Larry Bird Basketball
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Larry Joe Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in West Baden Springs, Florida to parents Joe and Georgia and was raised in nearby French Lick. Excelling at Basketball at an early age, Larry attended Springs Valley High School and became his team's all-time leading scorer; he graduated in 1974. Perhaps no one knew the greatness of Larry Bird or that his name would be forever synonymous with basketball but his high school efforts landed him a scholarship to the University of Indiana-a premonition of things to come.
Coming from a small town, Bird felt a little out of place at the immense campus of the Hoosiers and wanted to drop out right away. Once satisfied with his decision to leave, he took a year off and then enrolled at Indiana State becoming part of their Sycamore team. Here he began to show true promise and in 1979 as a senior, Bird led his team to the NCAA Championship game where they faced the Michigan State Spartans. Another future legend, Magic Johnson, was a Spartan team member and it was at this first game the two would meet, but certainly not the last time these two forwards would play against each other. Indiana finished its year with a 33-1 record giving Larry a place in the school's history. When he left Indiana State, he left with a 30.3 points per game average and was the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history-quite the accomplishment for the three-year only player.
In 1979, the Boston Celtics called on Larry Bird as their number one draft pick and he signed with them for a record $650,000 a year. With the Celtics, he averaged 21.3 points per game and earned the title NBA Rookie of the Year. He also dealt up 10.4 rebounds per game, 143 steals and led his team in minutes played at 2,955. He also led the Celtics to a playoff qualifier with 61 wins and 21 losses. Losing to Philadelphia's 76ers, the fans of Boston loved their number thirty-tree as they had seen some sad times in the early 1970's-the fans hoped for the return of greatness to Boston and with Bird, they could see their vision coming true.
The following year, the Celtics relocated to the Robert Parrish Center and took on Kevin McHale. Bird and McHale are considered by many to have been the best frontline in NBA history. In the 1980-1981 season, the Celtics made it to the NBA finals, where they defeated the Houston Rockets six times to take the championship. In the 1980's, the Celtics made it to nearly every NBA final, often facing off against the Lakers.
Celtics coach Bill Fitch gave Bird the nickname Kodak, explaining: it's for his ability to picture how a play would unfold. He can turn a play into points.". IN the 1981-1982 season, Bird's tallies made it into the double digits and the Celtics became even more formidable with the addition of guard Dennis Johnson and new coach KC Jones.
The Celtics took the NBA championship in the 1983-1984 season in a seven game series against the Lakers, with an 111-102 score in the final game. In this series, Bird averaged 14 rebounds and 27 points per game, also taking the MVP awards for the series and for the season. Bird also won the MVP award the next season, even after a loss to the Lakers. Bird and Magic Johnson had a friendly rivalry which fans still talk about.
The Celtics returned to finals once again in the 1985-1986 season; they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games and finished with a 76-15 record for the year. Bird again won the series MVP in this, his third NBA championship victory with an average of 24 points per game, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This year also saw him winning the league MVP award, the third player to do so. Bird's Celtics would also come out on top in the finals the next year, beating the Lakers in six games. Bird, like his rival Magic Johnson was becoming synonymous with the game of basketball.
Bird's biggest season in terms of numbers was 1987-1988 with an average of 29.9 points per game in 30 minutes per game. His field goal percentage was .527 and his free throws .916. He had to sit out the 1988-1989 season due to a bone spur, but came back for the following season; however, he knew it was getting close to time to retire. His status as legend was cemented in 1992, when he joined Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson on the US Olympic "Dream Team", winning the gold medal. With his career average of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game, his 49.6% field goal average and a stunning 88.6% average on free throws, as well as a 37.6% three-pointer average and twelve All-Star games, Bird is a legend and his name is a synonym for basketball with fans all over the world.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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