Born in West Baden Springs, Indiana, Larry Joe Bird was raised in the nearby community of French Lick. Even as a youth it was apparent that Bird had an incredible talent of the game of basketball, being the all-time scoring leader at Springs Valley High School. His record in high school won him a basketball scholarship to the University of Indiana.
Bird felt intimidated by the size of the campus and dropped out immediately. After taking a year off, he returned to college at Indiana State and became part of their Sycamore team. As a senior in 1979, he led Indiana to the NCAA Championship, where they faced off against the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans. Indiana State finished this season with a 33-1 record; while at Indiana State, Bird was the 5th highest scorer in NCAA history with a 30.3 points per game average.
The number one choice of the Boston Celtics in 1979, Bird was paid a record salary of $650,000 per year. Making an average of 21.3 points per game, Bird won the Rookie of the Year award in a season which saw a 61-21 record for the team and Bird gaining a lot of popularity with fans.
By 1980, the Celtics moved their playing court into the Robert Parrish Center and drafted Kevin McHale. These two men would become what have been dubbed the "best frontline in NBA history." The 1980-81 seasons saw the Celtics go to the NBA finals where they took down the Houston Rockets in six games-this would be Larry's first NBA Championship-but not his last. Larry was a leader and this was seen by general manager Red Auerbach, who happily watched his team become one of the two most exciting and winning teams in the NBA during the 1980's. In fact, almost every NBA final would feature either the Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers, or both.
Bill Fitch, the Celtics' coach nicknamed Bird "Kodak", since as Fitch said: "it's for his ability to picture how a play would unfold. He can turn a play into points.". Bird was also a formidable defensive player and his statistics are truly amazing - his tallies in the 1981-1982 season reached the double digits. The Celtics became even more of a force to be reckoned with in 1983, when guard Dennis Johnson signed on and new coach KC Jones came on board.
The end of the 1983-84 season brought victory to Bird and his Celtic teammates with a seven-game series and win over the Lakers; they won the seventh game in a close but exciting 111-102 score. Larry averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds during this amazing series and won the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the NBA's regular season MVP for the 1983-84 season. A loss to the Lakers in the 1984-85 season still brought Larry the NBA's MVP award. Fans of basketball everywhere still feel the match-up of Bird versus Magic was and is the best match-up in basketball and the most exciting to watch.
The Celtics returned to finals once again in the 1985-1986 season; they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games and finished with a 76-15 record for the year. Bird again won the series MVP in this, his third NBA championship victory with an average of 24 points per game, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This year also saw him winning the league MVP award, the third player to do so. Bird's Celtics would also come out on top in the finals the next year, beating the Lakers in six games. Bird, like his rival Magic Johnson was becoming synonymous with the game of basketball.
However, it was his performance in the 1987-1988 season which would make the name Larry Bird a synonym for basketball. This season saw him earning a 29.9 point per game average with a field goal percentage of .527 and a free throw average of .916. Due to surgery for a bone spur, Bird was sidelined in the following season. He returned for the 1989-1990 season, but Bird knew that it would soon be time to retire. This basket ball legend was part of the 1992 US Olympic basketball "Dream Team", along with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Bird holds a career average of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, his 49.6% field goal average and an incredible 88.6% free throw average, a 37.6% three-pointer average and has played in no less than twelve All-Star games. Larry Bird's name is truly legendary and the man is a living synonym for basketball, holding a special place in the hearts of basketball fans everywhere.
Bird felt intimidated by the size of the campus and dropped out immediately. After taking a year off, he returned to college at Indiana State and became part of their Sycamore team. As a senior in 1979, he led Indiana to the NCAA Championship, where they faced off against the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans. Indiana State finished this season with a 33-1 record; while at Indiana State, Bird was the 5th highest scorer in NCAA history with a 30.3 points per game average.
The number one choice of the Boston Celtics in 1979, Bird was paid a record salary of $650,000 per year. Making an average of 21.3 points per game, Bird won the Rookie of the Year award in a season which saw a 61-21 record for the team and Bird gaining a lot of popularity with fans.
By 1980, the Celtics moved their playing court into the Robert Parrish Center and drafted Kevin McHale. These two men would become what have been dubbed the "best frontline in NBA history." The 1980-81 seasons saw the Celtics go to the NBA finals where they took down the Houston Rockets in six games-this would be Larry's first NBA Championship-but not his last. Larry was a leader and this was seen by general manager Red Auerbach, who happily watched his team become one of the two most exciting and winning teams in the NBA during the 1980's. In fact, almost every NBA final would feature either the Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers, or both.
Bill Fitch, the Celtics' coach nicknamed Bird "Kodak", since as Fitch said: "it's for his ability to picture how a play would unfold. He can turn a play into points.". Bird was also a formidable defensive player and his statistics are truly amazing - his tallies in the 1981-1982 season reached the double digits. The Celtics became even more of a force to be reckoned with in 1983, when guard Dennis Johnson signed on and new coach KC Jones came on board.
The end of the 1983-84 season brought victory to Bird and his Celtic teammates with a seven-game series and win over the Lakers; they won the seventh game in a close but exciting 111-102 score. Larry averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds during this amazing series and won the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the NBA's regular season MVP for the 1983-84 season. A loss to the Lakers in the 1984-85 season still brought Larry the NBA's MVP award. Fans of basketball everywhere still feel the match-up of Bird versus Magic was and is the best match-up in basketball and the most exciting to watch.
The Celtics returned to finals once again in the 1985-1986 season; they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games and finished with a 76-15 record for the year. Bird again won the series MVP in this, his third NBA championship victory with an average of 24 points per game, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This year also saw him winning the league MVP award, the third player to do so. Bird's Celtics would also come out on top in the finals the next year, beating the Lakers in six games. Bird, like his rival Magic Johnson was becoming synonymous with the game of basketball.
However, it was his performance in the 1987-1988 season which would make the name Larry Bird a synonym for basketball. This season saw him earning a 29.9 point per game average with a field goal percentage of .527 and a free throw average of .916. Due to surgery for a bone spur, Bird was sidelined in the following season. He returned for the 1989-1990 season, but Bird knew that it would soon be time to retire. This basket ball legend was part of the 1992 US Olympic basketball "Dream Team", along with Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Bird holds a career average of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, his 49.6% field goal average and an incredible 88.6% free throw average, a 37.6% three-pointer average and has played in no less than twelve All-Star games. Larry Bird's name is truly legendary and the man is a living synonym for basketball, holding a special place in the hearts of basketball fans everywhere.
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