Bird was rated the greatest NBA small forward of all time by Fox Sports in 2016. However, she is an adopted child of famous former NBA player Larry Bird. Hailed as the greatest winner in sports, Basketball Hall of Fame center Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented 11 championships in 13 seasons. Following his retirement in 1992, Bird became a successful head coach and front-office executive with the Indiana Pacers. It was the first time the two star players would face each other in a head-to-head battle, and it began a friendship and rivalry that would span both players' careers. Here is Larry Bird's Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics. The Celtics reached the playoffs in every one of Bird's 13 seasons, although he missed most of the 1988-89 season due to injury, and added titles in 1984 and 1986. He had off-season surgery to remove a disc from his back, but his back problems continued and he missed 37 games during the 1991–92 season. Bird's 1988–89 season ended after six games when he had bone spurs surgically removed from both of his heels. He earned that status through his constant pursuit of greatness through the 1980's. Bird's basketball prowess earned him an athletic scholarship to Indiana University, where he was to play for legendary coach Bob Knight. Despite failing to win the championship, Bird earned numerous year-end awards and honors for his outstanding play, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award. [70], -Magic Johnson, as quoted at Bird's retirement party. [11] Bird has said that being poor as a child still motivates him "to this day". 30 on ESPN SportsCentury's list of 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th century. The dramatic play saved the series for the Celtics. He played as a small forward, becoming a part of one of the strongest frontcourts, and subsequently played his entire professional career in Boston, including being a 12-time NBA All-Star. [9] He has four brothers and a sister. His NBA years : from 1980 to 1992 Larry Bird … [82], Bird is also remembered as an excellent passer[86] and defender. After protracted negotiations, Bird inked a five-year, $3.25 million contract with the team on June 8, making him the highest paid rookie in sports history. [97] Despite having no previous coaching experience, Bird led the Pacers to a 58–24 record—the franchise's best as an NBA team at the time—in the 1997–98 season,[98] and pushed the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics and Lakers dominated, with one team or the other, or both, appearing in every NBA championship throughout the decade. After retiring as a player, Bird served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. He was briefly married to first wife Janet Condra from 1975-76 and has a daughter with her named Corrie. https://www.biography.com/athlete/larry-bird. Underscoring his place in the game's history, he was named one of the NBA's Top 50 players in 1996, and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Nonetheless, during the final years of his career, Bird maintained his status as one of the premier players in the game. [10], He was raised in nearby French Lick, where his mother worked two jobs to support Larry and his five siblings. He finished his career with sterling averages of 24.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. [49] In Game 6 of the Finals series, Bird recorded a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists as the Celtics won the Finals series 4 games to 2 against the Rockets. In 1999, he was listed at No. Larry Bird graduated from Springs Valley High School in French Lick, Indiana in 1974. Basketball icon Larry Bird won three MVP awards and three NBA championships during his 13-year career with the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird averages for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. He considered Bird to be the greatest basketball player of all time. College: Indiana State University Mariah Bird- Early Life. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame called the team "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet". [48], Before the start of the 1985–86 season, the Celtics made a daring trade for Bill Walton, an All-Star center with a history of injury. He was the fourth of Joe and Georgia Bird's six children. [44] On March 12 of the 1984–85 season, Bird scored a career-high and franchise record 60 points in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. [27], Before the 1980–81 season, the Celtics selected forward Kevin McHale in the draft and acquired center Robert Parish from the Golden State Warriors,[31][32] forming a Hall of Fame trio for years to come; the frontcourt of Bird, McHale, and Parish is regarded as one of the greatest frontcourts in NBA history. Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993 and emotionally described Bird as a "friend forever". Basketball star Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. (AP) _ Georgia Marie Bird, the mother of former NBA star Larry Bird, has died. In 1991, he announced that he had tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In 1997 Bird accepted the head coach position with the Indiana Pacers, a move that returned him to his home state. [59] The Celtics would fall short in 1988 losing to the Detroit Pistons in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Pistons made up from the heartbreak the previous season. Following an attempted reconciliation, Bird and Condra had a daughter, Corrie, in 1977. Britannica Quiz. ", Battles with the Lakers and MVP tenure (1983–1987), CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (. Born Larry Joe Bird under the sign of Sagittarius on the 7 th of December 1956 in West Baden Springs, Indiana USA, Larry Bird is a 61-year-old Caucasian professional basketball executive, former player and coach, and current president of the Indiana Pacers. [19][20] Indiana State lost the game 75–64, with Bird scoring 19 points but making only 7 of 21 shots. They remained married for less than a year. The two adopted a son and daughter, Conner and Mariah. [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. [26][27] In his career debut, Bird recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a 114–106 win over the Houston Rockets. [42], On December 9, 1984, Bird recorded 48 points to go along with 14 rebounds and 5 assists in a 128–127 win over the Atlanta Hawks. He returned to the Celtics in 1989, but debilitating back problems and an aging Celtic roster prevented him from regaining his mid-1980s form. His Competitiveness Has Taken Its Toll. Despite no previous coaching experience, he led the Pacers to a 58-24 record — the franchise's best at the time — in the 1997-98 season and was named the NBA Coach of the Year. Larry Bird Birth Date December 7, 1956 (age 64) Education Indiana State University Place of Birth West Baden Springs, Indiana Zodiac Sign Sagittarius. 1992 Tournament of the Americas – Gold medal, Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 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, Fox Sports: Top 10 small forwards in NBA history, Ranking the 20 greatest players to play for the Boston Celtics, Ranking the top five power forwards in Boston Celtics history, It started in Sacramento: LeBron James, back in NBA Finals, makes our all-time starting 5, 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 vote—over Bill Russell—as 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 – CelticsBlog", "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. Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson was known for his prolific scoring and rebellious style during his 14-year NBA career. [12] Georgia and Joe divorced when Larry was in high school, and Joe committed suicide about a year later. [25], In his rookie season (1979–1980), Bird immediately transformed the Celtics into a title contender. Aforementioned, Larry Bird adopted a son and a daughter with his wife, Dinah Mattingly. [88][89] Bird's humble roots were the source of his most frequently used moniker, "The Hick from French Lick". [50] One of Bird's career highlights occurred at the 1986 NBA All-Star Weekend when he walked into the locker room at the inaugural Three-Point Shootout and asked who was going to finish second before winning the shootout. He was […] [91] Bird was known for his trash-talking on the court. Dennis Rodman is considered one of professional basketball's all-time great rebounders, leading the Detroit Pistons and later the Chicago Bulls to multiple NBA titles. Wilt Chamberlain was the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 cumulative points over his career, and the first and only player to score 100 points in a single game. [39] In the Conference Finals, the Celtics faced the 76ers for the third consecutive year, losing in seven games. Larry Bird starred at Indiana State University before joining the NBA's Boston Celtics in 1979. [99] Bird then led the Pacers to consecutive Central Division titles in 1999 and 2000 and a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals. But Don't Bet That He Won't Be Back", "Larry Bird stepping down from Pacers post", "For 2nd time, Hall-of-Famer Bird resigns as Pacers president", "Larry Bird resigns as Pacers president, Kevin Pritchard to take over", "Pacers' Larry Bird is NBA Executive of the Year", "Indiana Pacers part ways with Larry Bird", "Bird Steps Down; Pritchard Named President of Basketball Operations", "Book review: When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson", "FULL VERSION: McDonald's Commercial with LeBron James and Dwight Howard", "Felon gets longer sentence to match Bird jersey", "Twitter's Logo Is Named After Larry Bird", "Simon Templeman as Larry Bird – The Neighbors Characters & Cast Bios", "ESPN Classic - Bird had eye for victory", 1978 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans, Associated Press Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year, Naismith Men's College Player of the Year, NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award, National Basketball Association's 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, UPI College Basketball Player of the Year Award, John R. Wooden Men's Player of the Year Award, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Bird&oldid=1017615471, All-American college men's basketball players, Basketball players at the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Final Four, Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball players, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, National Basketball Association All-Stars, National Basketball Association players with retired numbers, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball, United States men's national basketball team players, Universiade gold medalists for the United States, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Wikipedia pending changes protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, BLP articles lacking sources from March 2019, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. LeBron James, in his age 30 season, nearly averaged one as well. Larry Bird Biography Larry Bird is best known as Basketball who has an estimated Net Worth of $75 Million. Although he announced his departure around that time, he reclaimed his post as team president in the summer of 2013. [72], Bird was widely considered one of Red Auerbach's favorite players. Before Fame. As the 3-point line became more popular, however, Bird eventually had seasons where he shot 42.7, 42.3, and 41.4 percent from distance. Bird returned to the Pacers in 2003 as president of basketball operations. Bird returned to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2013[6] and remained in that role until 2017. [36] He averaged 21.9 points, 14 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game for the postseason and 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 7 assists per game for the Finals. [6] He stepped down again in 2017, but stayed with the team in an advisory capacity. The original Facebook post used the numbers to support the narrative that Bird was somehow vastly superior to LeBron. However, during the growing age, Larry Bird’s kid started getting into legal trouble and was arrested multiple times. [79][80][81], Bird scored 24.3 points per game in his career on a .496 field goal percentage, an .886 free throw percentage, and a 37.6 percentage on three-point shots. [87] In recognition of his defensive abilities, Bird was named to three All-Defensive Second Teams. [64], Bird was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996,[65][66] was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998,[67][68] and was inducted into the Hall of Fame again in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". [57], The '86 Celtics are commonly ranked as one of the greatest basketball teams of all-time, with the Boston Globe's Peter May and Grantland's Bill Simmons listing them at number one. His effort helped to overcome a 47-point performance by Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins. [5] He was named NBA Executive of the Year for the 2012 season. That's the greatest game I've ever played in or seen played." Who was going to make the last shot? During his career, approximately over 13 seasons, Larry Legend had a marvelous coherence that always presents him as a classy, confident, and hardworking rookie. [2], and the greatest Boston Celtics power forward of all time by MSN Sports in 2020. WEST BADEN SPRINGS, Ind. In 1985, Larry Bird … Husband – Larry Bird. [3] Universally recognized as an all-time great player, Bird was placed at the power forward position on an NBA all-time starting five roster with fellow superstars Magic Johnson (point guard), Michael Jordan (shooting guard), LeBron James (small forward), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (center) in 2020.[4]. Bird, who turned 59 in December, says more research is clearly needed. Wilkins remarked, "The basket was like a well. Following his junior year, Bird was selected with the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Michael Jordan is a former American basketball player who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the Most Valuable Player Award five times. Bird has appeared in three movies, each time playing himself: Bird's likeness has appeared in several video games. Bird finished with 34 points. [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 33–0 record where they played the 1979 championship game against Michigan State. Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956. It was a fortuitous decision: He led them to an undefeated regular season in 1978-1979, including a memorable national championship game matchup against Michigan State, a team that featured Magic Johnson, beginning a career-long rivalry that the two would share for more than a decade. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and received the NBA Most Valuable Player Award three consecutive times (1984–1986), making him the only forward in league history to do so. OK… 3-point percentage through Age 27…. [113], Bird married Dinah Mattingly in 1989. However, by then his formerly relentless attack on the court had been slowed by a bad back. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Doubleday, pp. Larry Bird, likewise nicknamed as “The Hick from French” and “Larry Legend,” is a previous most prominent expert ballplayer, extraordinary mentor, and an eminent chief in the National Basketball Association. Bird had an average of 10.0 rebounds per game for his career and 6.3 assists. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. [83] He accomplished this feat twice. Larry Bird Official NBA Stats, Player Logs, Boxscores, Shotcharts and Videos [98] Bird resigned his head coaching position shortly after the end of the 2000 season, following through on his initial promise to coach for only three years. Bird has been married to Dinah Mattingly since 1989. [72] He had 1,556 career steals. [citation needed]. “Luka is better than Larry was at that age,” Maxwell said of Doncic, who turns 22 on Sunday. [28] On November 14, 1979, Bird recorded his first career triple-double with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in a 115–111 win over the Detroit Pistons. Teams. He couldn't miss. Bird entered the NBA for the 1979-1980 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. [21] Boston advanced through the playoffs to earn a rematch with the Lakers, this time losing in six games. Bird was born on December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana, and raised in the nearby town of French Lick, where he excelled at basketball at an early age. Larry Bird’s son, Connor Bird, appeared on events with his parents as a child and garnished his interest in basketball. He grew up in this village which is nearby to a town named French Lick. He is 2.06 m tall and has a body weight of 100 kg. [60], Throughout the 1980s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers—both during the regular season and in the Finals—attracted enormous television audiences. [23], Bird was selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft. ", "LeBron James: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Julius Erving Are 3 Best Players Ever", "Who Has Made The Most NBA All-Star Game Appearances of All-Time", "NBA MVP award: Steph Curry on list of multiple-time winners", Sporting News: James Harden joins exclusive group with third MVP runner-up finish, "Who is the most clutch player in NBA history? Highly recruited, he initially signed to play for coach Bobby Knight of the Indiana Hoosiers, but dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick to attend a local community college. [46] At the conclusion of the year, Bird was named MVP for the second consecutive season behind averages of 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. Bird was already known after two years in the league for consistent, clutch scoring and tenacious defense, which seemed especially uncanny as he was not particularly fast on his feet; instead, Bird developed a reputation for not merely responding to his opponents' moves but anticipating how they would unfold ahead of time. The first regular season game between the Celtics and the Lakers in the 1987–88 season proved to be a classic with Magic Johnson banking in an off balance shot from near the three-point line at the buzzer for a 115–114 Lakers win at Boston Garden. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). [95] In 1997, Bird accepted the position of coach of the Indiana Pacers[96] and said he would be on the job for no more than three years. He chose to return to Indiana State for one more year and led the Sycamores to the NCAA championship game against the Michigan State Spartans, a team led by another future NBA superstar, Ervin "Magic" Johnson. She was 66. In the summer of 1992, Bird joined Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and other NBA stars to play for the United States basketball team in that year's Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 1997–1998 season and later led the Pacers to a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals.
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