He shone as a head coach and executive for the Indiana Pacers; in fact, hes the only man in history to win Rookie of the Year, MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. Bird created a very good team. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97F (36C) heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. The Bullets featured Jeff Ruland a really good, likely underrated, player who was at his peak. Karl Malone believes LeBrons greatness is there to appreciate, not to hate. Despite playing for another five seasons after his last title, Bird would retire with three NBA championships. Its surprising that he wasnt able to win at least one more, though three championships nowadays is something that is wildly difficult to do, its no feat to be taken lightly. The first series matched Boston up with the Chicago Bulls. Despite just reaching the finals, Bird stuck to his word and resigned shortly after the finals, taking up the role of Pacers president of basketball operations in 2003. What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. Data Provided By We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. Only game 3 finished within ten points with the Cs winning 111-107. However, this was not the case. Bird only averaged 15 points per game throughout the series but he did drop a series high 27 points in Game 6 to officially send the Rockets packing, as Bird won his first chip. Pretty good matchup between he and MJ. James has as many series losses in the Finals as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird combined. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors, including Magic Johnson's bad pass to Robert Parish late in the fourth quarter, and missing two crucial free throws in OT as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. Please check your email for a confirmation. The Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. Data runs from 1946-47 to present unless otherwise noted. Cedric Maxwell, Larry Birds teammate, was awarded Finals MVP with 18-9-3. Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . As of 2023, Larry Bird's net worth is around $80 million; he has different income sources. 2022-23 Season Schedule; The Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep by the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous year's finals. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. The Bucks were led in the series, as they had been in the regular season, by wing Marques Johnson and Hall of Fame guard Sidney Moncrief. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. Of the subsequent finals, Basketbawful writes, "the Lakers played great and the Boston bench sucked. His back suffered major issues, as he injured it building on his farm. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. . The 1984 NBA Finals was the first championship meeting between old rivals Boston and Los Angeles since 1969. I am fully convinced that anyone under the age of 40 will never admit Larry Bird was a better player than Stephen Curry. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Bill Walton needed a change of scenery when he was in San Diego and Red Auerbach provided that for him in Boston. Two-time National Basketball Association champion Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell points to the pillars of the game when it comes to the question, "Who is the greatest NBA player of all time?" "I measure it by those who changed the game," said the former Boston Celtics standout on Sunday afternoon while taking part in the Legends & Stars Sports Expo at Batavia Downs Gaming. Big Names Off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Quinn Buckner, Scott Wedman. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. It's an era thing. Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Then head coach Bill Fitch resigned as head coach despite having the second-best coaching record in the NBA during his four-year stint in Boston. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. The Celtics ended the series shooting 52% from the field while holding the Bucks to 44% shooting. This was brought on after Ralph had an altercation with a Boston player in game five. us, College: Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Larry Bird (Larry Legend; The Hick from French Lick) Position: Forward 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) School: Indiana State (Men) Draft: Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA draft. Regular season: PTS, FG, FT, 3P complete all-time. After that the series was all Lakers, they won four of the next five games to end the series in six and hand Larry his first Finals loss. Larry Bird then married Dinah Mattingly on September 30, 1989, who he met while studying at the Indiana State University. We have seen some teams lose in the NBA Finals off of some injuries and other situations leading up to it that the box score doesnt show, so lets dive into Birds record. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. How Many Championships did Larry Bird win? In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Washington Bullets in four, the New York Knicks in seven, and the Milwaukee Bucks in five. Larry Joe Bird. What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. Unfortunately for the Pacers and Larry Bird, the Lakers were just too much for the Pacers. NAME. Atlanta Hawks 4-1, 1986 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Celtics again saw their Eastern Conference rivals matching up against the Milwaukee Bucks. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, 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. The Bucks now featured a young Terry Cummings along with Paul Pressey and Sidney Moncrief. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. In his last season as the teams head coach, Birds Pacers were the number one seed in the east and were not really tested throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Cs won in a blowout in game 3 in Houston before Houston tied it up with a tight win in game 4. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage, which continued through 2013. The 1987 Finals was the culmination of Magic and Bird's decade-long rivalry that dominated the NBA. In Birds rookie season in the league, he helped lead the Boston Celtics all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. There's always a mystique about players that played before the 90's because we don't have all the data, stats etc as we have to. The Larry Bird Finals Record is a statistic of the player who most often wins the NBA Finals. Houston had a tough road to the Finals: they beat the defending champion Lakers featuring both. They quickly swept the Chicago Bulls, then marched down and knocked off the 76ers in a revenge series that wound up going into seven games. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. Right, Born: His team mate Cedric Maxwell won MVP. You can read up on all three of Larry Birds incredible championships below. Indiana State University, High School: In terms of individual honors, he won the 1979-80 Rookie of the Year title, claimed three MVP crowns, and earned two NBA Finals MVP nods. The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. That NCAA tournament final is one of the most iconic games in college basketball history. Some of the greats Bird defeated in the playoffs include Moses Malone, Julius Dr. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. Bird averaged 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the series. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3, winning by nine points in the deciding Game 7. Isn't 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 7 assists per game one of the coolest statlines for an NBA playoff series ever?A quote from Larry Bird's book "Drive" co. Regardless, Johnson and Bird are widelyregarded as beingtwo of thegreatest players to have ever played the gameand they made for one of the greatest rivalries, one that will never be forgotten. The Celtics entered the next season off a high, cruising into the NBA playoffs and sweeping Cleveland in the opening series. The Houston Rockets were led by their Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season. Despite good performances from Bird, Magic Johnson outplayed him as the jumbo sized Lakers guard won finals MVP. In the Western Conference Finals the Rockets handled the defending champion Lakers in five games. How to say Basketball in different languages? Since then Bird won a championship in 1981, then Magic led the Lakers to the finals in 1982 and 1983, winning in the former. Thanks for signing up. The number two-seeded Bucks went down in a series sweep, with all five Celtics starters averaging double-digit points. As weve mentioned, all these players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. . The kick-off of one of the greatest rivalries of all time. In 1987 the Lakers once again beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird's 1986 Playoff Stats . They did make the playoffs the year after and many thought that they would easily repeat at first. Former Celtics player M.L. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. The Laker momentum was stalled, and Larry Bird came up with a crucial jumper over Magic Johnson with 16 seconds remaining in overtime, then M.L. Which player is ultimately better all-time is a different conversationbecause that includes a lot more than their individual matchups. The East's award is named after Larry Bird and the West's after Magic Johnson. 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 was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. This was the last NBA Finals to use the 22111 format until 2014. Larry Bird | Net Worth, Salary, And Career Earnings The Indiana-born was the highest-paid rookie of the year, with $3.25 million an average of $650,000 a year in a 5-year contract with the Celtics.Bird had played 879 games in his career until his retirement in 1992.. Larry Bird is 6-9. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. In the Celtics 1981 Championship, Bird did not win Finals MVP. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. It seemed like it should be an easy series for the Celtics, with game one and two victories by double digits, but the Knicks home crowd helped their team to win all their series home games. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards. Below you can see the playoff results for all of Birds Celtics teams. Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. The Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. He averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game across his three seasons, winning Naismith College Player of the Year in 1979. The following season, the Celtics did end up losing to the Philadelphia 76ers after winning their first-round series against the Washington Bullets (what a team name!). And, to be clear, he came by it honestly. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Carr. But what is Larry Birds record in the NBA Finals? And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. Amazing! As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. Both times it was to his rival dating back to college: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Bird averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the series. Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. Larry Bird won the NBA Finals MVP two times. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA. Im kind of country, she explained. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. The Lakers, no slouch themselves, had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthey, and Bob McAdoo. Bird poured in 39 in game 7 to lead the Cs to 30.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the series. Larry Bird. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's clothesline take-down of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. Both teams could have easily succeeded in taking the Eastern Conference Finals. Only the strong survive. According to Basketball Reference, Johnson and Bird played against each other 18 times in the regular season throughout their careers. The Knicks were led by the explosive scorer Bernard King, who averaged 29-5-3 in the series. Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. NAME DATE SEASON SERIES TM OPP REC W% MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% PF +/-Magic Johnson: 5/27/1984: 1983-84 . Larry Birds Celtics lost two NBA Finals. Fitch went on to say that Mangurians decision to sell the team was the backbreaker and that he would have reconsidered his resignation had the team not been put up for sale. The Boston Celtics were matched up against the Houston Rockets, led by Hall of Famer Moses Malone. The Lakers destroyed the Cs in their first home game 137-104 in game 3. 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 . Bird was very honest when taking up the role saying he would only coach the team for three years. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. The teams traded games throughout the series. Your email address will not be published. Jordan scored an all-time playoff record in game 2: 63 points. The Bucks took them to seven games before they were able to advance and the Pistons took them to seven in the Conference Finals. Stephen Curry is now a career 21-4 (.840) in playoff series. Even with Jordan exploding, only game two was close at 135-131. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Bird picked up his first Finals MVP honurs. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. Do you have a blog? Game 7 at the Boston Garden was one for the ages! This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. 0:49. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Bird outscored Dr. J 26.7 to 19.9 ppg in the series, led all players in rebounds and was second on Boston in assists. Larry was no slouch, averaging 15-15-7 in a 4-2 series win. After altering wins with the Lakers, the Celtics won Game 7 and the series with a score of 111102. Finals stats: 19.4 points, 11.7 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 50 games Finals rank: . It gave Bird his first finals loss in his third appearance. Do you have a sports website? The Celtics won the first three games by an average of 6 points before the Hawks got their only win at home. Houston lost a close game 1 then won a tight game 2 in Boston. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Johnson was called "Tragic Johnson" by Celtics fans due to the two crucial errors he committed in Game 4 (the Parish steal, followed by two botched free throws in OT). The Sixers took an 89-82 lead with five+ minutes to go. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. Simmons says that he got the idea from watching basketball and looking at player statistics. Is it tied to championships? Background. Birds college career as a whole was exceptional. 9 John Vanak (alternate, replaced Evans), This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:16. The 86 Celts, in the conversation for the greatest team of all time, defeated Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player of all time, in the first round. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. more information Accept. He joined the Celtics a year later. The Lakers fell in the Western Conference finals to a new team that sprung up seemingly out of nowhere. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. At that time, Bird also expressed unhappiness over Mangurians decision to sell the team, and he was one of the players who defended Fitch after they were swept by the Bucks. The seeds of the 1984 Finals were first sown five years earlier, during the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.In the final game of the tournament, Larry Bird and his erstwhile unbeaten Indiana State Sycamores lost to Magic Johnson and his Michigan State Spartans by the score of 75-64. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. He and Chauncey Billups are the only two retired players to win Finals MVP but not to make the Hall of Fame. He led the Cs to a Conference Finals appearance once or twice in the ensuing years but the team just wasnt nearly as competitive anymore and it was obvious that Larry was getting up there in age. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Why did the Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns? These Knicks really were Bernard Kings team. Or write about sports? Between 1980 and 1989, there were only two seasons that ended with someone other than Johnson or Bird winning the title. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] Magic gets the edge because he finished his career stronger, he was able to get/maybe steal from Charles Barkley the 1990 MVP, and he got the Lakers to another finals in 91, after 88 and the injuries Boston was done being any kind of serious contender they never got past the second round again for the rest of Larry Bird's time but if you're talkin Peak vs. Aside from the two stars, the teams were among the most stacked in history. 2 NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3 NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) . Despite the similarities, the Lakers won the series in six games. Bird is a universally known NBA legend and is often credited with the NBAs explosion of popularity in the 1980s. On May 16, 1985 the off-day between Games 2 and 3 of . This was Birds last finals appearance, meaning that he went to five NBA finals overall, winning 3. You have to really understand the circumstances in each Finals run and see how he ended up with the record that he has right now. The Celtics star received 52 first placed votes, with second place Bernard King only getting eleven. Referee Hugh Evans became dehydrated and fainted at one point in the first half. Bird averaged 24.2 points,10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game in the 1983-84 season. The Conference Semifinals was a seven-game series against the Knicks, which ended with Boston winning 4-3. Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. The Celtics took seven games to defeat Bernard Kings Knicks in the conference semifinals. Bird was Finals MVP in the teams victories over the Houston Rockets in 1986 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984. The Celtics stayed unbeaten all-time in home Game 7s with a clear cut 111-102 victory. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. Answer (1 of 2): Larry Bird has been in the NBA Finals 5 times as a player, all while playing with the Boston Celtics. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. In 1986, they failed a third straight NBA Finals meeting (it was later accomplished 31 years later by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors), as the Lakers were eliminated in the Conference Finals by the Houston Rockets. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. The Lakers and the Celtics met again in 1987 where the Lakers won in six games. Birds mother, Georgia, once said that she couldnt fathom he sons NBA salary and, despite his earning power, insisted that she wasnt out buying expensive clothes. In his second season with the Celtics, Boston finished first in the East as they had done the previous year. Nobody thought that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in 1984. The #1 and #2 seeds were set to face off in the Conference Finals. home/away, monthly, etc More Larry Bird Basketball Reference pages, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:46PM.
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