Bird, Larry J.
Basketball
b. Dec. 7, 1956, French Lick, IN
Only 6 feet tall as a high school sophomore, Bird played guard for two years, then grew to 6-foot-4 and became a forward as a senior, averaging more than 30 points per game. He won a basketball scholarship to Indiana University in 1974 but left school after a month, went to a junior college for two months, then dropped out and returned home.
In 1975, he was given a scholarship at Indiana State, but had to sit out a year to become eligible. After averaging more than 30 points a game for two years, he was drafted by the NBA's Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1978 draft because his original class had graduated.
Bird opted to finish college. Now fully grown to 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds, he averaged 28.6 points and 14.9 rebounds a game to lead Indiana State to an undefeated regular season and the NCAA tournament finals, where Michigan State, led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson, won the title. Bird was a consensus All-American and college player of the year.
He then signed a five-year contract with the Celtics, reportedly for more than $3 million. Some critics doubted that he would be a professional star, because he lacked foot speed and jumping ability. However, with Bird averaging 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds a game, Boston had the greatest turnaround in NBA history, going from a 29-53 record to 61-21 in 1979-80. Bird was named the league's rookie of the year.
He led the Celtics to NBA championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986 and was the most valuable player in the playoffs in 1984 and 1986 and the league's most valuable player three years in a row, from 1984 through 1986. He was also named the Associated Press male athlete of the year and the Sports Illustrated sportsman of the year in 1986.
Heel problems began to bother him during the 1986-87 season and he played in only six games in 1988/89 before having operations on both heels. He returned to play 75 games in 1989-90, but appeared in just 60 games in 1990-91 and 45 in 1991-92 before retiring.
Perhaps the most versatile player in basketball history, Bird could rebound and score from inside and was an outstanding outside shooter. He led the NBA in free throw percentage four times. And he may well have been the greatest passing forward ever. Although not a strong defender one on one, his anticipation and court sense made him a good team defender who often came up with important steals, especially on inbounds passes.
An all-NBA forward nine consecutive seasons, from 1980 through 1988, Bird was named second-team all-NBA in 1990 and he was named to the all-defensive second team from 1982 through 1984.