Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 21:21, retired by Springs Valley High Blackhawks, 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, United States men's national basketball team, List of career achievements by Larry Bird, List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders, List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders, List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders, List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders, List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders, List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game, List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game, List of National Basketball Association annual minutes leaders, List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders, List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds, "Big Threes Beyond the Boston Celtics & Miami Heat: 50 Best Trios in NBA History", Fox Sports: Top 10 small forwards in NBA history, "Larry Bird resigns as Indiana Pacers president for second time", Larry Bird: Hall of Fame Basketball Superstar, "EDDIE BIRD HAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW AT INDIANA STATE", "Boston's Larry Bird, in what may be his finest season, gets Red Auerbach's voteover Bill Russellas the best ever", "Throwback Thursday: Celtics Draft Larry Bird Sixth Overall", "The story of how rookie phenom Larry Bird led the NBA's greatest turnaround season", "Larry Bird's baseball career: A lofty .500 batting average", "Houston Rockets at Boston Celtics Box Score, October 12, 1979", "Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics Box Score, November 14, 1979", "Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics Box Score, November 23, 1979", "5 best players in Boston Celtics history", "NBA expert panel: Warriors not the greatest of all time, or even No. Stats: 19.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG. that the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals. [74], Bird and Magics presence on the court was only a small part of their contribution to basketball, as their rivalry changed the landscape of the NBA, transforming it from a struggling, barely profitable league into a highly visible, financial and marketing dream for teams and players alike. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Bird had to undergo surgery for bone spurs in both of his heels. [10], Bird received a scholarship to play college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974. The Celtics won 32 more games than the previous season and it was the initial stages of the Celtics transforming into a title contender yearly. [33][34][35] Behind Bird's leadership and Boston's upgraded roster, the Celtics again advanced to the Conference Finals for a rematch with the 76ers. Stats: 24.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG, Awards And Achievements: NBA Champion, Finals MVP, MVP Award, All-Star, All-NBA First Team, All-Defensive Second Team. When it comes to the 80s decade, he is in the conversation for the best overall player. [119] Bird returned to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2013. The Celtics trailed 3-1 in the series but won the next three games to play the Rockets in the NBA Finals. That's the greatest game I've ever played in or seen played." Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. He remains the last player to record the MVP Award for three consecutive seasons. Find out more. They remained married for less than a year. Johnson scored 24 points and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. Larry Birds Finals record is in the lower half of the list of all-time greats below. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Indiana State University, High School: (mainly behind the hoop heroics of Larry Joe Bird) to fight its way to The Finals. They each had charisma, deft shooting touch, extraordinary passing skills, and team-oriented mindset that ignited their team and the crowd. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Or write about sports? Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. 13 years. Do you have a sports website? RELATED: The complete results from the best #MarchMadnessMoments bracket. [117] After the 20112012 NBA season, Bird was named NBA Executive of the Year, becoming the only man in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. [48], Before the start of the 198586 season, the Celtics made a daring trade for Bill Walton, an All-Star center with a history of injury. The announcement clearly gets underneath Johnson's skin. The "Dream Team" won the men's basketball gold medal. All rights reserved. Bird finished second in the MVP voting to Malone and was unable to lead the Celtics back to the Conference Finals. Bird, Larry (1989), Drive: The Story of My Life. [109] Since 2022, the NBA will award the MVPs for the Conference Finals; the Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy is named in Bird's honor, while the Western Conference trophy is named after Johnson. Here are some of the awards Larry Bird won in college: However, Bird was all business in spite of the awards he won and the fanfare he received. Shoots: Drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in . [115] Bird then led the Pacers to consecutive Central Division titles in 1999 and 2000 and a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals. [54], With averages of 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, and 2 steals per game, Bird became just the third player in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP Awards. Discover Larry Bird's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. This was the Celtics' first appearance in The Finals since their 1976 championship winning team against the Phoenix Suns.The Celtics were not quite the same team as five years before, as they added the likes of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, a trio that would come to be known as "The Big Three." M. L. Carr, Cedric Maxwell, and Nate Archibald were also capable players off the . Larry Bird had a 99-65 record in the playoffs in his career. Their rivalry continued on in the revived CelticsLakers Rivalry in the NBA. In the semifinals, the Celtics missed Bird in Game 1, where Detroit won. Stats: 21.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG, Awards And Achievements: NBA Champion, All-Star, All-NBA First Team. School: Indiana StatePosition: ForwardHeight: 6-9Weight: 220 poundsYears active: 1976-79NCAA tournament record: 4-1Career averages: 30.3 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, 53.3% shooting. [111] In 1997, Bird accepted the position of coach of the Indiana Pacers[112] and said he would be on the job for no more than three years. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Coopers. Indiana State nearly became the most recent undefeated national champion, reaching the 1979 national title game with a 33-0 record. The Celtics started the season 29-5, but Bird had to miss 22 games due to a compressed nerve root in his back. It marked the first . For the second year in a row, Bird received the MVP Award. In 1987 the Lakers once again beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Cedric Maxwell won the finals MVP award, but Bird averaged 21.9 points, 14 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game during the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Bird lost just one game in the first three rounds. . The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. 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He averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 . [10], He was raised in nearby French Lick, where his mother worked two jobs to support Larry and his five siblings. Michael Jordan*. Also, no other player has ever won consecutive games at the buzzer like Bird did in January 1985. Birds Boston Celtics finished 16-15 in NBA Finals games and 3-2 in NBA Finals series. Bird has been voted to both the 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. Finals MVP: Cedric Maxwell (17.7 / 9.5 / 2.8) 1981 Playoff Leaders: PTS: Moses Malone (562) The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Bird had an average of 10.0 rebounds per game for his career and 6.3 assists. Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, he was a local basketball star. On this day in 1987, Larry Bird pulled off a miraculous sequence to help lead the Boston Celtics to an improbable win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With that said, Bird was an All-Star and defended his title as Three-Point Contest Champion. Right, Born: Hodges allowed Bird to sleep in, which annoyed the folks who sponsored the brunch and the award, and some in the media. Their coach, Bill Hodges, is in his first year, the first rookie ever to take an undefeated team to the tournament final. MP complete back to 1974-75. . In his first game, Bird recorded a double-double against the Rockets. Bird scored a team-high 19 points for the Sycamores in the 1979 national championship game but it wasn't his most efficient performance as he was just 7-of-21 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Some believe that he is the greatest small forward to ever play in the NBA. He considered Bird to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA Draft, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 (Full List), More Larry Bird pages at Sports Reference. James has as many series losses in the Finals as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird combined. Drafted by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, Bird elected to stay in college and returned for the 19781979 season. Bird took just two shots that night and made both, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, while he helped teammates Carl Nicks and Steve Reed score 50 combined. NAME. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. The series stretched to seven games. [25], In his rookie season (19791980), Bird immediately transformed the Celtics into a title contender. "'You appear to be enjoying this,' one reporter commented. When healthy, Bird looked vintage. Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993, and emotionally described Bird as a "friend forever".[63]. [86] He had 1,556 career steals. [82] In 1999, Bird ranked No. What Was John Havliceks Finals Record? [85], Bird has been described as one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooters of all time. Larry Bird. [91] Bird was also a four-time regular season MVP runner-up in 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1988. Search this website. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com. [21][38], At the 1982 All-Star Game, Bird scored 19 points en route to winning the All-Star Game MVP Award. The season for Bird was limited to six games. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird . We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. [84], "Larry, you only told me one lie. Bird also won Finals MVP in 1986 when he scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and had 2.7 steals per game. 1956 Bird had a double-double in all five NCAA tournament games he played in that year. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.He is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals . He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice as a playerfirst in 1998 as an individual, and again in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". [71], Journalists speculated that Bird and Magic represented different contrasts, such as clashes between Celtics and Lakers, between East and West, and between Blacks and Whites. 1979-80 Bird 1980-81 Bird 1981-82 Bird 1982-83 Bird 1983-84 Bird 1984-85 Bird 1985-86 Bird 1986-87 Bird 1987-88 Bird 1988-89 Bird 1989-90 Bird 1990-91 Bird 1991-92 Bird 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 82 82 77 79 79 80 82 74 76 6 75 60 45. [69] Following Bird's departure, the Celtics promptly retired his jersey number 33. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Team: [20] Bird also appeared in one game for the baseball team, going 1-for-2 with 2 RBI. [96], Bird is also remembered as an excellent passer[100] and defender. He returned to the team later in the season but also had back problems as well. Between them, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. The Boston Celtics star aimed to live a simple life despite earning $24 million over his 13-year playing career. [8] He returned to French Lick, enrolling at Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) in nearby West Baden, and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1975. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird played in the NCAA tournament just once, in 1979, but he made the most of it. The Celtics avoided an upset bid by the Pacers and won the full five games. Bird entered the NBA for the 19791980 season, where he made an immediate impact, starting at power forward and leading the Celtics to a 32-win improvement over the previous season before being eliminated from the playoffs in the Conference Finals. In 1985, the Lakers beat the Celtics behind FInals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Bird vs. Kevin Durant Career Comparison: They Are So Close, But Bird Still Flies High Michael Jordan Never Beat Larry Bird And Boston Celtics In The NBA Playoffs: 0-6 Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Pacers in the first round and took a 2-1 series lead over the Cavaliers in the semifinals. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ", Indiana State teammate Carl Nicks: "It's a tremendous feeling to play with him he brings out the best in everybody. Larry Birds Celtics lost two NBA Finals. The Celtics, led by Bird, and the Lakers, led by Magic, were present in every NBA Finals series in the 80s, with Bird and Magic meeting three times. Playoffs: PTS, FG, FT, FTA, 3P, 3PA complete all-time. Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Draft: Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, former coach and former executive. [101] In recognition of his defensive abilities, Bird was named to three All-Defensive Second Teams. Doubleday, pp. Totals; Per Game; Per 36 Minutes; Per 100 Possessions; Advanced; East Conf 1st Round. Type: Sports Trading Card. The first was on February 14, 1986 in an overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers. [16][17][18] He had a successful three-year career with the Sycamores, helping them reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history with a 330 record where they played the 1979 championship game against Michigan State. Graded: No. [29] On November 23, Bird recorded his first 30-point scoring game (along with 11 rebounds and 3 assists) in a 118103 win over the Indiana Pacers. By that time Bird's scoring . Larry Bird totals for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners. During the 80s, it was either the Lakers or the Celtics in the NBA Finals. He was the leagues best player after years of looking up to Malone. [44] On March 12 of the 198485 season, Bird scored a career-high and franchise record 60 points in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.
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