Born Larry Joe Bird on December 7,1956 in West Baden Springs Indiana. Larry showed early signs of greatness for the game and would soon step into the shoes of men like Wilt Chamberlain & Bill Russel and later players would compare themselves to him players like Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. He will forever be portrayed and compared to Magic Johnson, his counterpart for the decades and for good reason.
Larry Bird & The NCAA Championship
His performance in High School at scoring baskets(Spring Valley High School All Time Leading Scorer) earned him a scholarship to the University of Indiana under Bobby Knight. He decided to leave school after the first year and after some time enrolled at Indiana State University. In his senior year Bird led the Sycamores to an NCAA Championship.
They faced Michigan State Spartans, Who were led by famous college basketball player that Larry would be forever compared to Ervin “Magic” Johnson. It was the first time they played but certainly not the last. The Championship game went down to the wire but the Spartans prevailed. Indiana State finished 33-1. Bird won numerous awards including the John Wooden Award and left college, the fifth highest scorer in NCAA history despite only playing 3 years and finished with a 30.3 point average.
Larry Bird In The NBA
In 1979 The Boston Garden welcome Larry Bird as the Boston Celtics number one draft choice. In his first year averaging over 21 points a game and becoming Rookie of the Year. He also led the team in rebounding with 10.4 bound/game and steals with 143 along with minutes per game with 2,955. The Celtics had improved their record from the 78-79 season of 29-53 to 61-21 although they lost to Philly in the playoffs; it seemed The Boston Celtics were back.
Larry Bird Vs Dr. "J" Julius Erving
In 1980 Boston had acquired Larry Parrish and Kevin McHale and together with Bird formed arguably the best frontline in NBA history. In the 1980-81 The Celtics overcame the 76er’s with Julius “Doc” Erving and went on to defeat the Houston Rockets in six games and win Larry Bird’s first National Championship.
In the 80’s with the help of Bird the Celtics became one of the two dominant teams in the NBA, the other being the LA Lakers. The Lakers were led by Larry’s rival from his collegiate days Magic Johnson. In the decade of the 80’s, every NBA final featured either the Lakers or the Celtics or both. Bird according to his coach Bill Fitch, had an uncanny talent of picturing the whole court during a play and how the play unfolds before it happens whether he was taking the shot or assisting in the play.
Larry Bird & Magic Johnson- Who Was Better
Bird played defense at a high level having 59 triple doubles during his career during regular seasons and 10 during the play-offs. The Celtics continue their success in the 81-82 seasons with players like Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson. In 83-84 The Celtics returned to the Finals and faced off with Magic again in a seven game series with Boston winning the seventh game 111-102. Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds during the series and was named MVP of the Finals. Bird was also named MVP of the League for that season.
In 1984-85 seasons The Celtic and Lakers again played in the final this time the Lakers taking the Title. Still, once again, it was Bird to win the NVP for that season. The Celtic/Lakers and the Bird/Magic match up were becoming the greatest rivalries in sports history.
In the 85-86 season, a record of 65-15 took the Celtics back to the playoffs again. This time they had Bill Walton at Center and played the Houston Rockets and beat them in 6 games to win Larry Bird’s third World Championship. He was also named the series MVP with 24 points average and 10 rebounds & 10 assist per game. He also won the leagues MVP to joined Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as the only players to do so.
In 86-87 season the Celtics returned with the Lakers once again with LA prevailing. It was made for TV drama. It would be the Bird and Magic show again but it would be the last.
In the 87-88 season Larry averaged 29.9 points with 39 min. per game He had .527 percent field goal average & .916 % free throw average. In the 88-89 season was injured and lost for the season with a needed operation for bone spurs. He returned in the 89-90 season but suffered from back problems. Still in his last three seasons with the Celtics he led them to the playoffs with a 20 point average 9 rebound and 7 assist per game, shooting 45% from the field.
Larry Bird & Basketball History
In 1992 Larry joined Magic and won a Gold metal in the Olympics for the Dream Team. Larry considered it the golden moment of his golden career and announced his retirement weeks after the ceremony. His career lasted 13 years and he averaged 24 points per/game 10 Rebounds and 6 Assist per/game. He had a 49.5 % field goal average, 88.6% Free Throw average, 37.6% 3-point shooting average & 3 NBA Championships.
Named to the All-Star Team 12 times and League MVP 3 times 84-85-86. Named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. The Boston Celtics retired his jersey #33 in 1992. He has been called One of the Greatest Players Ever. Larry Bird was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He continues as an Ambassador and spokesman of the game, he has made great.
Reference
Larry Bird .com http://www.larrybird.com/
NBA .com/history/players
Jim Galloway - Professional Musician/Published Songwriter for 30 yrs. With over 200 Articles in Recording/Music Buisness/ Resources/Vintage Instruments
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