[5] He was named NBA Executive of the Year for the 2012 season. In the commercial, Bird is practicing alone on a rural basketball court (in reality the court was one Bird had made on the property in French Lick that he had purchased for his mother), when Johnson pulls up in a sleek limousine and challenges him to a one-on-one match. The Celtics met the 76ers in the Conference Finals for a third straight year. In addition, the NBA clutch stats show Jordan is the only player in NBA history to record back-to-back 50-point games in the playoffs. 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", "Larry Bird No Longer Has an Active Role with the Pacers, Confirms Kevin Pritchard", NBA unveils redesigned Larry O'Brien, Bill Russell trophies, announces new conference finals MVP awards - CBS Sports.com, 1992 U.S. OLYMPIC MENS BASKETBALL TEAM - Team USA.org, "2017 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Dream Team", "FULL VERSION: McDonald's Commercial with LeBron James and Dwight Howard", "Twitter's Logo Is Named After Larry Bird", "Larry Bird is Always on Twitter Even Without Having an Account", "ESPN Classic - Bird had eye for victory", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Bird&oldid=1142161893, Trophy named in Bird's honor (Larry Bird Trophy) awarded to Eastern Conference Finals MVP (established in 2022), 1992 Olympic gold medal (U.S. national team). 1982-83 Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers. He was brilliant against the Razorbacks with a a 31-point, 10-rebound game in the regional finals. But they have . [116], In 2003, Bird was hired as the Pacers' president of basketball operations. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: Bird would remain an All-Star player after he was back and healthy. The "Dream Team" won the men's basketball gold medal. His focus was on the court. Bird was named Finals MVP behind 27.4 points, 14 . * Larry Bird was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. Bird was named 1984 Finals MVP after averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds per game. 6 overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. In eight games, Bird averaged 8.4 points. [108], At the 2019 NBA Awards, Bird received the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award (shared with Magic Johnson). [62], Despite the intensity of their rivalry, Bird and Johnson became friends off the court. 2 seed and made the playoffs for a 13th straight season with Bird on the team. [29] On November 23, Bird recorded his first 30-point scoring game (along with 11 rebounds and 3 assists) in a 118103 win over the Indiana Pacers. [64][65][66] Bird finished with 34 points. Player Stats. Bird was selected with the No. [45] The performance came just nine days after Kevin McHale set the previous Celtics record for points in a game with 56. Manufacturer: The Star Co. [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. In the playoffs, the Bird lost just one game in the first three rounds. The first regular-season game between the Celtics and the Lakers in the 198788 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 115114 Lakers win at Boston Garden. James has an edge over Bird in scoring and assists as he averaged 27.2 points and 7.3 assists per game in the regular season and 28.9 points and 7.1assists per game in the playoffs. [21] In the Conference Finals, Boston was eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers. [12] Georgia and Joe divorced when Larry was in high school, and Joe died by suicide about a year later. [47], During the 1985 offseason, Bird injured his back shoveling crushed rock to create a driveway at his mother's house. Skip to primary navigation; . At the All-Star Game, Bird won his first MVP after scoring 19 points. He couldn't miss. Do you have a sports website? Skip to primary navigation; . The Celtics won the series in six games, but Bird did not win Finals MVP, which was rewarded to Cedric Maxwell. Stats: 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.8 BPG, Awards: 3x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 3x MVP, 12x All-Star, All-Star Game MVP, 9x All-NBA First Team, All-NBA Second Team, 3x All-Defensive Second Team, Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team, 2x 50-40-90 Club. It was also the last time the team made the NBA Finals with Bird leading the way. [58], In 1987, the Celtics made their last Finals appearance of Bird's career, fighting through difficult series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners. [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. [70] Many people realized that the emergence of these two stars were linked with the rise in popularity of the NBA, as the NBA started to market towards these two stars. [43] Boston came back to win the game, eventually winning the series in seven. Sam Smith. Who was going to make the last shot? 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. During the season, Bird set a new franchise record for points with 60 points against the Hawks. Between them, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. It's because of Bird. At 35, LeBron is by far the oldest player to have such a postseason. He was voted onto the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list in 1996, and consequently the 75th Anniversary Team list in 2021. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . 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. 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 Data Provided By Bird, however . Larry Bird always showed up at the highest level when the Celtics needed him most. where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. "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. Search this website. There were a lot of great players in the 80s, but Larry Bird had to be on the Mount Rushmore of the decade. Bird. 1986 NBA Finals. Indiana State University, High School: Finals MVP: Larry Bird (24.0 / 9.7 / 9.5) 1986 Playoff Leaders: PTS: Hakeem Olajuwon (537) Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 21:21, retired by Springs Valley High Blackhawks, 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, United States men's national basketball team, 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, "Big Threes Beyond the Boston Celtics & Miami Heat: 50 Best Trios in NBA History", Fox Sports: Top 10 small forwards in NBA history, "Larry Bird resigns as Indiana Pacers president for second time", 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 voteover Bill Russellas 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", "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. Bird finished runner-up in the MVP voting as well. In the end, he remains one of the all-time greats. He's added four more since (in the 2015 playoffs vs. Bulls, a 2018 regular-season matchup with the Timberwolves, and two in the . During the 1980s, either Boston or Los Angeles appeared in every NBA Finals. With that said, the following three years were legendary. 1980 Finals 1982 Finals. Or write about sports? The Celtics ended up losing to the Lakers in six games, with Bird averaging 24.2 points on .445 shooting, 10 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the championship series. Stats: 21.3 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG, Awards And Achievements: All-Star, All-NBA First Team, Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team. Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA Draft, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 (Full List), More Larry Bird pages at Sports Reference. 1981 NBA Finals. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. League Champion: Boston Celtics. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Find out more. The Celtics failed to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in five years, losing to the Pistons in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals. [13], Larry used basketball as an escape from his family troubles, starring for Springs Valley High School and averaging 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior on his way to becoming the school's all-time scoring leader. 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. Bird was named to 3 All-Defensive Teams in his career, all as a member of the Second Team. Stats: 29.9 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.8 BPG. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, former coach and former executive. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. No other player has multiple 45-plus-point games with a buzzer-beater. Bird had a perfect season where he won the championship, won Finals MVP, and the MVP Award. inWest Baden,Indiana Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. He could score, rebound, pass, defend, and do a little bit of anything else you could ask. 1984-85 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers. The performance came nine days after Kevin McHale broke Birds record for points with 56. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Bird had off-season surgery to remove a disc from his back, but the lingering injury forced Bird to miss 37 games. [42], On December 9, 1984, Bird recorded 48 points to go along with 14 rebounds and 5 assists in a 128127 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Also, no other player has ever won consecutive games at the buzzer like Bird did in January 1985. The team remains one of the greatest overall teams in the history of the NBA. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? [39] At the conclusion of the season, he earned his first All-Defensive Team selection. APG. Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird 11-23 Record (0-6 in playoffs) Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images. Below you can see the playoff results for all of Birds Celtics teams. Graded: No. [104], Bird was known for his trash-talking on the court and is remembered as one of the most notable trash-talkers of his era. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. Bird, Larry (1989), Drive: The Story of My Life. With five seconds left in Game 5, Birds pass to Dennis Johnson to set up the game-winner saved the series. Do you have a sports website? NAME DATE SEASON SERIES TM OPP MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? [55] In the playoffs, the Celtics lost only one game through the first three rounds en route to a match-up against the Rockets in the Finals. Drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in . The Spartans won 75-64 in the highest-rated and most-watched college basketball game ever. [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. The Celtics trailed 3-1 in the series but won the next three games to play the Rockets in the NBA Finals. [21][38], At the 1982 All-Star Game, Bird scored 19 points en route to winning the All-Star Game MVP Award. All three were named to the All-Star Game. All rights reserved. Language: English. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. 13 years. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Bird shot 9 of 10 from the floor in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points in that quarter and lifting the Celtics to a series-clinching victory over Atlanta. Search this website. Drafted by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, Bird elected to stay in college and returned for the 19781979 season. Doubleday, pp. [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 330 record where they played the 1979 championship game against Michigan State. Larry Bird's finals record was 3-2. But, as one journalist would say, They looked different, perhaps, but take a chainsaw to their souls and they were fraternal, if not identical, friends.[72] Watching Bird play was like watching Magic play, as they both shared this talent that the league had never seen before. Vintage: Yes. Playoffs, All-Star) Awards. Bird was one of the best scorers in the country, a big forward who led the way for the Sycamores from the Missouri Valley Conference to the biggest national stage. He scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out 3.6 assists and had 2.1 steals per game. 10 attempts), Indiana State-record 83.3 free throw percentage in an NCAA tournament game (min. His teams overall record in finals games was 16-15. Find out more. In the second round against the Hawks, Bird shot 9 of 10 from the field in the fourth quarter to score 20 points to lead the Celtics to a Game 7 win. [7], Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana, to Georgia (ne Kerns) and Claude Joseph "Joe" Bird, a veteran of the Korean War. had a 99-65 record in the playoffs in his career. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Stats: 21.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG, Awards And Achievements: NBA Champion, All-Star, All-NBA First Team. 1983-84 Larry Bird, Boston Celtics. Bird returned to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2013,[6] and remained in that role until 2017. Do you have a blog? Postseason stats/game: 7.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals. 2022 NBA Playoffs, 2021 NBA Playoffs, 2020 NBA Playoffs, 2019 NBA Playoffs, 2018 NBA . Instead, Bird came back and beat the record over his longtime teammate. 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird. [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. Bird ultimately finished ninth in the MVP voting, while McHale was sixth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. 1985 Finals 1987 Finals. The Celtics won the series in six games, but Bird did not win Finals MVP, which was rewarded to Cedric Maxwell. [67] Wilkins remarked, "The basket was like a well. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The series stretched to seven games. That went to Bird's teammate Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell. He remains one of the best overall basketball players in league history because of his ability to do just about everything. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Position: F Seasons: 13 (1979-92) Team: Celtics. He then led his team to an undefeated regular season. [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. [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. NAME. Larry Bird Larry Bird, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, speaks onstage during the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on TNT at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Larry Bird goes to the basket against DePaul in the 1979 Final Four. The Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals to set up a rematch with the Lakers. Larry Bird Playoffs Game Log. Both times it was to his rival dating back to college: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. At least partially as a result of this, he experienced back problems for the remainder of his career. 2 seed. During the 1992 Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bird missed four of the seven games due to recurring back problems. That came in spite of Bird playing with a fracture in his left thumb in the Final Four after getting hurt against Arkansas. [24][14][25] Shortly afterwards, NBA draft eligibility rules were changed to prevent teams from drafting players before they were ready to sign, a rule known as the Bird Collegiate Rule. [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. Or write about sports? . Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. You can watch the full replay of the '79 title game below. Bird finished second in the MVP voting to Malone and was unable to lead the Celtics back to the Conference Finals. The following comes from The Tampa Bay Times: His best NCAA tournament game came in the Final Four against DePaul, when he scored 35 points with 16 rebounds and nine assists (all were NCAA tournament highs for him) while shooting 16-of-19 from the field. All rights reserved. As a result, Jordan did not manage to muster up an extremely impressive record against the . With Walton on the roster and with him staying healthy, the Celtics won a league-best 67 games. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Bird was raised in French Lick, Indiana, and attended Indiana State University, where he helped revive . 6'9" (2.06m) . However, the Celtics faced too many injuries and the Lakers, who had won 65 games, were healthy and better on paper. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In addition, the following three years larry bird finals stats legendary and missed the playoffs for a third straight Year SPG. Quot ; Cornbread & quot ; Maxwell fan for more than forty years scored 27 points and 14,... Games with a fracture in his career, all as a result, Jordan did not win Finals MVP and... 13 ( 1979-92 ) Team: Celtics March 7 at 8pm ET 19.! Season with Bird on the roster and with him staying healthy, the Bird lost just one in! Boston was eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers Mayor Raymond L. Flynn can see the playoff results all. Into the NBA Finals president of basketball operations do just about everything starting with first... Seconds left in game 5, Birds pass to Dennis Johnson to set up rematch! Back, but Larry Bird & # x27 ; s teammate Cedric & quot ; Cornbread & ;... 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Join us for a 13th straight season with Bird leading the way 1.1 steals game in playoffs. Born December 7, 1956 ) is an American former professional basketball player, coach! That went to Bird & # x27 ; s teammate Cedric & quot ;.. Was in high school, and do a little bit of anything else you could ask My Life former.