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• Springs Valley High School (French Lick, IN) (1970-74)

• Averaged 30 ppg and 17 rpg during his senior year
  
• In one particular game, scored 54 points with 38 rebounds
  

• Indiana University (1974-75)
• Indiana State (1975-79)
  

• Played three years at Indiana State (1976-79)
• The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1979)
  
• Naismith Award winner (1979)
  
• John R. Wooden Award winner (1979)
  
• The Sporting News All-America First Team (1978, 1979)
  
• Led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA championship game against Michigan State
  
• Led Indiana State to an 81-13 record, including a 50-1 record at home
  
• Holds 30 Indiana State records, including most points (2,850), steals (240) and rebounds (1,247)
  
• Graduated as the NCAA's fifth all-time leading scorer (30.3 ppg)
  
• U.S. Team member, World University Games (1977)

• NBA Boston Celtics (1979-92)

• NBA Rookie of the Year (1980)
  
• NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-86)
  
• All-NBA First Team (1980-88)
  
• All-NBA Second Team (1990)
  
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982-84)
  
• Twelve-time NBA All-Star (1980-88, 1990-92)
  
• NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982)
  
• Long Distance Shootout Winner (1986-88)
  
• NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)
  
• Scored 21,791 points (24.3 ppg) in 897 professional games, including a career-high 28.1 ppg in 1987
  
• Scored a career and team-high 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks in New Orleans on March 25, 1985
  
• Led the NBA in free throw shooting (1984, 1986, 1990)
  
• NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (1981, 1984, 1986)
  
• In a 12-year time span, Bird teamed with Kevin McHale and Robert Parish to form
  one of the greatest frontlines in professional basketball history
• The trio compiled a 690-276 record, won nine Atlantic Division titles and five
  Eastern Conference championships
  
• NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
  
• Member of gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team (1992)

• NBA Indiana Pacers (1997-2000)
  

• NBA Coach of the Year (1998)

In a storybook career that began in the small Indiana town of West Baden, where he led Springs Valley High School to the state sectional championship, and concluded with his number 33 jersey being retired by the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird enjoyed a legendary 13-year professional career with the Celtics. In 1979, when Bird joined the Celtics, he launched an era both in Boston and throughout the NBA that may never again be duplicated. At a time when the league and the Celtics needed a boost, Bird and fellow rookie sensation Earvin "Magic" Johnson provided the spark. By the time Bird retired in 1992, he held or shared 27 Celtics' records and had brought three more NBA championship banners to Boston in 1981, 1984 and 1986. On two other occasions (1985 and 1987), the Celtics reached the NBA Finals.

A 12-time NBA All-Star and MVP of the 1982 All-Star Game, Bird was selected as the sixth overall pick in the 1978 draft. Following the draft, Bird returned to the college ranks for his senior season and completed a memorable career at Indiana State. Bird, who won the Sporting News, Naismith and Wooden awards as national college Player of the Year in 1979, led ISU to an 81-13 three-year record, including a 33-1 mark in 1979, the year Bird's Indiana State team lost to Johnson's Michigan State squad in the national championship game. Bird holds 30 ISU records, including most points (2,850), steals (240) and rebounds (1,247). He scored in double figures in 93 of 94 games, tallied 40 or more points 15 times and recorded six triple doubles.

Prior to Bird's arrival in Boston in 1979, the Celtics had failed to make the playoffs for two straight seasons. His first season, Bird was named NBA Rookie of the Year and the Celtics advanced to the conference finals, the start of 13 straight postseason appearances. In Bird's 13 seasons, Boston won 10 Atlantic Division titles, had six 60-plus-win seasons and toppled the 50-win mark 12 times.

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From unc.edu

Larry Bird

Bird was a celebrity on his High School basketball team in French Lick, Indiana. The population of the town was only 2,100, but 4,000 people attended his last HS game. He enrolled at Indiana, but never played, leaving to attend Northwood Institute, a local Junior College where he spent one year, waiting to be eligible to play at Indiana State, where he transferred the next year. He brought respectibility to the Indiana State program which culminated in losing to Magic Johnson's Michigan State team in the NCAA Tournament Title Game in 1979. Larry left Indiana State with a career scoring average of better than 30 points a game, fifth all-time in NCAA history, and a 3 year school record of 81-13. Larry was named the 1978-79 Sporting News Player of the Year and won the Naismith and Wooden Awards. He was the number six pick in the 1978 draft by Boston, as a junior, but he joined the team a year later, because he chose to stay in school for his last year of eligibility. His stellar play in his first year led to his Rookie of the Year selection in 1980.

Overall, Larry Bird will be remembered with an elite five or six players including Chamberlain, Magic, Jordan and Erving. He will be known for both his individual ability and being a team player, and boy were his teams great with the likes of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale who joined Bird on the NBA's All-Time 50 Greatest Players Team which was announced prior to the 1996 season. Don't forget other supporting teammates who were superstars in their own right such as Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Cedric Maxwell. Larry Legend was a terrific competitor and a classy sportsman.

We all remember his ability to hit the remarkable shot and don't forget his commercials with Michael Jordan where he makes the unbelievable shots. NBA players probably still have nightmares of his smooth jumper that would fall with deadly accuracy from ten feet or twenty feet. There may never be another with such a consistent sweet stroke. He played his entire career with the Celtics. The Boston fans were the envy of many others who couldn't count on their star to score 25 points or more a night, combined with making 5 remarkable passes and grabbing 8 rebounds, including 2 or 3 when they counted the most. His #33 Celtics Jersey has, of course, been retired to join all the other Boston Greats who have their numbers hanging from the rafters. On June 29, 1998, Bird was bestowed with the highest honor given to a basketball player, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was inducted in ceremonies on October 2nd. Now he can go for dual election...ala Lenny Wilkens...as both a player and a coach...but that will be another day.

Bird's all-time stats are impressive: 21,791 points (11th. all-time), 1,556 steals (8th all-time), 0.886 FT Percentage (fourth all-time), 8,974 rebounds, 5,965 assists and 897 games played. He has a career 24.3 scoring average to lead the Celtics all-time list. Larry Bird was a successful player due both to talent and hard work. He was ususally the first Celtic to arrive on game day when he would practice hitting jump shots for hours from everywhere on the floor, including dozens of free-throws. HIs consistency was evidenced in the similar stats he compiled year after year during his legendary career.

Bird retired in 1992 after 13 seasons. His last two years were plagued with chronic back problems, he often spent his time laying on the floor to rest his back when not playing on the court. After retiring, he worked for the Celtics Front Office as a Special Assistant for 5 years. Many thought he might replace M.L. Carr as coach, but Rick Pitino was given that job, and Larry Legend returned to his home state of Indiana to succeed Larry Brown as the coach of the Indiana Pacers for the 1997-98 season. He's never coached at any level, but do you think that will stop him from doing an excellent job? I don't. The first half of his rookie year as Indiana's coach was unprecedented and better than even the most devoted Larry booster would have imagined, leading to his team having the best record at the break and an AS Game coaching selection. He led the Pacers on a record setting pace for the most wins in franchise history with 58 and a second place finish in the Eastern Conference to Chicago. Larry brought two unique contributions to the table as a rookie NBA coach. First, he immediately won the players respect and they want to both play and win for him, doing whatever it takes. He has focussed on the basics, which has so far paid off. Second, he has implemented a rather unique coaching paradigm using an offensive and defensive coordinator like the NFL. His coaches implement separate strategies and drill for offense and defense which Larry oversees. Bird was named Coach of the Year his very first year as a coach at any level. In his rookie year as coach he led the Pacers to the second best record in the east, and a trip all the way to the conference finals, only to lose against Jordan's Bulls.

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