Full name: Larry Joe Bird.
Nationality: USA
Date of birth: 12/7/56, West Baden, Indiana.
High school: Springs Valley (Farick, Indiana. )
University: Indiana (Indiana)
Draft: Boston Celtics (1978, 6th place)
Height: 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters)
Weight: 220 lbs. (100 kg)
Nickname: Big Bird
[Edit this paragraph] Bird's personal honor
Elected to naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and NBA Hall of Fame (1998).
Selected as one of the top 50 NBA stars (1996)
Three NBA championships (198 1, 1984, 1986)
MVP of the 2nd NBA Finals (1984, 1986)
MVP of the Third NBA Regular Season (1984-86)
The First Team of the 9th NBA (1980-88)
1the second team of NBA (1990)
The 2nd Defense Team of the 3rd NBA (1982-84)
NBA Rookie of the Year (1980)
Three-time NBA three-point champion (1986-88)
12 all-star team (1980-88, 1990-92)
1 NBA all-star MVP( 1982)
1 Olympic basketball champion (1992)
[Edit this paragraph] Bird's basketball experience
During the 13 season of Boston Celtics, from the season of 79-80 to the season of 9 1-92, Bird performed perfectly in all aspects of the court-whether as a scorer, passer, rebounder, defender, team core or Mr. Key. Bird is always so confident. As we all know, this guy often swaggered to his opponent's bench before the war and told him that he would score 40 points in the game. No one dares to take this as a joke. Bird is a deadly shooter. Even when practicing three-pointers, he often closes his eyes on purpose to achieve the training effect. In Byrd's time, perhaps only Magic Johnson passed the ball better than him. A magician is a bird's greatest enemy and a lifelong friend. The black-and-white confrontation between these two superstars in the 1980s has become an immortal classic of NBA.
Birds are the embodiment of Celtic honor. He is an elegant, confident and diligent player who likes to meet challenges under pressure and help his teammates do their best. Like robertjoseph cousy, bill russell, john havlicek and David Cowens, Bird has selfless team spirit. Compared with personal honor, Bird is more concerned about how to help his teammates and the team play their best. Compared with the legendary superstars of his predecessors, Bird is better at mobilizing fans' emotions and controlling the game.
As the key to Celtic reconstruction, Bird helped the club get rid of the poor performance and market downturn in the late 1970s. Under his leadership, the team has become more and more perfect. * * * won three NBA championships and 10 Atlantic Division champion. While winning three rings, Bird also won numerous personal honors. He is the third player in NBA history to win the MVP of the regular season three times in a row, and the first non-center player to win this honor. 12 was selected as an all-star team, 2 finals MVP, 9 NBA first-team players and 4 league free throw kings.
Bird is a stubborn perfectionist about basketball, which makes Boston fans and many followers of orthodox basketball regard him as an idol. He has an extraordinary vision on the court, and often makes incredible 35-foot+long shots under the tight defense of opponents, which fascinates fans.
"larry bird has changed the taste and concept of a whole generation of basketball fans to appreciate the NBA." When Bird 1992 won the basketball gold medal in the Barcelona Olympic Games with the dream team and had to retire due to back injury, david stern, president of the league, made such a lofty evaluation of him.
Bird's legend began in a small town called Lick, France, where he was born, and his family lived a simple life. The town of Lick, France has a population of 2059. Whenever the local Springs Valley High School holds a family men's basketball game, most people in the town will go to watch the game and cheer for a blond boy named larry bird.
Although Bird had to miss most of the season because of an ankle injury when he was a sophomore at Spring Valley High School, he still became a new star of attention. Young Larry became a local celebrity because of the score of 19 and 2 losses in Springs Valley. Although the Byrd family can't afford their own car yet, the car fans in the town are happy to take it. In the year that Byrd graduated, he set a new school scoring record. When he participated in the school home game for the last time, about 4000 fans came to support him.
Byrd later found it much more difficult to adapt to college life. At first, he chose Indiana University, a famous basketball school with legendary NCAA coach Bobby Knight, but left only two days later. Then he returned to Northwood College in his hometown, but soon left. Finally, he came to Indiana State University and stayed there until graduation.
Bird's first home game at Indiana State University was watched by about 31000 spectators. As he did at Spring Valley High School, Bird turned the team around by himself. In his first game after joining fig, Larry got an amazing average of 30+ and 65,438+00+rebounds per game. Because of his outstanding performance, the ticket sales of the team tripled throughout the season, and the TV station also replaced the advertisements with Larry's highlights. Many students skip classes early and queue up to buy tickets.
"larry bird Basketball" is the most popular sport in Treehot (home of Indiana State University).
In the final year of college, Bird led the Banyan team to be invincible in the NCAA, winning 33 consecutive victories, until he met the Michigan State University basketball team led by a 6-foot-9 point guard named Magic Johnson in the finals. This is one of the most famous finals in NCAA history, and it is also the most concerned college basketball game in the next 25 years. Although fig team lost the final, Bird won the naismith Prize and the john wooden Award for Best College Basketball Player of the Year. He is also the fifth highest scoring player in NCAA history. In the years of owning Bird, the fig team created an amazing record of 8 1 win 13 losses.
As early as 1978, the Boston Celtics selected Bird in the sixth place. At that time, they thought Bird was fully capable of playing NBA, so they tried to persuade him to give up his last year of college and go straight to play professional basketball. Bird rejected such a suggestion, but it was undoubtedly worthwhile for the team to wait for him for another year. In the 77-78 season, the Celtics' record was 32 wins and 50 losses, which was the worst since 1949. The Celtics set a new low of 29 wins and 53 losses in the 78-79 season because Bird had to finish his studies and delayed joining the NBA for one year. But with Bird 1979 arriving in Boston, it marked the beginning of the greatest turning point in NBA history.
In the following 79-80 season, the Celtics won 32 games, and regained the division championship with 665,438+0 wins and 265,438+0 losses. In a total of ***82 games, rookie Bird ranked first in scoring (2 1 minute per game), rebounding (10.4), breaking the ball (143) and playing time (2,955 minutes), while assisting (4.4% per game). Although Magic Johnson, who entered the NBA in the same year, also made amazing performances to help the Lakers win the championship, Bird was elected as the best rookie of the season and was selected for the first time in the All-Star team.
For the rest of the following season, the Boston Celtics won center robert parish and sixth man kevin mchale through what is considered to be the most cost-effective player deal in NBA history. Their super front line with Bird and Cedric Maxwell finally took the Celtics to the 80-8 1 season championship. Among them, the Eastern Conference final against Philadelphia 76ers is a historical classic. The Celtics first fell behind by 1:3, and then turned the tables on the cliff. In the final, Celtic defeated Houston Rockets led by moses malone 4-2. In his second year in the NBA, Bird ranked first in scoring (averaging 265,438+0.2 points), rebounding (65,438+00.9), stealing (65,438+0,665,438+0) and playing time (3,239 minutes).
Bird's skill not only attracted a large number of fans to watch his game at Boston Garden Stadium, but also was crowded when he was far away from home. Together with the magician, he saved the already bleak NBA market and helped the league realize its new slogan: incredible NBA performance. In just two seasons, fans, coaches and players all know what the name Bird means: big data and performance at critical moments. His concentration and composure in the game made it difficult for him to be defeated, and his superb shooting skills from childhood helped him to be invincible in the attack. In those days, no shooter was as good and stable as Bird.
Birds are the embodiment of Celtic honor. He is an elegant, confident and diligent player who likes to meet challenges under pressure and help his teammates do their best.
Since the 198 1-82 season, Bird has been selected as the second defensive team in the NBA for three times in a row. Although he looks a little slow, he is not the best one-on-one defensive player. However, with his super anticipation and position, he became an excellent defender. His insight into the game always gives him a head start on his opponent.
Since the 1983-84 season, Bird has been elected MVP in the regular season for three consecutive years, making him the third person in NBA history to win this honor after Russell and Chamberlain. In the finals of 1984 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bird and Celtic finally won the seventh decisive battle. This is the first time that he and Magic have met in the playoffs since 1979 NCAA Finals. In the fifth game, Bird scored 34 points to help the Celtics win with 12 1- 103. In the crucial seventh game, Bird scored 20 points 12 rebounds to help the team win with1-/. With the contribution of averaging 27.4 points 14 rebounds in seven finals, Bird deserves to be the MVP of the finals.
1984-85 season, Bird's average score reached a new high, reaching 28.7, ranking second in the league, which is also the second highest season score of Bird's entire career. Among them, he scored a personal record of 60 points in a game against Atlanta Hawks. At the same time, Bird scored 56 three-pointers 13 1 in the season, ranking second in the league with 42.7% shooting percentage. The Celtics lost 4-2 to the Lakers in this year's finals because of Bird's elbow and finger injuries, but Bird still won his second regular-season MVP trophy at the end of the season.
The following season, Celtic won the16th championship in history, and Bird reached the peak of his career. During this year, his personal honors include: regular season MVP, finals MVP, sports man of the year, associated press male athlete of the year. In addition to the three-point shooting rate and free throw shooting rate ranked first in the league, other personal data are also among the best. He even performed a stunt in the All-Star Weekend Three-Point Competition and won his first Three-Point Competition. Under the leadership of Byrd, the Celtics created a record of 67 wins 15 losses. In the finals, Bird helped the team beat Houston Rockets 4-2 again with a quasi-triple-double performance averaging 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists. In the crucial sixth game, Bird scored 29 points, 1 1 rebounds and 12 assists, which undoubtedly made him the MVP of the finals for the second time.
1986-87 season, Bird's performance was equally amazing. He became the first player in NBA history to hit more than 50% (actually 52.5%) and 90% (actually 9 1.0%) from free throws. The following season, he proved that it was not a flash in the pan in the classic Byrd way-52.7% shooting percentage and 9 1.6% shooting percentage from free throws broke the record again. At the same time, these two seasons have maintained a personal data of 28+ 9 rebounds +6 assists per game.
As we all know, Bird is a cunning defensive player. His most famous performance was in the fifth game of 1987 Eastern Conference finals against Detroit Pistons. At that time, with 5 seconds left in the game, the Celtics were one point behind by 106- 107, and the Detroit people had the right to serve. It is predicted that Thomas' touchline ball will be sent to ranbir, and Bird grabbed the ball before ranbir and quickly distributed it to teammate dennis johnson, who hit the buzzer and turned the ball into victory. After this battle, the Celtics finally defeated the Pistons in seven games to become the Eastern Conference champion and entered the finals for the fourth time in a row.
At this time, Bird is a 30-year-old veteran, and his dream of a fourth championship ring is blocked by his increasingly serious back injury and foot injury. But he still acts like a superman from time to time in the competition.
1987-88 season, Bird became the first player in Celtic history to score 40+ rebounds and 20+ in a single game. Bird scored 42 points and 20 rebounds against Indiana Pacers. This year, his average score of 29.9 is also the highest in his career. This season, Bird also achieved his feat of winning the three-point championship three times in a row, which was only achieved by craig hodges (1990-92) of Chicago Bulls.
In this year's Eastern Conference semi-final with Atlanta Hawks, the duel between Bird and dominique wilkins of the Hawks in the fourth quarter was a classic. Bird scored 20 points in the last quarter, which made the Celtics finally win-although he still suffered from severe bronchitis.
In the 88-89 season, Bird played only six games because of the operation to remove the heel spur. The following season, Bird made 7 1 consecutive free throws, the third highest in NBA history. In the 90-9 1 season, Bird missed 22 games because of back neuralgia, which finally forced Bird to retire on 1992. In the fifth game of the first round of the 90-9 1 playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, Bird fell heavily in the second quarter, causing injuries to his face and back. But he came back in the third quarter and helped the Celtics win by 124- 12 1 The doctor operated on his back at the end of the season, but it didn't seem to work.
199 1-92 was bird's last season, and he missed 37 games because of a back injury. In a nationally televised game against Portland Trailblazers in March, Bird reappeared his true colors as a key player-he scored 65,438+06 points in the fourth quarter and won the last nine points of the Celtics, including a three-pointer that changed the outcome with the last two seconds left in the game! After two overtime, Boston finally won by 152- 148. Bird scored 49 points 14 rebounds 12 assists and 4 steals in this game.
"As long as Bird is still on the court, it is possible to create miracles." Drexler, a superstar of Portland Trailblazers, told the Boston Express after the game.
If there is only one obvious low-level mistake in Bird's career, it is that in the fourth game of his playoff game against Cleveland Cavaliers last season, Bird missed an ordinary layup in overtime, which caused the Celtics to lose the game with112-114. Cleveland Cavaliers finally eliminated the Celtics with a total score of 4:3. Of the four games lost by the Celtics, Bird was unable to play for three because of a back injury.
It's time for Bird to retire, but before that, he has to fulfill a wish, that is, to join the American Dream Team 1992 and win the basketball gold medal in the Barcelona Olympic Games, thus drawing a perfect end to his career.
When the 1992-93 season approached, Bird made the final decision. On August 18, he officially announced his retirement to the media. In the 897 games that lasted 13 season, Bird * * * averaged 2 1, 79 1 minute, 8,974 rebounds and 5,695 assists, averaging 24.3 rebounds and 6.310 assists. Career shooting percentage is 49.6% and free throw percentage is 88.6%.
Bird then chose to be a manager at the Celtic Club, whose main responsibility was to evaluate the players' ability and performance. In fact, he spent most of the five years after retirement on a golf course in Florida. Sometimes I take part in some business activities, or make a guest appearance in movies, such as Michael Jordan's Dunk in the Air.
Nevertheless, due to the lack of competition, Bird's life began to become boring, and there were more and more ideas about returning to the NBA to take a more challenging position. 1996-97 When the Celtics hit bottom, Bird had hoped that he could become the coach of the team reorganization. However, when the Celtics appointed Rick Pitino as the new team president and head coach, Bird knew that he had no other position to choose from in Boston, so he decided to quit his job and go back to his hometown of Indiana to find another development.
1997 May 12, Bird was appointed as the head coach of Indiana Pacers. Although he has never coached a game before, no one will doubt Bird's command talent.
[Edit this paragraph] "Big Bird" bird
No matter which generation you look at, there is a player who can really be called a superstar, and that person is larry bird.
In the Celtics' 13 season, Bird was the most versatile player, scorer, passer, rebounder, defense expert, team player and so on. And I'm afraid he deserves all the titles that can be praised, and Mr. Key. Bird has the heart of a giant. He is confident enough to tell his opponent before the game, and then he can easily score 40 points on his opponent's head like a waltz. In particular, his 3 points can be scored even with his eyes closed during training, which makes him a deadly killer for all teams.
In Big Bird's career, I'm afraid only Magic Johnson can pass the ball better than him. He is the embodiment of "Celtic pride". He is elegant and confident, and he doesn't work hard when playing. He forced himself to become a dynasty superstar like "Cardinals" such as Cousy, Russell and Xavier Chek, and finally made himself the best player like them.
1992 when bird retired, david stern said: "larry bird's definition is that his concept of letting a generation of fans appreciate the NBA has changed." In his first season in NCAA, he averaged 30+ rebounds and 65,438+00+per game, which tripled the tickets of Indiana State University this season. In the last year of college, he met Michigan State University led by "Magic" Johnson, which opened the era of "black and white double evil spirits" in advance and wrote one of the most famous finals in NCAA history, and the ratings remained unchanged for the next 25 years.
Bird is well known to the honorary personages created by Celtic, and together with parrish and mchale, he forms the "Three Musketeers". Bird and Magic saved the NBA market, and the league played a new slogan for them: incredible NBA performance. "Big Bird" Bird frightened the enemy after two seasons, and his accurate shooting made him the greatest shooter in NBA.
In the prime of life, birds kill people and kill buddhas. Even in the last season of 9 1-92, he missed 37 games because of his back injury. In the game against the Blazers in March, "Mr. Key" Bird scored 16 in the fourth quarter, scored the last nine points of the Celtics, and hit a winning goal with 2 seconds left in the game. "Glider" drexler said: "As long as Bird is still on the field, it is possible to create miracles."
After Bird retired, his leadership ability was fully reflected when he became the Pacers' head coach in 1997. In the first season, he led the Pacers to create the best record in team history with 58 wins and 24 losses, reached the Eastern Conference finals and fought with Jordan's Bulls for 7 games. In 2000, he entered the final.
[Edit this paragraph] Bird's related evaluation
"This guy has everything I can think of every day," Pacers President Joseph Donald Walsh Jr. said of Bird. "I hope that our high schools, universities and professional basketball can develop together and complement each other. Bird is such an iconic figure. I fully believe that he will become an excellent head coach. "
"He has a charming charm. When he speaks, you will be unconsciously brought into his world. This is a must for a head coach. "
"As a coach, I am still a novice, but I think I have the ability to do this job well." Bird told the media, "I have enough experience and knowledge about basketball, and I will lead everyone to do what is right and necessary to win the game."
During his three-year coaching career, Bird led the team to great achievements. In the first season, the Pacers took reggie miller as the main scoring machine, and achieved the best regular season record in the team's history, with 58 wins and 24 losses, all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. After seven hard games, he lost 3-4 to the defending champion Chicago Bulls led by Jordan. Bird himself won the NBA coach of the year. In the 1998-99 season, the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals again, this time losing to the new york Knicks. In the 99-2000 season, Bird led the Pacers to make a comeback, and finally defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals in six games, and got revenge. Although he lost to the Los Angeles Lakers led by OK in the finals, the great changes that Bird brought to the Pacers can be said to be obvious to all.
After losing in the finals, Bird resigned as head coach. After three years' rest, Bird came out as the president of the basketball department of the Pacers. At the beginning of his tenure, he fired the team coach isiah thomas and replaced him with his assistant rick carlisle, who was the head coach of the Pacers. Although the Pacers lost veteran reggie miller in 2005, a number of young stars such as Jermaine O 'Neill, Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jamal Tinsley have matured day by day. The team has good strength in all positions and reasonable age structure, and is recognized as a first-class strong team in the league. In Bird's mind, there is no doubt that he has only one goal-to lead the team to win the championship. Let's wait and see.
[Edit this paragraph] Bird anecdote
Bird retired from the Pacers for seven or eight years, but after training every day, he always found reggie miller and Chris Murumbi, the "left hands of God" of the Pacers at that time, and bet fifty dollars that they would not be his opponents for a year.
There are many anecdotes about birds.
On one occasion, the Celtics coach pointed to the middle circle and said, whoever hits three points there will join the team and have a day off tomorrow. Bird walked over with the ball and asked if it was here. As soon as the coach nodded, Bird raised his hand. The team has a day off.
On another occasion, it is said that Bird pointed to a place outside the three-point line and said to those who stared at him, I will throw a winning ball there later. After a while, he scored the winning goal there.
Of course, the most famous is the three-point contest.
In the dressing room, Bird said to the people who also came to participate in the three-point competition, you came for the second place again, but no one dared to refute him! At the beginning of the all-star weekend, Bird won three three-pointers in a row.
1985 Celtics VS jazz, byrd 30 points 12 rebounds 10 assists and 9 steals. In the third quarter, Bird took an early rest, and the record found that the distance from the "four pairs" was close at hand, so he made a reminder! Coach Jones also asked Bird with concern whether he wanted to continue the competition to complete another breakthrough in history! However, based on the toughness of professional players, Bird simply said: "Thank you! I want to rest today! "
[Edit this paragraph] Regular season average data table
During the season, the team scored three points, free throws, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and free throws.
1979-80 Boston 82 36.0.474.406.83610.44.510.70.63.213.40210.3.
1980-8 1 Boston 82 39.5.478.270.86310.9 5.5 2.0 0.8 3.52 2.9021.2
198 1-82 Boston 77 38.0.503.212.86310.9 5.810.9 0.9 3.30 3.20 22.9.
1982-83 Boston 79 37.7.504.286.8401.0 5.81.9 0.9 3.04 2.50 23.6.
1983-84 Boston 79 38.3.492.247.88816.61.8 0.9 3.00 2.50 24.2.
1984-85 Boston 80 39.5.522.427.88210.56.61.61.23.10 2.60 28.7.
1985-86 Boston 82 38.0 496 423 896 9.8 6.8 2.0 0.6 3.24 2.20 25.8
1986-87 Boston 74 40.6.525.400.910 9.27.610.810 3.24 2.50 28.1.
1987-88 Boston 76 39.0.527.414.9169.36.1.60.8 2.8010 29.9.
1988-89 Boston 631.5.471.000.947 6.24.81.00 0.8/.83.0019.3.
1989-90 Boston 75 39.3.473.333.930 9.5 7.51.4 0.8 3.24 2.30 24.3
1990-9 1 Boston 60 38.0.454.389.8918.57.21.81.03.122.00/kloc-0.
199 1-92 Boston 45 36.9.466.406.926 9.6.8 0.9 0.7 2.781.80 20.2.
Career 89738.4.496.376.88610.06.310.70.83.142.50 24.3
Full-time Star Race10 28.7.423.2310.844 7.94.12.3 0.33.10 2.8013.4.