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Rookie players across all sports frequently face adversity adjusting to the higher level of play as a professional compared to the college level. Seasoned veterans are stronger, more skilled and smarter than rookies and often wanted to embarrass those younger players.
If anyone knows that firsthand, it is a pair of future Hall of Famers.
Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe host the “A Touch More” Instagram Live session and have often had Diana Taurasi on to talk basketball, life and more related topics. The trio has produced some highly entertaining basketball banter each time they link up.
Matt Ellentuck of SB Nation recently listed the best moments from Bird and Rapinoe, including one session with Taurasi that lasted more than four hours long. On that episode, Bird and Taurasi hilariously discussed the joy they experience by crushing rookie players on the court.
Warning: Video contains explicit language
Taurasi: Every time you played rookies, you just wanted to [expletive] kill them.
Bird: Because it’s so easy.
Taurasi: It’s just physically punking them. It’s mental bullying that takes place right before the ball goes up. It happens in different ways. It happens in like, ‘Oh, you had such a great senior year. I’m about to bust your ass right now.’
“Every time you played rookies, you just wanted to fucking kill them.” – Diana Taurasi pic.twitter.com/rqNgI8FjdN
— Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) May 4, 2020
Rookie players experience those moments where they realize the competition is different from the collegiate level. They are often humbled in those situations and it is certain that Bird and Taurasi humbled their fair share of players over the years.
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