- Born
- Birth nameLarry Joe Bird
- Nicknames
- Larry Legend
- The Hick from French Lick
- Kodak
- The Great White Hope
- Height6′ 8¾″ (2.05 m)
- Larry Bird graduated from Springs Valley High School in French Lick, Indiana in 1974. He attended Indiana University briefly, then transferred to Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He then embarked on an outstanding basketball career, establishing himself as one of the best shooting forwards in the history of the game. The Boston Celtics made him their first round selection in 1978 (the sixth pick overall), but Bird had another year of eligibility left and decided to play one more year at ISU. He led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA Title Game versus Michigan State that year, and his battle in that game with MSU's Magic Johnson touched off the best basketball rivalry of the 1980s. Bird joined the Celtics in the fall of 1979 and played with them his entire career. He led the Celtics to five NBA Finals appearances, winning championships in 1981, 1984 and 1986. Bird won three straight league MVPs (1984-86), two NBA Finals MVPs (1984, 86), NBA Rookie of the Year (1980), and was selected as a first team NBA all star nine times. Back injuries forced him to retire in 1992, and his number 33 was promptly retired by the Celtics.
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. in 1998.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bob George <webmaster@bobgeorge.com> - Larry Bird is an American former professional basketball player, former coach, and former executive who most recently served as President of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Larry Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Bird started at small forward and power forward for the Celtics for 13 seasons. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and received the NBA Most Valuable Player Award three consecutive times (1984-1986). He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards. Bird was also a member of the gold-medal-winning 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team known as "The Dream Team". He was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame again in 2010 as a member of "The Dream Team".- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- SpousesDinah Mattingly(September 30, 1989 - present) (2 children)Janet Condra(November 8, 1975 - October 31, 1976) (divorced, 1 child)
- The logo for the twitter.com social website, Larry the Bird, is named after him.
- Considered one of, if not the, greatest basketball players of all time. Played for the Boston Celtics from 1979 - 1992 and became coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997.
- Known for his shooting abilities, Bird had a career free throw shooting accuracy of 89% and a career three point shooting accuracy of 38%.
- Originally went to Indiana University on a basketball scholarship to play for the legendary Bobby Knight, but dropped out before his first season and never played for the Hoosiers.
- Inducted into to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.
- 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.
- (to his fellow competitors before the 1987 Three Point Competition) "All right, who's coming in second place today?"
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