[98] Bird won NBA three-point-shooting contests in three consecutive years. The main reason the Celtics were able to sustain a long run of success was because of Bird. Bird made the 50-40-90 Club for a second straight year and won his third straight Three-Point Contest championship. Skip to primary navigation; . Highly recruited, he initially signed to play college basketball for coach Bob Knight of the Indiana Hoosiers, but Bird dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick to attend a local community college. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The Lakers ultimately won the series in six games. Find out more. This season was a precursor for a string of successes that no other player has matched in league history. [61] The historical rift between the teams, which faced each other several times in championship series of the 1960s, fueled fan interest in the rivalry. [27], Before the 198081 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 front-court of Bird, McHale, and Parish is regarded as one of the greatest front-courts in NBA history. Do you have a sports website? It featured Bird walking into the locker room asking who was going to finish second in the Three-Point Contest. 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. But everyone knows why Indiana State is where it is. Larry Bird was a co-star of one of the greatest college basketball national championship games ever Bird vs. Magic, when the undefeated Indiana State Sycamores took on the co-Big Ten champion Michigan State Spartans in the 1979 championship. [70], In the summer of 1992, Bird joined Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and other NBA stars to play for the United States men's national basketball team in that year's Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. MJ looked up to Bird when he came into the league. Moses Malone won the MVP Award and also got the best of Bird in the postseason. NBA Finals. Larry Bird is 6-9. The first was on February 14, 1986 in an overtime win against the Portland Trail Blazers. more information Accept. He was the leagues best player after years of looking up to Malone. All rights reserved. [85], Bird has been described as one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooters of all time. Larry. The Spartans won 75-64 in the highest-rated and most-watched college basketball game ever. [68] He returned to the Celtics in 1989, but debilitating back problems and an aging Celtic roster prevented him from regaining his mid-1980s form. [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. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. Larry Bird. Small Forward and Power Forward [43] Boston came back to win the game, eventually winning the series in seven. As a result, Jordan did not manage to muster up an extremely impressive record against the . [92] Bird is also remembered as one of the foremost clutch performers in the history of the NBA; he was known for his excellent play in high-stakes, high-pressure situations. Celtics General Manager Red Auerbach publicly stated that he would not pay Bird more than any Celtic on the current roster, but Bird's agent Bob Woolf told Auerbach that Bird would reject any sub-market offers and simply enter the 1979 draft instead, where Boston's rights would expire when the draft began on June 25, and Bird would have been the likely top pick. Bird passed Otis Birdsong to become the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer of all-timewith a free throw early in the championship game. Bird averaged 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in the NBA Finals. Falling out of bounds, Bird turned and passed the ball to teammate Dennis Johnson, who converted a game-winning 2-point layup with less than a second left. He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 897 regular-season games. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird . "'You appear to be enjoying this,' one reporter commented. If I could, I'd like to play with him forever.". Among his other stats, he averaged a career shooting percentage of 49.6% and shot 88.6% from the free-throw line. [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. Magic got the upper hand against Bird, beating him in 1985 and 1987, while Bird beat Magic in 1984. Data Provided By During the 80s, it was either the Lakers or the Celtics in the NBA Finals. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. HEIGHT. Finals Appearances. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. After leading the Celtics to a 295 start to the 199091 season, Bird missed 22 games due to a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually led to his retirement. When healthy, Bird looked vintage. ", "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? 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. Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. Larry Bird goes to the basket against DePaul in the 1979 Final Four. Player Stats. He was named NBA Head Coach of . Finals Appearances. Do you have a sports website? We present them here for purely educational purposes. 30 on ESPN SportsCentury's list of 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th century. RELATED: The complete results from the best #MarchMadnessMoments bracket. He also began a four-year stretch where he was one of the leagues top two-way players. In fact, the five oldest players to do it are, in order, 2020 LeBron, 2018 LeBron, 2017 LeBron, 2016 LeBron and 2010 Kobe, who . Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. With that said, the following three years were legendary. "At 9 o'clock yesterday [Bill] Hodges went to wake up Bird for a brunch at which he was to receive the Player of the Year Award. NAISMITH AWARDS: Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year, While Bird was most known for his scoring, he had a well-rounded game that included double-digit rebound totals and unselfish passing. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com. [40] Boston's misfortunes continued into the next season, with Bird again finishing second in MVP voting to Malone and the team losing in the Conference Semifinals to the Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana State went 81-13 during the three seasons in which Larry Bird played for the Sycamores. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. [114] 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. Larry Bird, in full Larry Joe Bird, (born December 7, 1956, West Baden, Indiana, U.S.), American basketball player who led the Boston Celtics to three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1981, 1984, and 1986) and is considered one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Or write about sports? Learn more and register, Kansas City Kings vs. Portland Trail Blazers, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. In an effort to stop Bird, Bradley coach Dick Versace installed what was referred to as the "Bird's Nest Defense," where two defenders would guard Bird and the other three defenders would cover the four other Sycamores. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Free shipping. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists in 6 games in the 1986 NBA Finals. Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Draft: The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions. Bird's rookie year he did shoot 40% from three point land and then he had four years of .270, .212, .286, 247, and then he was the Larry Bird at 40% that we all grew accustomed to. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Stats: 28.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG, Awards And Achievements: MVP, All-Star, All-NBA First Team. Bird did not technically average a triple double for the series because both his rebounds and assists were slightly below 10 and Ive rounded them, but, still, those stats are unreal. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. In his free time, he coaches high school cross country and track, as well as takes care of his two daughters. 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 . Tied for eighth all-time in career rebounding . The Celtics-Lakers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. In eight games, Bird averaged 8.4 points. Join our linker program. Just a few weeks later, he recorded his first triple-double of his career with 23 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists in a win over the Pistons. Larry Bird totals for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. At 35, LeBron is by far the oldest player to have such a postseason. 1985-86 Larry Bird, Boston Celtics. The team hovered around .500 most of the season but won 11 of their last 15 games to finish second in the division with a 52-30 record. [101] In recognition of his defensive abilities, Bird was named to three All-Defensive Second Teams. . "[70] Their rivalry began in college, when Larry Bird and Indiana State lost to Magic Johnson and Michigan State in the NCAA Championship game. The Celtics made the Conference Finals before losing to the 76ers. Bulls Vs. Celtics Playoff History. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Stats; Standings; Teams; Players; All-Star . Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones record set in 1965. Bird was a Swiss army knife. . the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Not since Bill Russell squared off against Wilt Chamberlain had professional basketball enjoyed such a marquee matchup. [110], The Celtics employed Bird as a special assistant in the team's front office from 1992 until 1997. [115] Bird then led the Pacers to consecutive Central Division titles in 1999 and 2000 and a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals. [96] Bird was the first player in NBA history to shoot 50% or better on field goals, 40% on three-pointers, and 90% on free-throws in a single NBA season while achieving the league minimum for makes in each category. His career averages were 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 897 regular season games. 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. However, in the first round, the Celtics took a 2-0 lead but lost the following three games. . '", Indiana State coach Bill Hodges on the notion that man-to-man defenses might slow Bird down: "If we go against a UCLA or a Notre Dame later on and they play man-to-man, that's when you'll see how tough Larry really is. Larry Bird. [28] On November 14, 1979, Bird recorded his first career triple-double with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in a 115111 win over the Detroit Pistons. 1956 [53] On March 10, 1986, Bird scored 50 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 5 assists in a 115116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. [51][52], On November 27, 1985, Bird recorded 47 points to go along with 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a 132124 win over the Detroit Pistons. Manufacturer: The Star Co. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 16 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game, Tied for first in semifinal history with 16 made field goals against DePaul, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1978: 30.0 points per game, Second-leading scorer in the country in 1979: 28.6 points per game, Third-leading scorer in the country in 1977: 32.8 points per game, Sixth all-time (since 1973) in rebounds in a season: 505 rebounds (1979), Tied for seventh with a two-game Final Four rebound total of 29 rebounds in 1979, Eighth in Final Four history with an 84.2 shooting percentage against DePaul, Tied for eighth all-time in career rebounding average: 13.3 rebounds per game, Ninth in NCAA tournament history (since 1973) with 67 rebounds in a single NCAA tournament, Tied for 13th all-time in double-doubles in a season: 28 double-doubles (1979), 15th all-time in career scoring average (min. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. [108], At the 2019 NBA Awards, Bird received the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award (shared with Magic Johnson). In his final three seasons with the Celtics, Bird averaged over 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists per game, shot better than 45% from the field, and led the Celtics to playoff appearances. [77], Bird was voted onto the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team list in 1996,[78][79] and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Stats & Championships . (mainly behind the hoop heroics of Larry Joe Bird) to fight its way to The Finals. Bird recorded three 40 point triple double games in his professional career. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: 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. [20] For his college career, he averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game,[21] leading the Sycamores to an 8113 record during his tenure. He was selected to the All-Star Game but didnt play due to a back injury. Nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Larry Birds finals record was 3-2. The performance came nine days after Kevin McHale broke Birds record for points with 56. "Larry Bird Ball" was the most popular sport in Terre Haute. Stats: 22.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.9 BPG, Awards And Achievements: All-Star, All-Star Game MVP, All-NBA First Team, All-Defensive Second Team. Learn more and register, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. In the playoffs, the Bucks defeated the Bucks in the Conference Finals to set up a showdown with the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird won the NBA Finals MVP two times. The Celtics won the series in six games, but Bird did not win Finals MVP, which was rewarded to Cedric Maxwell. [11] Bird has said that being poor as a child still motivates him "to this day". He considered Bird to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 19971998 season and later led the Pacers to a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals. Ultimately, the Cavaliers rallied to win the series in seven games, which ended their career of Bird. Join our linker program. We present them here for purely educational purposes. They remained married for less than a year. When it comes to the 80s decade, he is in the conversation for the best overall player. 1984 Star Larry Bird #5 Playoff Stats Boston Celtics HOF NM-MT Free Shipping! Before the season, the Celtics acquired Bill Walton, which was seen as a risk due to his injury history. His Ruseell Westbrook-ian statistics stats in the 1986 Finals (24 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 9.5 AG) capped his best season." Sam Esfandiari of Warriors World: "Larry Bird has gone down as one of the most gifted all-around players of all time. Finals MVP. name season series tm gp mpg ppg rpg apg spg bpg tpg fgm fga fg% 3pm 3pa 3p% ftm fta ft% min pts reb ast stl blk tov pf +/-larry bird: 1980-81: nba finals In, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 21:21. 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. Data Provided By Bird. Bird was often checked by Magic Johnson in Michigan State's 2-3 matchup zone in theepic clash of two all-time greats. He averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 . [93][94][95] In October 2021, as part of the NBA's 75th Anniversary, Bird was honored as one of the 75 greatest players of all time, by being named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. Nm-Mt free Shipping Star Larry Bird averaged 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in regular... The Three-Point Contest on February 14, 1986 in an overtime win against the Portland Blazers. An overtime win against the Indiana Pacers, which was seen as a result, Jordan did not Finals! List of 50 greatest Athletes of the leagues top two-way players it was either the Lakers the... ] in recognition of his defensive abilities, Bird received the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers which. The team 's front office from 1992 until 1997 the 2019 NBA Awards, Bird received the NBA NHL... 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