Larry Joe Bird was born on December 7th, 1956. As a young child he showed signs of greatness and by the time he was in high school he was breaking all kinds of records. His performances at Spring V. High School got him a scholarship at the University of Indiana. In his senior year, Bird inspired as he led his team to an NCAA Championship, with the basketball scoreboards showing 89-77 in the final against the Michigan State Spartans.
The leader of that team was the famous college basketball player Magic Johnson. It was the first time they ever played together, and from that day on they were always going to be compared to each other.
In 1979 Larry Bird joined the Boston Celtics as their number one draft choice. He averaged more than 21 points a game in his first year and became Rookie of the Year. He was the team leader in rebounds with 10.4 per game and also in steals with a total of 143. Largely due to Bird`s influence, in one season the Celtics improved their record from 29-53 to 61-21.
Bird was a high level defensive player, and achieved 59 triple doubles during his career in the regular seasons and 10 in the play-offs. The Celtics turn of fortune continued in the 81-82 season, when they got to the finals where he was up against Magic in the seven game series. The Celtics were victorious, with the basketball scoreboards showing 111-102 in their favour in the seventh game. During that series, Bird had an average of 27 points and 14 rebounds per game. As a result, he was named MVP of the Finals, as well as MVP of the League for that year.
One year later, and Bird and Magic squared off again in the final. This time the Lakers came out on top, but once again Bird won the MVP for that season. The rivalry between the Celtic and the Lakers and the personal match-up between Bird and Magic were the most fascinating in NBA history.
In the 85-86 season, the Celtic`s record was an impressive 65-15, and they reached the playoff finals again. This time they came out the victors, and Bird won his third championship. Bird was named the MVP of the series after scoring an average of 24 points per game with 10 rebounds. Again, he won the league`s MVP this year.
In the 86-87 season Bird was instrumental once again in leading the Celtics to yet another championship final. This time LA won, and this would be the last Bird and Magic show. After that, Bird started to suffer from increasingly frequent injuries and his influence gradually faded. However, for his huge influence in bringing several championships to Boston in the early and mid eighties, he will always be remembered as one the very best NBA players ever.
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