Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since retiring as a player, he has been a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, currently serving as team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBAs most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the leagues Most Valuable Player (MVP) three consecutive times (1984–1986). He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards. Personal information Born December 7, 1956 (age 58) West Baden, Indiana Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg) Career information High school Springs Valley (French Lick, Indiana) College Indiana State (1976–1979) NBA draft 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall Selected by the Boston Celtics Pro career 1979–1992 Position Forward Number 33 Career history As player: 1979–1992 Boston Celtics As coach: 1997–2000 Indiana Pacers Career highlights and awards As player: 3× NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) 2× NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3× NBA Most Valuable Player (1984–1986) 12× NBA All-Star (1980–1988, 1990–1992) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982) 9× All-NBA First Team (1980–1988) All-NBA Second Team (1990) 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982–1984) NBA Rookie of the Year (1980) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1980) 3× NBA 3-Point Shootout champion (1986–1988) 2× 50–40–90 club (1987-1988) AP Athlete of the Year (1986) No. 33 retired by Boston Celtics NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team National college player of the year (1979) 2× MVC Player of the Year (1978–1979) 2× Consensus first team All-American (1978–1979) As coach: NBA Coach of the Year (1998) NBA All-Star Game head coach (1998) As executive: NBA Executive of the Year (2012) Career statistics Points 21,791 (24.3 ppg) Assists 5,695 (6.3 apg) Rebounds 8,974 (10.0 rpg) Stats at Basketball-Reference Basketball Hall of Fame as player College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 Medals Mens Basketball Competitor for the United States World University Games Gold 1977 Sofia Mens Basketball World Invitational Tournament Gold 1978 United States Mens Basketball Olympic Games Gold 1992 Barcelona Mens Basketball Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since retiring as a player, he has been a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, currently serving as team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBAs most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the leagues Most Valuable Player (MVP) three consecutive times (1984–1986). He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards. Due to chronic back problems, he retired as a player in 1992. He was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team (The Dream Team) that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998 (and was inducted again 2010 as a member of the Dream Team). He served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, holding the position until retiring in 2012. After a year away from the position, he announced he would return to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2013. In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 club, he is the only man in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. Contents 1 Early life 2 College career 2.1 College statistics 3 Professional career 3.1 Joining the Celtics (1978–79) 3.2 Early success (1979–83) 3.3 Battles with the Lakers and MVP tenure (1983–87) 3.4 Waning years (1988–92) 4 Post-retirement career 5 Awards and honors 6 Personal life 7 Head coaching record 8 Legacy 9 Player profile 9.1 Trash-talking 9.2 Memorable moments 9.3 Memorable games 10 In popular culture 11 NBA career statistics 11.1 Regular season 11.2 Playoffs Early life Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana to Georgia (née Kerns) and Claude Joseph Joe Bird. He was raised in nearby French Lick, where his mother worked two jobs to support Larry and his five siblings.Bird has said that being poor as a child still motivates him to this day. Georgia and Joe divorced when Larry was in high school, and Joe committed suicide about a year later.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 schools all-time scoring leader. College career Bird received a scholarship to play college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974. After less than a month on campus, he dropped out of school, finding the adjustment between his small hometown and the large student population of Bloomington to be overwhelming. He returned to French Lick, enrolling in a community college and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in 1975. He had a successful three year career with the Sycamores, helping them reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history and leading them to the championship game against Michigan State in 1979. Indiana State would lose the game 75–64, with Bird scoring 19 points but making only 7 of 21 shots for 33.3 percent
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 12:45:29 +0000
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