For the Canadian football player, see Larry Bird (Canadian football). For the painter, see Larry Bird (artist). For the American politician, see Larry Byrd.
Bird in 2004
Position
Consultant
League
NBA
Born
(1956-12-07) December 7, 1956 (age 68) West Baden Springs, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight
220 lb (100 kg)
High school
Springs Valley (French Lick, Indiana)
College
Indiana State (1976–1979)
NBA draft
1978: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career
1979–1992
Position
Small forward / power forward
Number
33
Coaching career
1997–2000
1979–1992
Boston Celtics
1997–2000
Indiana Pacers
As player:
3× NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986)
2× NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)
3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1984–1986)
12× NBA All-Star (1980–1988, 1990–1992)
NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982)
9× All-NBA First Team (1980–1988)
All-NBA Second Team (1990)
3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team ( •
Larry Bird
"LARRY LEGEND"
Larry Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and the corner stone of Celtic Pride in the 80's. He along with Magic Johnson are credited for the rebirth of the NBA. But even such an important icon in the eyes of basketball fans all over the world had a humble beginning.
Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in the small town of French Lick Indiana, population 2,100. He was the star of the town and four thousand people attended his last high school game. Bird had originally enrolled at Indiana, but the pressure a of a school with a bigger population than his hometown was too much for him. He attended a local junior college for awhile, but than a recruter from Indiana State convinced him into going there. Bird lead Indiana State to a remarkable 81-13 record for the three years he was there. Along with an impressive 30 plus points per game average(fifth all-time). The highlight of Bird's college career had to be when he led his team to the NCAA Tournament Title Game in '79, which they lost to Michigan State. But that game started on
•
ALSO SEE More on Larry Legend
Plain and simple, Bird one of the best By Larry Schwartz Special to ESPN.com
"When I played, Larry Bird was the only one I feared. A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said Larry Bird is so good it's frightening."says Magic Johnson about Larry Bird on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series. Larry Bird, known as "a hick from French Lick," is anything but. He proved it as an overachieving basketball player, and he proved it as a successful, unassuming NBA coach. Bird was one of those rare athletes who made everybody around him better. His uncanny passing, deadly shooting and anticipation defensively transformed losers into winners. The 6-foot-9 forward overcame a severe case of what is referred to in the NBA as "white man's disease," an inability to jump high, to leap into the echelon of basketball greats. In college, Bird carried lightly regarded Indiana State to the NCAA final. In the pros, he turned a 29-53 Boston Celtics team to a 61-21club as a rookie. He took the Celtics to three champio