He was supposed to be too slow and not strong enough to become a star. So Larry Bird soared powerfully through college basketball, nearly winning an NCAA title with Indiana State.
And then “Larry Legend” dominated the NBA with the Boston Celtics on his way to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Bird brought a lot more to the game than basketball smarts and a near-perfect shooting eye from anywhere on the court. He was so confident that he’d tell opponents he was going to score 40 points, then do it. He once asked the other players in the All-Star Game’s three-point shooting contest which one was going to finish second—to him. Then he won it.
“Larry is something special. I’ll never forget those battles,” said Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ great guard and one of Bird’s best friends in the NBA. “That man is one of those guys who actually scared me to death. He could beat you at any time and in so many ways. It was scary.”1
When Bird joined the Celtics in 1979, they were struggling. The most successful team in NBA history, the Celtics had become losers. Bird quickly changed that, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year honors, as Boston won 61 games, 32 better than the season before.
A year later, the Celtics were NBA champions, and Bird had averaged almost exactly the same points (21.2 per game) as in his rookie year (21.3). From there, Bird would score at least 20 points a game in nine seasons and finish with a 24.3 points average for his 12-season career.
He scored 60 points in a game against Atlanta in 1985, when he averaged 28.7 a game. Two seasons later, Bird went for 29.9 a game, a career high. His baskets came from everywhere.
But Bird was about so much more than points. He could hardly jump, but he was a strong rebounder and was able to block shots. He was the best passer of any forward the NBA has seen. And he was a great leader.
“The way he attacks a challenge, nothing he accomplishes is a surprise to me,” said Chris Mullin, who played with Bird on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team that won a gold medal. “If he wanted to be an actor, I wouldn’t be surprised if he won an Oscar for his first movie. He works hard to achieve success.”2
That included three straight NBA Most Valuable Player awards (1984, 1985, and 1986) and three league championships. He made the All-NBA team nine times, was the NBA Finals MVP twice, and was voted one of the 50 greatest players in league history.
