Larry Bird
The Hick from French Lick who became a basketball legend.
Born on December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana, Larry Joe Bird is a former American professional basketball player, coach, and NBA executive.[1][2] Many consider Bird to be among the finest basketball players ever to play the game.[1]
Quick Facts
- Team
- Indiana Pacers
- Position
- Consultant
- League
- NBA
- Born
- 7 December 1956
- Birthplace
- West Baden Springs, Indiana, U.S.
- High school
- Springs Valley (French Lick, Indiana)
- College
- Indiana State (1976–1979)
- Draft round
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He starred at Springs Valley High School, averaging 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 4.0 assists as a senior.[3] Bird received a scholarship to Indiana University but dropped out after less than a month, later enrolling at Indiana State University in 1975.[4][5] He led the Sycamores to a 33-0 record and the 1979 NCAA championship game, where they lost to Michigan State.[4][6] In his rookie season, Bird led the Celtics to a 32-win improvement and was named Rookie of the Year.[7][8]
The Boston Celtics chose Bird as the sixth pick of the 1978 NBA draft, and he subsequently agreed to a five-year deal worth $3.25 million, which at the time was the largest contract ever given to a rookie in professional sports.[9][10] Following his playing days, Bird became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, a position he held from 1997 to 2000, and he received the NBA Coach of the Year award for the 1997-98 season.[11] Subsequently, Bird took on the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, and in 2012 he was honored as the NBA Executive of the Year.[11]
What the cited sources add
An ESPN profile notes that Bird was one of those rare athletes who made everybody around him better.[5] A Yardbarker biography reports that Bird scored 60 points in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, a career best and still the record for most points by a Celtic in a game.[6] The Yardbarker biography states that Bird was named Executive of the Year after the 2011-12 season, making him the only person to win MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.[6] According to the same source, during his rookie season Bird averaged 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, propelling the Celtics to a 32-game improvement in their win-loss record.[5]
A Bleacher Report piece calls the trio of Bird, McHale, and Parish the best front line in basketball history.[12]
References
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Larry Bird", Olympics.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Georgia Bird, 66, mother of Larry Bird", latimes.newspapers.com, October 9, 1996; Schwartz, "Plain and simple, Bird one of the best", ESPN, October 12, 1999; Kavanagh, "Larry Bird: Hall of Fame Basketball Superstar", Enslow Publishing, LLC, July 1, 2013; "EDDIE BIRD HAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW AT INDIANA STATE", Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1987 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Larry Bird", Hoopshall; Schwartz, "Plain and simple, Bird one of the best", ESPN, October 12, 1999; "Larry Bird: Biography"; Tribune-Star, "Mark Bennett: Before he was 'Larry Legend,' Bird shaped by boyhood, book explains", Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 2025-03-06; "Mel Daniels", September 7, 2012; "EDDIE BIRD HAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW AT INDIANA STATE", Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1987 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis, "When March Went Mad", Sports Illustrated, March 4, 2009; Schwartz, "Plain and simple, Bird one of the best", ESPN, October 12, 1999; Bird, Larry (1989), Drive: The Story of My Life. Doubleday, pp. 39–40.; "Throwback Thursday: Celtics Draft Larry Bird Sixth Overall", Boston Magazine; Professor Parquet, "The story of how rookie phenom Larry Bird led the NBA's greatest turnaround season", CelticsBlog, January 7, 2015; Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. HBO, 2010.; "Larry Bird Bio", Yardbarker, January 18, 2021; Schwartz, "Plain and si en.wikipedia.org
- Schwartz, "Plain and simple, Bird one of the best", ESPN, October 12, 1999. facts only, no text reused. espn.com
- "Larry Bird Bio", Yardbarker, January 18, 2021. facts only, no text reused. yardbarker.com
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: B, "Big Threes Beyond the Boston Celtics & Miami Heat: 50 Best Trios in NBA History", Bleacher Report (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "1978–79 NBA Season Summary", Basketball Reference; "1979–80 NBA Season Summary", Basketball Reference; "Houston Rockets at Boston Celtics Box Score, October 12, 1979", Basketball-Reference; "Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics Box Score, November 14, 1979", Basketball-Reference; "Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics Box Score, November 23, 1979", Basketball-Reference; "Larry Bird NBA Stats", Basketball-Reference.com; "1979–80 NBA Season Summary", Basketball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Larry Bird NBA Stats", Basketball-Reference.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Braude, "For $3.25 million, Celtics land Bird", The Day, June 8, 1979, p. 33; "Larry Bird: Biography"; May, "The Big Three", Simon and Schuster, 2007, p. 57; May, "The Big Three", Simon and Schuster, 2007, p. 57 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Larry Bird" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sports Essentials", USA Today (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- B, "Big Threes Beyond the Boston Celtics & Miami Heat: 50 Best Trios in NBA History", Bleacher Report. facts only, no text reused. bleacherreport.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Larry Bird (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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