"At 9 o'clock yesterday [Bill] Hodges went to wake up Bird for a brunch at which he was to receive the Player of the Year Award. College at Indiana State. So, what will Larry Bird's age, height, and weight be in 2021? Bird literally despised him for the way he treated him at Indiana, and he has never been shy to remind people of the opposite trajectories of their respective careers. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Birds three-year career. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana College: Indiana State University Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 As Player: 897 G, 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG (Full Record) McHale just destroyed him. Maybe in ways that we cant totally appreciate, measure or describe, the NCAA tournament might just be five percent less today if Bird never winds up in Terre Haute. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The College Jersey Store consists of a significant selection of Indiana State Larry Bird Jerseys, such as Mens, Womens and Kids, swingman, limited, Authentic and throwback jerseys for all, Away Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey at Out Online Retail Outlet 24-7. The Sycamores went 81-13 during Bird's three-year career. Bird received a scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but he dropped out after only one month at Indiana . Benson, of course, was a God in Indiana. Larry Bird's wife, Dinah Mattingly, is his high school sweetheart who got engaged and married the former NBA legend in 1989. 5 ranking than their final record that was just one game above .500, having not cracked the AP poll after December 20. Jobbade sedan i Celtics frn 1992 till 1997 och coachade sedan Indiana Pacers frn 1997 till 2000. Larry Bird was a co-star of one of the greatest college basketball national championship games ever Bird vs. Magic, when the undefeated Indiana State Sycamores took on the co-Big Ten champion Michigan State Spartans in the 1979 championship. But everyone knows why Indiana State is where it is. Not at the same time. "He's 6-9, was the nation's second leading scorer and that's not all," wrote The Evening Sun's Bill Tanton. Note: at Spring Valley HS in his senior year., Bird averaged 31 ppg, 21rebounds per game and 4 assists). As many observed, he would see plays not as they were developing, but before they developed. ; School Indiana State University; Born December 7, 1956 in West Baden, IN USA; Biographical Information []. Larry Bird - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more . I think they may even have been on the floor together. He was brilliant against the Razorbacks with a a 31-point, 10-rebound game in the regional finals. The Cavaliers won in seven games; Boston lost three of the four games couldnt play because of his back. Larry Joe Bird This was easy to see when you noticed Bird's basketball stats. Games. 11 in the AP poll that season and finished the year ranked No. 1 ranking. RELATED: The complete results from the best #MarchMadnessMoments bracket. Home; Tickets; Schedule. Larry Bird ranks as one of the all-time top players of the NBA. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. An obsessive perfectionist, Bird was idolized by Celtic fans and basketball purists of all allegiances. Career information head-to-head including championships won, season and playoff stats, honors and awards and more. Larry used BB tThe internet said that Bird's mother worked 2 jobs to care for Larry and his 5 siblings. As of today, his net worth is around $75 million. The Official Store of the Larry Bird Indiana State Jersey for College. Larry Bird's accomplishments and stats make him one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Twelve of the top 14 picks in that years draft were seniors, with the other two non-seniors being juniors Kenny Carr and Bernard King, so staying all four years of college was still very much the norm then. Started collecting garbage upon his return to French Lick. They both finished their college playing careers in the spring of 1979. Join our linker program. His NBA years : from 1980 to 1992 Larry Bird NBA Stats Summary : I could do that. . 'Coach, I'm dead,' moaned Bird. Bobby would have won another NC with Bird. On The Players Tribune's "Knuckleheads" podcast, former NBA All-Star Jamal Mashburn said Rogers had talked trash to Bird after a day of practice between the 1992 College Select Team and the 1992 Dream Team.. After a practice, as a group of players were standing around, Mashburn said . I just think when a man is open, he should get the ball whether it's 30 feet out on the wing or underneath. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 4:50AM. Fans were filling not only Boston Garden, which sold out the final 541 games of Birds career, but arenas all over the country to witness Birds exploits. He was unflappable and virtually unstoppable. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a former American professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Now the Sycamores are 33-0, they are ranked No. Adding Bird to that IU team is almost an embarrassment of riches, giving the sports last undefeated champion a player who was named one of the top 15 players ever in the NCAA tournament during the 75 Years of March Madness Celebration in 2013. Bird was so self-confident that he was known to waltz up to the opponents bench before tipoff and predict a 40-point performance for himself. He was particularly hard on freshmen players, such as a young Larry Bird. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. The 75 Hoosiers were loaded. There may not be a folding chair in the state that would be left un-flung. It determined the balance of power in the NBA throughout the 1980s, arguably the most important era in NBA history, helping to reestablish the Celtics as the best team in the Eastern Conference during this time. On the day after his uniform was retired in basketball, Larry Bird took the field for both games of a doubleheader in baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores. He thought he had been playing pretty damn good that day. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 3 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVP awards and 3 NBA championships. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta, Bird engaged in a memorable fourth-quarter shootout with the Hawks Dominique Wilkins. Everyone remembers Michael Jordans decision to leave the Bulls and pursue a career in baseball, but it was Larry Bird who tried his hand at the game on April 28, 1979, and became a one-day legend in the process. Born: Dec 7, 1956 (66 years old) . 1 in Birds senior year that is, until a Michigan State team featuring a 6-foot-9 guard named Earvin Magic Johnson knocked them off in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game, one of the most widely watched showdowns in basketball history. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. This guy is the epitome of everything Ive tried to do here, then-Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. Bird was 20, 21 and 22 years old when he eventually played college ball for Indiana State. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. Gambling problem? Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) Two-time NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) . The internet said that Bird's mother worked 2 jobs to care for Larry and his 5 siblings. Forward Larry Bird played 13 seasons for the Celtics. That story is largely lost to time and even better, he did it mostly because of a dare. Bird took just two shots that night and made both, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, while he helped teammates Carl Nicks and Steve Reed score 50 combined. The following year Bird posted the third-longest free-throw streak in NBA history, hitting 71 consecutive attempts. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. A defensive maven who stifled some of the best stars, Dennis Johnson was an All-Star, a Finals MVP and won three NBA titles. Larry Bird was 1 of the NBA's most clutch players ever, amassing 3 MVPs while leading the Celtics to 5 Finals and 3 titles in the 1980s. I'm going to assume this is legit because he lists about 20 million sources at the end of it. Hardly a change of clothes each day. But even those legendary players didnt fill Boston Garden, wowing fans and dominating games as Bird did. He just hammered him for being lackadaisical off of the screen and made him leave the open gym session. Having grabbed 7,217 defensive rebounds and 1,757 offensive, Bird has accumulated 8,974 total rebounds during his NBA career. You wont find much on Larry Birds short-lived baseball career, but those who were there wont soon forget. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The avid outdoorsman who also has a passion for country music, auto racing, golf and the St. Louis Cardinals has many interests. He and owner Herb Simon had discussed his eventual departure for a few years. Knight said that when Bird came to campus in the Fall of 1974, and the team would organize pick up games, that Bird would commonly get left out and would not be picked Anytime you have Bird on the floor, anything can happen, Portlands Clyde Drexler told theBoston Heraldafter the game. In 1975, he enrolled at Indiana State. Maybe theres a chance that Bird filling Mays minutes wouldve led to one of the first Is the backup better than the starter? conversations, now famous on message boards regarding college quarterbacks. ", Indiana State teammate Carl Nicks: "It's a tremendous feeling to play with him he brings out the best in everybody. Find out more. Even though he had never coached a game in his life, the Pacers had no qualms about turning over the reins to Bird. Or write about sports? Bird chose IU because he likes coach Bobby Knight, the players, the fans and the way they have things set up there, according to The Noblesville Ledger. Bird was named the 1978-79 College Player of the Year and left Indiana State as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird's book is incredible. French Lick had a population of 2,059, most of whom came out to watch Springs Valley High Schools home games in a state that takes its schoolboy basketball very seriously. Larry Bird. Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell teamed up to oust the Rockets in Game 6 of The Finals in 1981. Larry Bird was such a player. Benson would do things like figure out which side of the court Bird was warming up on, for instance, then come over and take the ball away from him and order Bird off to the other end of the floor. He was a two-time consensus first-team All-American in 1978-79, the College Player of the Year in 1979, a two-time MVC Player of the Year in 1978-79, and had his No. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Bird won 3 MVP Awards, was selected to play in 12 All-Star Games, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) . Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. Layed him out cold. So he cut the ties and went home. Drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in . When the Celtics named Rick Pitino as the franchises new president and coach, Bird knew any role for him in Boston would be a limited one. Thanks Lincoln- nice post and pretty much confirms what my book about Knight, and how he thought Benson could "do no wrong" while at Indiana. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. But he has said many times over the years that he would have never been able to play for Bob Knight. As it turned out it created one of the greatest rivalries in sports between Magic and Bird. The .500 batting average still exists in Indiana State history books as one of the highest ever recorded by a player for the team. May 16, 2022. Dinah likes to keep a low profile, making rare public appearances with her husband at basketball games. Larry Bird. We talked Hoosiers with our buddy at Hoopla. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The Hoosiers beat Furman by one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before losing by one to Villanova. One basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo. Benson was an all time great college player, but really just a servicable pro. Looking at his stats alone, he is known as one of the greatest pure shooters in . The Celtics beat the Houston Rockets in '81 with Maxwell and Larry Bird leading the way and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984 when Maxwell confidently told his teammates "to get on my back, boys" in the decisive . He scored zero points while wearing cream and crimson, however. He was selected to play in 12 All-Star games. Michael Jordan has compiled 41,011 minutes and has participated . His Mom and Dad divorced while Bird was in HS, His dad shot and killed himself a year later. Neither Birds hometown of French Lick nor West Baden had a daily newspaper at the time, nor was either home to a radio or TV station. Find out more. . Check out 50 great assists by Larry Bird. Here are some of the awards Larry Bird won in college: However, Bird was all business in spite of the awards he won and the fanfare he received. At Springs Valley High, Bird scored 1,125 career points, averaged 30.6 points and 20.5 rebounds," Dana Hunsinger Benbow recounted in the Indianapolis Star. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Boston survived a memorable Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia in which the Celtics bounced back from a 3-1 deficit and posted come-from-behind victories in each of the last three games, then took the title over Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets in a six-game NBA Finals. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 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Few played tougher than Bird, who would leap into crowds and over press tables for loose balls. But Bird, ever the competitor, wanted to prove a point. For one day, Bird got to prove he wasnt just a basketball player icing up in the locker room; he was a star at anything he wanted to try. By that time Birds scoring average had reached the mid-20s, and he was averaging upwards of seven assists. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Despite losing leading scorer Steve Green and John Laskowski after the 75 season, IU got the band back together in 1976 and finished what the Hoosiers came three wins away from achieving the previous year: an undefeated, national championship season as they became the NCAAs #1 All-Time March Madness team. They thought scoring was more important, but passing is important.". Gambling problem? In 1977-78 the Celtics had compiled a 32-50 record, their worst since 1949-50. IU had three . It may have also hurt him in his transition to a big state school, where he lasted a matter of weeks after the start of the school year. His last-second heroics, ranging from seemingly impossible reverse layups to miraculous 35-foot bombs over multiple defenders, never ceased to amaze those who followed his career. He was out to embarrass him from the beginning buzzer to the end buzzer of every meeting. where they fell to the Michigan State Spartans. Imagine what he wouldve done with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and future NBA players as teammates! But Knight was not impressed. In order to finish his college degree, Larry Bird was working at Ballinger's school as a physical education student-teacher just weeks before becoming an . Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Larry Bird's journey began in the small rural community of French Lick, Indiana. The former NBA player met his second wife, Dinah Mattingly, at Indiana State. Han slutade spela i NBA 1992. And in the 2000 NBA Finals, the Pacers succumbed in a six-game series to the Lakers, led by Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant, for the Lakers first of three consecutive titles. What if Larry Bird hadnt transferred from IU? We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. His career averages were 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 897 regular season games. Wore the number 33 on his basketball jersey in high school, college and with the Boston Celtics. In regard to per game stats, Bird averages 6.8 assists and 9.6 rebounds. Indiana State star Larry Bird makes his way through the crowd of players and fans getting congratulations after his team defeated Arkansas, 73-71, to win the NCAA Midwest Regional tourney crown in . Join our linker program. Their 9-9 Big Ten record was bumped to 11-7, making a tough transition year appear a little less harsh in the history books. "Larry Bird finishes things," said Dick Ballinger, the varsity head baseball coach at West Vigo High School in West Terre Haute, Indiana during the spring of 1979. Ballinger had proof. At the time, Bird was a junior at Indiana State University and decided he wanted to play his senior year . The Whole Bird thing reminds me of that old country song"I overlooked and orchid while searching for a rose"! Knight could only shake his head at what he had lost. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Larry Bird's college stats were as incredible as his mustache he averaged more than 30 points and 13 rebounds in his collegiate career. forty-five, the most effective larry bird [] Maybe Bird wouldve spent the summer of 1975 celebrating the first of back-to-back national titles at IU, rather than playing for Hancock Construction, a state-champion AAU team sponsored by the mayor of Mitchell, Indiana, which was the only team capable of knocking off the mighty Indiana All-Stars in an exhibition. View Comments. Bird nearly doubled the Sycamores' win total year-over-year from 13 to 25 after sitting out just one year in 1975-76, rather than two, after IU signed papers for Bird's release. Larry Bird was originally in the recruiting class of 1974. FIBA Senior Team Events Stats. Larry Bird, in full Larry Joe Bird, (born December 7, 1956, West Baden, Indiana, U.S.), American basketball player who led the Boston Celtics to three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1981, 1984, and 1986) and is considered one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Bird's status as an Indiana sports legend was cemented by the spring of 1979. '", Indiana State coach Bill Hodges on the notion that man-to-man defenses might slow Bird down: "If we go against a UCLA or a Notre Dame later on and they play man-to-man, that's when you'll see how tough Larry really is. Bird was often checked by Magic Johnson in Michigan State's 2-3 matchup zone in theepic clash of two all-time greats. Learn more and register, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. He led the league in free-throw percentage four times. Or write about sports? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Larry Bird averages for the NBA season and Playoffs, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and other categories, year by year and career numbers. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. In the last 7 years, I've been covering everything related to the career and job seeking world. Bird missed 22 games in 1990-91 because of a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually forced his retirement. Become an Annual VIP member today and get access to VIP content, ad-free forums & more. When Bird enrolled in Bloomington, he joined the reigning Big Ten champions, an IU team that had gone 23-5 and missed the NCAA tournament after a loss to Michigan but won the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament to close out its 1973-74 campaign. "By noon, Bird appeared at a press conference, a rarity in his scheme of things. When the doubleheader was over, hed finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs while recording nine putouts from first base in the second game. May 12, 1997: Hired as Head Coach by the Indiana Pacers. Indiana womens basketball Q&A: HooplaWyatt on the Big Ten Tournament. What if Knute Rockne came to Bloomington in 1914 and changed the trajectory of IU football? Hoosiers survive Big Ten tournament quarterfinal test. Bird, the Coach of the Year in 1997-98, resigned as Pacers coach after Indianas Finals appearance. Larry used BB to escape from his family problems! His focus was on the court. But mostly he was bored. An offseason trade with Golden State which that many consider the most lopsided in NBA history brought center Robert Parish and a future first-round pick (which became Kevin McHale) to Boston. Let me be clear, college basketball would look and feel the same if Bird never transferred from IU to ISU, but the 1979 national championship game Bird vs. Magic is still the highest-rated college basketball game of all-time, with a 24.1 rating for a game in which 38 percent of all TVs in the country that were turned on at the time were tuned into Indiana State vs. Michigan State on NBC. Bird, now 30 years old and with worsening back condition and foot problems as well, would not win a fourth championship ring. Player Season Finder . 33 retired by the school. College: Indiana State (1976-1979) NBA draft: 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall: . The small forward had just led Indiana State to a 33-1 season, with the teams sole loss coming to Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Under the leadership of Hodges, Bird and Co. went undefeated during the 1978-79 season and advanced to face Magic and his Spartans. They teamed with Bird and veteran Cedric Maxwell in a frontcourt that carried the Celtics to the championship in 1981. When I started here, I wanted to see the high school, college and professional basketball worlds come together, and Bird symbolizes that. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Body Measurement Of Larry Bird. Finally, Bird enrolled at Indiana State, which had posted 12-14 records in each of the two previous years and where the pressure was not quite the same as at Indiana a perennial Big Ten power and national title contender. Lost to most people in the basketball statistics for the Springs Valley team that year, however, was a short piece in a Bedford newspaper that noted, "The freshman free-throw trophy was presented to Larry Bird. It was Bird's first experience with Knight in a gym setting. Bird and Johnson were already playing their first year in the NBA by then. Russell Westbrook is being left wide open on offense, and hes still hurting the Clippers. His back was also hurting, but Bird came back in the third period to help lift the Celtics to an emotional 124-121 victory. When talking about per game stats, Bird sports an average of 6.8 assists as well as 9.6 boards. It wasnt just that Bird played; he stunned everyone watching that day. Bird was too insecure for the atmosphere there and Magic hated how Knight yelled and screamed and bullied players so he went to Mich State. Larry Bird then married Dinah Mattingly on September 30, 1989, who he met while studying at the Indiana State University. Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. Extremely high basketball IQ, pure heart and hustle. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. ), We did a great deal of checking before he made his decision and the college allowed him to enroll, Northwoods academic dean Jim McElhiney told The Indianapolis News in September 1974.