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FILE: Larry Bird

(AP photo/file)

Twenty-two years ago today, earlier than he would have liked, Larry Bird announced his retirement from the NBA.

Naturally, we should use the anniversary as an excuse to honor the Boston Celtics legend. A few of the best quotes about Bird follow:

1. "Larry, you only told me one lie. You said there will be another Larry Bird. Larry, there will never, ever be another Larry Bird." -- Magic Johnson at Bird's retirement party on Feb. 4, 1993

2. "Larry Bird just throws the ball in the air and God moves the basket underneath it." -- Cleveland Cavaliers public address announcer Howie Chizek during one of Bird's three consecutive MVP seasons

3. "He said, 'I'm going to get it right here and I'm going to shoot it right in your face.' And he came out right about that exact spot, and shot a shot right in my face. And he was like, 'I didn't mean to leave two seconds on the clock.' He wanted to shoot it at zero seconds on the clock. I walked back to the sideline like, damn." -- Xavier McDaniel while describing one of Bird's game-winning jumpers

Because no Bird anniversary would be complete without it, you should all watch Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend one more time. Don't be upset it's an hour long. Be angry it's not longer.

(Note: If for some reason you refuse to carve out an hour of your time to watch an old documentary, here are seven minutes of Bird passes and three minutes of highlights from the game he decided to be a lefty just for fun. If you can't make that much time to watch old Bird clips, you probably aren't a friend of mine.)