Larry bird grandchildren
Larry Bird
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Larry Legend
Considered one of the best players of all time, Bird, along with colleagues Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, revolutionized the game during the s. Drafted sixth overall by the Boston Celtics, he played small forward for the team for his entire year career.
His nicknames include "Larry Legend", "The Basketball Jesus", "Big Bird" and "Tarzan".
Early life
Bird, born in West Baden Springs, Indiana at Bedford Medical Center, grew up in the adjacent town of French Lick, and was a star high school player at Springs Valley High School.
Larry bird biography information for kids Bird was named MVP of the —84 season with averages of Indiana Pacers general managers. Hidden categories: Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Wikipedia pending changes protected pages Use American English from September All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from March Wikipedia articles with style issues from June All articles with style issues Articles to be expanded from June All articles to be expanded. Bird is also remembered as one of the foremost clutch performers in the history of the NBA ; he was known for his excellent play in high-stakes, high-pressure situations.He had two sisters, Elizabeth and Beatrice. He originally enrolled at Indiana University in , but left before the team's first game. Also that year, his father commited suicide with a shotgun. Bird eventually ended up at Indiana State University. He led the ISU Sycamores to the NCAA championship game in , only to lose to the Michigan State University Spartans, led by Magic Johnson.
Twenty-five years later, the NCAA championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State is still the most watched college basketball game ever. Bird won the Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the year's top male college basketball player.
NBA career
Bird, a 6' 9" ( cm) forward, who wears a 13 and a half shoe size, was prolific at virtually all aspects of the game.
He was one of the league's most accurate shooters, usually finishing among the top 3-point shooters as well as among the top free-throw shooters. He won the All-Star Game's 3-point competition three times. His career average was points per game, with a high of points per game in the season.
Despite his relative lack of athleticism compared to most elite basketball players, he excelled at other aspects of the game.
He was a great positional rebounder, averaging rebounds.
Volcano information for kids magma However, by then his formerly relentless attack on the court had been slowed by a bad back. Nicknamed " the Hick from French Lick " and " Larry Legend ", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. White Wilkens Woodard Wooden. Springs Valley French Lick, Indiana.He was also known as an excellent passer, averaging assists, high for a forward. He was even a strong defensive player, making the All-Defensive Second team three times and ending his career eighth overall in total steals. Larry had a career-high 60 points in a regular season game against Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks in
Bird was a three-time league MVP, a 12 time All-Star, and All-Star Game MVP in He won three NBA titles: in , , and
The Larry Bird Rule
When the NBA imposed a salary cap, a special provision was made allowing teams to exceed it in order to retain a player already on the roster which became known as the great "Larry Bird Rule".
Later years
Bird announced his retirement on August 18, , after helping win the Olympic gold medal in Barcelona, where he was part of the Dream Team. Bird retired largely because of chronic back problems that had been bothering him for years. Other injuries had plagued him his last few years, especially a foot injury that forced him to miss nearly the entire season.
After retiring, Bird was admitted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Animal information for kids After leading the Celtics to a 29—5 start to the —91 season , Bird missed 22 games due to a compressed nerve root in his back, a condition that eventually led to his retirement. Retrieved October 30, Early life [ edit ]. Retrieved March 29,His jersey number, 33, was retired by the Celtics. He was also named to the NBA's "50 Greatest Players" list, in The Celtic frontcourt (center and two forwards) of Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Bird may have been the best in NBA history.
He began a new basketball career as the coach of the Indiana Pacers at the start of the season, and he was named the NBA Coach of the Year for that season.
He led the team to three straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and one trip to the NBA Finals in
He stepped down as Pacers coach shortly after the end of the season.
Facts for kids: Archived from the original on August 15, In Bird accepted the head coach position with the Indiana Pacers, a move that returned him to his home state. Throughout the s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers—both during the regular season and in the Finals—attracted enormous television audiences. On March 12 of the —85 season, Bird scored a career-high and franchise record 60 points in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.
He pushed for the hiring of his assistant and friend Rick Carlisle as his replacement, but the job eventually went to Isiah Thomas.
In , he returned to the Pacers as President of Basketball Operations. One of his first moves in his new capacity was to fire Thomas and hire Carlisle to coach the team.
In , Larry came under fire for somewhat controversial comments in regards to the NBA's lack of white stars.
Bird was asked if he believed the league would regain its previous level of success in terms of popularity if there were more white superstars. Bird replied that he did, and that basketball was "a black man's game". Comments similar to this in the past, such as those from Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, drew much more heat from critics.
Many believe that Larry got away with such statements due to his high standing in the sports world, although it should be noted that The Greek's were far more extreme.
External links
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Categories: births | People from Indiana | Boston Celtics players | Pro basketball coaches | Basketball Hall of Fame