Larry Bird
“The Hick from French Lick” is the only person in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. In 2017, Larry Bird stepped down from his last official NBA role after a 13-year NBA career and 25 years in administrative roles with the Indiana Pacers.
Bird first rose to basketball prominence during the three years he spent with the Indiana State Sycamores. The forward became the Naismith College Player of the Year en route to the 1979 NCAA championship game. The Boston Celtics drafted Bird No. 6 overall in the 1978 NBA Draft. As the NBA Rookie of the Year, he brought the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Over the next 12 years, Bird became a three-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, and earned the overall MVP two more times. Bird will be remembered for many things, including his legendary rivalry with Magic Johnson.
- Birthday: December 7, 1956
- Hometown: French Lick, Indiana
- College: Indiana State University
- Height: 6’9″
- Spouse: Dinah Mattingly (m. 1989), Janet Condra (m. 1975–1976)
- Children: Corrie Bird, Connor Bird, and Mariah Bird
- Jersey: No. 33
- Number of NBA championship wins: three
- Number of NBA championship appearances: five
Visit Larry Bird’s profile on Basketball-Reference.com.
Read the latest articles about Larry Bird:
Larry Bird had a pretty good explanation for why Michael Jordan didn’t appear to have a “team mentality” early in his career.
Bill Walton was a perfect piece to the Boston Celtics puzzle in 1986.
A Converse sneaker commercial showed that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson didn’t carry their heated rivalry off the court.
The Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson rivalry dates back to 1979, but Magic said it didn’t get heated until 1982.
As soon as Dave Cowens abruptly resigned from the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird turned to Robert Parish with a straight-to-the-point message.
You aren’t going to find many NBA players who were tougher than Larry Bird.
While there were plenty of similarities between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, K.C. Jones once explained why they were different.
It took a lot, but the Boston Celtics battled back to stun the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.
Boston Celtics star Larry Bird forfeited plenty of cash when he walked away from the game in 1992.
Larry Bird was lost among a sea of stars on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.
