Larry Bird
The Hick from French Lick who became a Celtics legend and Pacers icon.
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Quick Facts
- Pacers tenure
- N/A (never played for the Pacers; coached 1997–2000, served as executive)
- Hometown
- French Lick, Indiana
Lore & Background
Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, Bird was a local basketball star. Highly recruited, he initially signed to play college basketball for Indiana University Bloomington. However, he dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick to attend a local college. The next year, he attended Indiana State University, ultimately playing three years for the Sycamores. Bird was selected by the Boston Celtics as the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, but he elected to stay in college for the 1978–79 season. He led Indiana State to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the national championship, where they faced Michigan State and Magic Johnson, a match-up which launched a career-long rivalry between the two players. Bird entered the NBA for the 1979–80 season, where he made an immediate impact, leading the Celtics to a 32-win improvement over the previous season. Bird played for the Celtics during his entire 13-season professional career, leading them to five NBA Finals appearances and three NBA championships. He played most of his career with forward Kevin McHale and center Robert Parish, considered by some to be the greatest front court in NBA history. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star, won two NBA Finals MVP awards and received the NBA Most Valuable Player Award three consecutive times (1984–1986), making him the only forward in league history to do so. Bird was also a member of the gold medal-winning 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team, known as the "Dream Team". He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice as a player—first in 1998 as an individual, and again in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". Bird was voted onto the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list in 1996, and subsequently the 75th Anniversary Team list in 2021. A versatile player at both forward positions, Bird could play both inside and outside, being one of the first players in the league to take advantage of the newly adopted three-point line. He was rated the greatest NBA small forward of all time by Fox Sports in 2016. After retiring as a player, Bird served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. He was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 1997–98 season and later led the Pacers to a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals.
Reader's Guide
Bird was born December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana, to Georgia Marie (née Kerns; 1930–1996) and Claude Joseph "Joe" Bird (1926–1975), a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. His parents were of Irish, Scottish and Native American descent. Bird has four brothers and a sister. Bird 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 in February 1975. Bird used basketball as an escape from his family troubles, starring for Springs Valley High School (Class of 1974) and averaging 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 4.0 assists as a senior on his way to becoming the school's all-time scoring leader. Bird wore the jersey number 33 in high school because his brother Mark had previously had it; he kept that number through his college and professional career. According to Bird, he grew up as a huge fan of the Indiana Pacers in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and center Mel Daniels, who represented his first exposure to professional basketball. Daniels would coincidentally become an assistant coach to Bird at Indiana State University. Bird received a scholarship to play college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers under head coach Bob Knight in 1974. After less than a month on the Indiana University Bloomington campus, Bird dropped out of school, finding the adjustment between his small hometown and the large student population of Bloomington to be overwhelming. Bird returned to French Lick, enrolling at Northwood Institute (now Northwood University) in nearby West Baden, and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute 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 with a 33–0 record where they played the 1979 championship game against Michigan State. Indiana State lost the game 75–64, with Bird scoring 19 points but making only 7 of 21 shots. The game achieved the highest-ever television rating for a college basketball game, in large part because of the matchup between Bird and Spartans' point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson, a rivalry that lasted throughout their professional careers.
More in Legendary Players
Elsewhere in Indiana Pacers
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced