Introduction
Larry Joe Bird or Larry Bird is a very famous former NBA (National Basketball Association) player and coach. Larry was born on December 7th, 1956. Larry started his professional career at the age of twenty two (22). He is listed as one of the best NBA players of all time. A lot of people think he got his publicity only because he is white, which Bird has proved everyone wrong by playing 13 years for Boston Celtics with his sharp shooting on the court. Larry Bird guided the Celtics to three NBA championships.
History
Larry Bird son of Joe Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana. Before Bird started his professional career he belonged to a very poor family. At times Bird was sent to live at his grandmother’s house due to the family’s struggles. All these struggles were due to the drinking problems of Joe, as all the savings/earnings were spent on alcohol. When Larry was 18 years old, his father Joe committed suicide on Feb 3, 1975. By the time Bird was in high school he had become a better basketball player and by the end of the year he was the all time scoring leader playing for his school’s team called the French Lick. The major contribution for Bird’s success was from his high school coach Jim Jones. Him and Bird would come anytime of the week and practice with Larry’s friends.
Features
After a great time spent in the basketball courts Larry Bird had to undergo surgery for removing bone spurs in his feet in the 1988-1989 seasons. After the success of the surgery Larry made his comeback in the 1990 and played about 75 games. Unfortunately he had to retire in 1992 because of a back problem that he had to face because of the age factor. Looking at his overall career records, and his scores in high school team Larry was offered to become the coach of the Indiana Pacers and said that he could only coach for about 3 years. Even Larry Bird had no coaching experience he lead his team to an amazing 58-24 record. From his coaching services to the team and great success in the games he was awarded the NBA Coach of the year. He led his team to the finals in NBA in 2000.
Tips and comments
He made a return in 2003 as the President of Basketball Operations for the Pacers. His most common nick name during his career was ‘Larry Legend’ which he had earned for having a sixth sense about the game and incredible skills in the court. Bird used to map the whole game before it had even started for which his coach named him Kodak because he formed mental snapshots of every play. Bird won 8 championships in a time of about 10 years with 3 titles. Larry Bird is regarded as one of the greatest NBA players to ever lace up their sneakers, along with a legend we all know about Michael Jordan. Larry was introduced in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.
