Larry Bird
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Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former NBA basketball player.
Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird played small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons. He retired as a player from the NBA in 1992.
Bird was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team[link] in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame[link] in 1998.
After working as an assistant in the Celtics front office from 1992 to 1997, Bird served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000.
In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, a position he still holds.
Biography
Early life
The Bird family's struggle with poverty was compounded by the alcoholism and personal difficulties of Joe Bird. In 1975, after Bird's parents divorced, his father committed suicide.
In spite of his domestic woes, by the time he was a high-school sophomore, Bird had become one of the better basketball players in French Lick. He starred for French Lick/West Baden's high school team, Springs Valley High School, where he left as the school's all-time scoring leader. His picture still hangs in the school to this day.
Collegiate career
Bird received a basketball scholarship to Indiana University in 1976. At the time, Indiana was one of the premier college basketball programs in the country, led by esteemed head coach Bobby Knight. However, Bird—homesick and overwhelmed by the size and population of the university—left the school after one month and returned to French Lick. After briefly attending a local community college and working numerous odd jobs around the town (including a stint as a garbage man), Bird enrolled at Indiana State University, where he was coached by Bob King. King suffered a heart attack prior to the 1978-79 season and assistant Bill Hodges was promoted to head coach. Bird led the ISU Sycamores to the NCAA championship game in 1979, his senior season, only to lose to the Michigan State University Spartans, who were led by his future NBA rival, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The Sycamores finished the season 33-1. That year, Bird won the Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the year's top male college basketball player. After playing only three years at Indiana State, he left as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Bird finished his collegiate career with averages of 30.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, and 4.6 APG.1978–1981: Early NBA career
The Boston Celtics selected Bird as their first-round draft pick in 1978, even though they were not certain whether he would enter the NBA or remain at Indiana State to play his senior season. Bird ultimately decided on the latter, but the Celtics retained their exclusive right to sign him until the 1979 NBA Draft. Shortly before that deadline, Bird agreed to sign with the Celtics for a USD$650,000 a year contract, making him the highest-paid rookie in the history of the NBA.Bird's impact on the Celtics was immediate. The Celtics were 29-53 during the 1978-79 season, but with Bird the team improved to 61-21 in the 1979-80 season, winning the league's best record. Bird's collegiate rival, Magic Johnson, also had entered the NBA in 1979, joining the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1979, despite a strong rookie season from Johnson, Bird was named the league's Rookie of the Year and was voted onto the Eastern Conference All-Star team (an honor he would receive for each of his 12 full seasons in the NBA). For the 1979 season, Bird led the Celtics in scoring (21.3 points/game), rebounding (10.4 rebounds/game), steals (143), and minutes played (2,955) and was second in assists (4.5 assists/game) and three-pointers (58). Though Boston would be upset by the more athletic Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals that year, the promise of Celtic glory had been renewed through Bird.
Following that season, the Celtics acquired center Robert Parish and the draft rights to power forward Kevin McHale via a trade with the Golden State Warriors. With Bird at small forward, the additions of Parish and McHale gave Boston one of the more formidable frontcourts in the game. The three would anchor the Celtics throughout Bird's career.
In Bird's first few seasons with the Celtics, his and their immediate rivals were Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom they would battle each year in the Eastern Conference finals.
In the 1980-81 season, Bird led the Celtics past the 76ers to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games. It would be the first of three championships for Bird's career, as well as the first of his five Finals appearances.
1982–1987: MVPs, championships and the rivalry
The additions of Bird and Johnson rejuvenated the NBA, which had suffered from low attendance and minimal television interest through much of the 1970s. Immediately upon their entry into the league, the two players became virtually annual presences in the NBA Finals; Bird's Celtics won the NBA title in 1981, while Johnson's Lakers captured the championship in 1980 and 1982. Bird and Johnson first dueled in the 1979 NCAA title game; as professional basketball players, they would face off numerous times during the 1980's, including the NBA Finals of 1984, 1985 and 1987. Lakers vs. Celtics, and specifically Bird vs. Magic, quickly became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional sports.In 1984, the Celtics defeated the Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning game seven 111-102. Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Bird was also named the league regular season MVP for that year. In 1985, however, the Lakers avenged the loss, defeating the Celtics in game 6 of the Finals in Boston Garden. That year, the NBA again named Bird the league MVP.
Boston would have another great season the next year, with help from another Hall of Famer, Bill Walton. Walton had been refused by the Lakers, and as a last chance, called Celtics' president and general manager Red Auerbach. Auerbach was going to refuse him, but Bird (who happened to be with Auerbach at the time of Walton's call) urged him to sign Walton. With Walton as a good back-up to Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the Celtics would return to the finals in 1986, albeit not against Johnson and the Lakers, who lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Houston Rockets. The 1986 Celtic team, which finished the regular season 67-15 and defeated the Rockets in six games, is generally considered to be the best of Bird's career. Bird again was named the Finals' MVP for that year, averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists per game for the series. He also won his third consecutive league MVP award.
In 1987, the Celtics made their last Finals appearance of Bird's career, fighting through difficult series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons but as they reached the NBA Finals they were no match for a powerful Lakers team which had won 65 games during the season. The Celtics ended up losing to the Lakers in six games. The Celtics would fall short in 1988 losing to the Pistons in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Between themselves, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. During the 1980s, either Boston or Los Angeles appeared in every NBA Finals.
Throughout the 1980s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers—both during the regular season and in the Finals—attracted enormous television audiences. The historical rift between the teams, who faced each other several times in championship series of the 1960s, fueled fan interest in the rivalry. Not since Boston's Bill Russell squared off against the Lakers' Wilt Chamberlain had professional basketball enjoyed such a marquee matchup. The apparent contrast between the two players and their respective teams seemed scripted for television: Bird, the introverted small-town hero with the blue-collar work ethic, fit perfectly with the throwback, hard-nosed style of the Celtics, while the stylish, gregarious Johnson ran the Lakers' fast-paced "Showtime" offense amidst the bright lights and celebrities of Los Angeles. A 1984 Converse commercial for its "Weapon" line of basketball shoes (endorsed by both Bird and Johnson) reflected the perceived dichotomy between the two players. In the commercial, Bird is practicing alone on a rural basketball court when Johnson pulls up in a sleek limousine and challenges him to a one-on-one match.
Despite the intensity of their rivalry, Bird and Johnson became friends off the court. Somewhat ironically, their relationship blossomed when the two players worked together to film the 1984 Converse commercial, which depicted them as archenemies. Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony in 1993 and emotionally described Bird as a "friend forever."
1988–1992: The twilight years
In 1988, the Celtics failed to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in four years, losing to the Pistons in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals. Bird started the 1988-89 season with Boston, but ended his season after six games to have bone spurs surgically removed from both of his heels. He returned to the Celtics in 1989, but debilitating back problems and an aging Celtic roster prevented him from regaining his mid-1980's form. Nonetheless, through the final years of his career, Bird maintained his status as one of the premier players in the game. He averaged over 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists a game in his last three seasons with the Celtics, and shot better than 45% from the field in each. Bird led the Celtics to playoff appearances in each of those three seasons.
Bird's body, however, continued to break down. He had been bothered by back problems for years, and his back became progressively worse. He missed 22 games during 1990-1991 season due to a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that would eventually lead to his retirement. He had off-season surgery to remove a disc from his back, but his back problems continued and he missed 37 games during the 1991-1992 season. In the 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers Bird missed 4 of 7 games in the series due to his back.
In the summer of 1992, Bird joined Johnson, Michael Jordan and other NBA stars to play for the United States basketball team in that year's Olympics. It was the first time in America's Olympic history that the country sent professional basketball players to compete. The "Dream Team" easily won the men's basketball gold medal.
Following his Olympic experience, on August 18, 1992, Bird announced his retirement as an NBA player. He finished his career with averages of more than 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, while shooting 49.6% from the field, 88.6% from the free throw line and 37.6% from three-point range. Following Bird's departure, the Celtics promptly retired his jersey number '33'.
NBA career after retirement
The Celtics employed Bird as a special assistant in the team's front office from 1992 until 1997. In 1997, Bird accepted the position of coach of the Indiana Pacers. Despite having no previous coaching experience, Bird led the Pacers to three straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and one trip to the NBA Finals in 2000. He was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 1997-1998 season.Bird resigned as Pacers coach shortly after the end of the 2000 season. In 2003, he returned as the Pacers' President of Basketball Operations, where he oversees team personnel and coaching moves, as well as the team's draft selections.
Bird's legacy
Bird's humble roots led to his most frequently used moniker, "The Hick From French Lick." More cynical or facetious observers called him "The Great White Hope." As a Caucasian superstar in a league dominated by African-American athletes, Bird undoubtedly stood out because of his race, but his skin color has little to do with his place in NBA history. Despite having relatively few athletic advantages (other than his height, at ), Bird possessed an uncanny and unparalleled ability to anticipate and react to the strategies of his opponents. His talent for recognizing the moves of opponents and teammates prompted his first coach with the Celtics, Bill Fitch, to nickname him "Kodak", because he seemed to formulate mental pictures of every play that took place on the court.Throughout his career, Bird was a fierce competitor and outstanding team leader. His former teammates frequently said that he elevated their level of play through his selfless play and leadership.
Bird's competitive nature is also shown through by his constant trash-talking on the court. Some notable examples:
- During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person that he would give him a Christmas present. During the game, when Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline right in front of Person. Immediately after the shot, Bird said to Person, "Merry Christmas!", and the shot went in.
- During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986, Bird asked the competitors before the contest "Who's playing for second place?"
- In a game against the Seattle SuperSonics with the game all tied up, Bird told Supersonics forward Xavier McDaniel, who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot. After a timeout, Bird caught the ball, dribbled to that position, and made the jump shot with McDaniel in his face.
Bird is also remembered as an excellent defender, as evidenced by his career 1,556 steals. He was not fast or quick-footed, and rarely could shut down an individual player one-on-one, but he consistently displayed a knack for anticipating the moves of his opponent, allowing him to intercept passes and create turnovers. Unspectactular but effective defensive moves, such as jumping into a passing lane to make a steal or allowing his man to step past and drive to the hoop, then blocking the opponent's shot from behind, were staples of Bird's defensive game.
Memorable moments
Above all, Bird is remembered as one of the foremost clutch performers in the history of the NBA. Few players before or since Bird have performed as brilliantly in critical moments of games. The following is merely a sample of the notable clutch efforts of Bird's career:
- In Game 7 of the 1981 Eastern Conference finals against the rival Philadelphia 76ers, Boston was behind by one in the last minute when Bird sank a fast-break mid-range pull-up bank shot, a very difficult shot to execute under intense pressure. That basket won Boston the game and the series and they would go on to win the NBA championship in the Finals. In the late stages of the game Bird also had two key steals, two free throws made, a rebound, and blocked a shot.
- In the series-clinching Game 6 of the 1986 Finals, Bird recorded a triple-double (the basketball term for double-digit numbers in three categories) of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
- In Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Boston trailing the Pistons 107-106, Bird stole an inbound pass from Isiah Thomas that was intended for Bill Laimbeer. With the clock ticking down and with his momentum carrying him out of bounds, Bird turned and fired the ball to teammate Dennis Johnson, who converted a layup with 1 second left to win the game for Boston. The dramatic play saved the series for the Celtics, who, had they lost Game 5, would have had to win Game 6 in Detroit (where they were winless in the series) to force a decisive seventh game. Instead, after losing in Detroit, Boston won Game 7 and advanced to the Finals.
- In Game 4 of the 1987 Finals against the Lakers, Bird fought off defender James Worthy, got the ball, turned and hit a three-point shot with less than a minute remaining to give the Celtics the lead. Magic Johnson would regain the lead for the Lakers with a clutch shot of his own, but Bird had one final chance to win the game. With only a few seconds remaining, he received the ball behind the three-point line and fired again. The shot was on line, but glanced off the rim and missed as time expired.
- In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Bird shot 9 of 10 in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points in that quarter alone and lifting the Celtics to a narrow series-clinching victory over Atlanta. Bird outdueled the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins, who scored 47 points in that game. Bird had previously guaranteed to reporters that Boston would not lose the game; his fourth-quarter performance delivered his promise.
- On March 31, 1991, the Boston Celtics fought hard with the Chicago Bulls in their last meeting of the season, which went into double overtime. Bird almost won the game for his team at the end of regulation when his 30-foot 3-point shot almost went in after getting a high bounce on top of the rim. In the second overtime period, Bird scored 9 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field and helped the Celtics beat the Bulls, 135-132. Many called this particular game as Bird's finest performance against Michael Jordan at a time when Bird's physical durability had eroded (at that time, Bird was suffering from debilitating back problems).
- In the second quarter of game 5 of the Celtics' 1991 first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Bird slipped and fell, crashing face-first onto the Boston Garden floor. A hushed Garden crowd watched as Bird was escorted to the locker room, then erupted in the third quarter as Bird dramatically came up the ramp to the court and rejoined his teammates. Despite a concussion and a resultant severe headache, Bird scored 32 points on 12 for 19 shooting, leading Boston to victory for the game and the series.
- In a game in Washington against the Bullets in 1987, the Celtics trailed the Bullets by 3 points with 6 seconds remaining in regulation. A three-pointer by Bird had been waved off because their coach, K. C. Jones, had already called a timeout. Bird then successfully made another three-pointer to send the game into overtime. When the Celtics trailed by two points, Bird was fouled and converted both free throws. With 2 seconds remaining in the second overtime, the Celtics trailed by one. Bird won the game with a buzzer-beating runner to win the game, 140-139.
- In the 1988 All-Star Game Three Point Contest, Bird--the winner of the event in both years since its creation in 1986--faced Seattle Supersonics guard Dale Ellis in the final round of the competition. Ellis went first and scored 15 points. Bird started slowly, then ran off a series of makes, needing to hit his final three shots to beat Ellis. He did so. After Bird shot the last ball in the rack, he raised his arm and index finger as the ball was halfway to the rim, and walked away. The shot went in, winning the competition 17-15 and capturing Bird's third-straight shootout title.
- In the last seconds of his team's last regular season game with the Portland Trail Blazers in March 1992, Bird saved the Celtics as his desperate one-hand three-point shot amazingly went in and forced the game into overtime. Bird tallied 49 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals in what many fans called as his last great game in the NBA. The Celtics won in double overtime over the Blazers, 152-148.
- Michael Jordan, who may have supplanted Bird as the league's most feared clutch player through his heroics with the Chicago Bulls, once was asked who he would want to take a shot with the game on the line, other than himself. Before the question could be finished, Jordan quickly responded, "Larry Bird."[Sports Illustrated, June 21, 2005]
Trivia
- In October 2005, a man in Oklahoma City, Eric James Torpy, was convicted of shooting with intent to kill and robbery asked that his sentence be changed from 30 years to 33 years so that it would match Bird's jersey number. His request was accommodated. [link]
- Larry has appeared in three movies, Blue Chips, released in 1994 by Paramount, the Warner Brothers film Space Jam with Michael Jordan and Bill Murray in 1996, and Celtic Pride with Dan Aykroyd, Daniel Stern, and Damon Wayans, which was also released in 1996.
- Larry Bird has always said that Michael Cooper was the only player who could shut him down.
- Bill Simmons of ESPN's Page Two Column refers to Bird as "the Basketball Jesus."
- The indie rock band Vermont references and praises Larry Bird in their song "Ballad of Larry Bird".
See also
External links
- [Larry Bird biography] provided by hoophall.com
- [Sportscentury's 30th greatest athlete of all time] provided by ESPN.com
- [Famous Quotations by Larry Bird]
- [NBA.com: Where Legends Are Born]
- [NBA History]
- [CNN/Sports Illustrated: A Player for the Ages]
| 1992 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball – "Dream Team" |
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| Charles Barkley > Larry Bird | Clyde Drexler | Patrick Ewing | Magic Johnson | Michael Jordan Christian Laettner | Karl Malone | Chris Mullin | Scottie Pippen | David Robinson | John Stockton |
| Coach: Chuck Daly |
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|- style="text-align: center;"
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