. Al Harrington: I told him then! I was like ‘Look at this dude!’ And he was just like ‘I don't care’.
Source: YouTube
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Al Harrington on Rick Carlisle's coaching: "My best X and O coach, I would say, was Rick Carlisle. I just felt like he was a wizard with that pen. Whatever he drew up with that pen, like, especially when he came back to Indiana, we got that shot every time. So I would say him. The way he would draw up plays, it was like, no matter what situation we were in, we always knew we had a chance. We always knew that if we just executed what he drew up, we were going to get a good shot. And I think that’s something that’s really rare. You don’t always see that with coaches. He was really a genius when it came to X’s and O’s. He knew how to put us in the right position to succeed, and I always appreciated that about him. It’s why I think he’s one of the best coaches I ever had." -via YouTube / August 30, 2024
Al Harrington on his cannabis business: "Right now, we are considered the biggest black-owned cannabis company in the world, essentially. We’re operating out of 12 states, three different countries. I will say, like, you know, it’s not easy. Entrepreneurship is very, very extremely hard. You know, as entrepreneurs, our job is to make it look easy. But, you know, it’s a lot of challenges, struggles, ups and downs, rounds and rounds. But at the end of the day, I think that when you’ve got a solid foundation in something, things will always work themselves out. And, you know, we’ve been doing this now since 2011. This is year 13, we’re on our way to year 14, and we’re just going to continue to move. We’re opening up a store in New Jersey, which I’m super excited about. First time me coming back home with something that I actually own, opening up a store in Hoboken, New Jersey." -via YouTube / August 30, 2024
Harrington shared how an 'obese' manager he met at the airport couldn't fit into a taxi. As a result, the former 25th overall pick missed his flight and was late to his first meeting with his head coach. "So I walked to Larry Bird, he looked at me, reached his hand out to me, he said, 'Don't ever be fu***ng late again.' That's what he told me. He didn't say hi, he didn't say welcome to the team, he said, 'Don't ever be fu***ng late again.'That was the first thing Larry Bird said to me," Al added. -via Basketball Network / August 30, 2024
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Al Harrington on missing first meeting with Larry Bird: 'I feel like to this day he held that against me the whole two years he coached me'
