Larry Joe Bird

Larry Bird* (Larry Joe Bird), born December 7, 1956, is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, teaming with legendary center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale.

 

 

Due to back problems, he retired as a player from the NBA in 1992. Bird was voted to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team[1] in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame[2] in 1998. 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.

1982–1987
The additions of Bird and Johnson rejuvenated the NBA, which had suffered from low attendance and minimal television interest through much of the 1970s. Immediately upon their entry into the league, the two players became repeating presences in the NBA Finals. Johnson’s Lakers won the championship in 1980, Bird’s Celtics captured the NBA title in 1981, and Johnson’s Lakers wrested it back in 1982. Bird and Johnson first dueled in the 1979 NCAA title game; as professional basketball players, they would face off numerous times during the 1980s, including the NBA Finals of 1984, 1985 and 1987. Lakers versus Celtics, and specifically Bird versus Magic, quickly became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional sports.

Between them, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. During the 1980s, either Boston or Los Angeles appeared in every NBA Finals.

Throughout 80s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers—both during the regular season and in the Finals—attracted enormous television audiences. Not since Bill Russell squared off against Wilt Chamberlain had professional basketball enjoyed such a marquee matchup.

Despite the intensity of their rivalry, Bird and Johnson became friends off the court. Their friendship blossomed when the two players worked together to film the 1986 Converse commercial, which depicted them as archenemies. Johnson appeared at Bird’s retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993 and emotionally described Bird as a “friend forever.”

 

Larry Bird Quotes A-H

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A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
– Larry Bird

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About all our good high school players are going out of state. …That’s something that probably hurts more than anything. It’s very important to try to keep our kids in-state. That’s how you have an identity.
– Larry Bird

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Any time you deal a player, you would like him to go out of the conference. We’re looking at the West, but if it’s the East, that’s how it’s going to be. Whether we get a draft choice or a player, we’re going to make sure it’s the right deal. We’ve done enough to back Ronnie. We’re in a position where we have to protect the franchise now.
– Larry Bird

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As a coach, it drives you crazy,
– Larry Bird

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As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me, because it’s disrespect to my game.
– Larry Bird

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Believe me, he’s going to help us
– Larry Bird

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But it is a black man’s game, and it will be forever.
– Larry Bird

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Consistency has been one of our biggest problems. I don’t see anybody on our team that you can depend on every night to do the same thing. One night they’re up, and one night they’re down. If you know what you’re getting from each player, it’s pretty easy as far as coaching. When it’s inconsistent, you don’t know what you’re going to get and it makes it hard to substitute.
– Larry Bird

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First master the fundamentals.
– Larry Bird

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He was clearly frustrated. Ronnie thinks if we lose, we would have won the game if he had the ball every time. The offense bogs down at times, but it’s still a great offense. He held the ball a lot of times. Nothing frustrated me more than him not rebounding, but I didn’t go out in the public and say anything.
– Larry Bird

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He’s got great length and he’s one of the best shooters in the league. He gives us another dimension on the outside and hopefully that opens things up in the middle.
– Larry Bird

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He’s made as many clutch shots as anybody who has ever played this game.
– Larry Bird

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Hoosiers love this place. The high school game has produced a lot of legendary stories, and those stories get told here.
– Larry Bird

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* From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia