The American greatest basketball still worked as a coach and executive in the NBA, which had indeed led him to get over the low . Bird won the first Finals meeting between them in 1984 and Johnson won the two others; one in 1985, the other in 1987. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. Navigation Toggle NBA. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. Larry led the team to a Game 7 victory while averaging 26-13-5, putting up a great stat line of 23-11-5 with 5 steals in the deciding Game 7. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. A superstar. Or write about sports? Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. Fitch went on to say that Mangurians decision to sell the team was the backbreaker and that he would have reconsidered his resignation had the team not been put up for sale. And they werent. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. . Aside from the two stars, the teams were among the most stacked in history. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. Even from his first season with Indiana State, Birds performances were exceptional. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: The following season, the Celtics did end up losing to the Philadelphia 76ers after winning their first-round series against the Washington Bullets (what a team name!). Its pretty easy to forget how many times Bird has been in the NBA Finals with all of the many accolades and unbelievably, but true, stories about him. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Larry led the way with an average of 25 points per game. Your email address will not be published. Carr stole James Worthy's inbounds pass followed by a dunk to seal the win. So for an entire decade, the NBA Finals included one of the two marquee franchises. James has as many series losses in the Finals as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird combined. Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. Chicago Bulls 4-1, 1981 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. Bird finished second in the MVP voting to Malone and was unable to lead the Celtics back to the Conference Finals. Larry Bird won three championships as a player, but did not win any as a coach. These performances earned Bird his second MVP award. Larry was no slouch, averaging 15-15-7 in a 4-2 series win. The Celtics and the Lakers are the two most storied franchises in the NBA, and the rivalry has often been called the greatest in the NBA. he guided the Pacers to a 58-24 record, which was the best in franchise history at the time. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. Boston finished with a 62-20 regular season record and got their revenge on the Bucks, whom they beat 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. As with many teams in the 1990s, the Pacers were stopped by the Chicago Bulls, losing the series in seven games as the Bulls did not lose a home game in the series. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. While everyone has their own favorite NBA players, its impossible to argue with Larry Birds position in the all-time basketball pantheon. That NCAA tournament final is one of the most iconic games in college basketball history. Larry averaged 27-10-7 and led the Celtics with 36 points in a game-five win that saw the Celtics beat the Hawks by 33 points. This was Birds last finals appearance, meaning that he went to five NBA finals overall, winning 3. Former Celtics player M.L. New York also featured Bill Cartwright and Rory Sparrow. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Coming off the back of a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the finals, many people saw Bird taking a step back going into the 1985-86 season. His team mate Cedric Maxwell won MVP. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Regardless, Johnson and Bird are widelyregarded as beingtwo of thegreatest players to have ever played the gameand they made for one of the greatest rivalries, one that will never be forgotten. In other words, he noticed that some . Larry Joe Bird. It seemed like it should be an easy series for the Celtics, with game one and two victories by double digits, but the Knicks home crowd helped their team to win all their series home games. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. This was Birds last season with Indiana State as he had been drafted by the Celtics in 1978, but chose to play out one final year with his college instead of going straight to the NBA. Both these players were representing teams from their home States, adding extra spice to the whole thing. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. The Philidelphia 76ers were led by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. The Celtics won the Finals in six games to cap off a season that . One of the most feared competitors during the 1980s was Larry Bird, who won three championships with the Celtics during the decade, destroying teams through his versatile style and killer, lights-out shooting. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. How to say Basketball in different languages? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. During the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings in three, the Dallas Mavericks in five, and the Phoenix Suns in six. In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists, an NBA Finals record. At the end of the season, Bird was named Coach of the Year. By: HoopsHype. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. Johnson and Bird met at the NBA Finals three times in 1984, 1985 and 1987. In Game 7, the Celtics got 24 points from Cedric Maxwell and 22 from DJ with Bird scoring 20 as they won the game 111-102 and the series for Bostons 15th NBA title. Despite this, Bird did not win any championships during his college career. Bird: "So you're overpaid.". The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge in 1984. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97F (36C) heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Bird retired from the NBA in 1992 and immediately took up an advisory role with the Boston Celtics. Two superstars, Magic and Larry, and the two most iconic teams in the leagues history, the Lakers and the Celtics. After dispatching MJ, the Cs cruised by Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis. Boston won two close ones to start the series before Washington stole game three by 3 points. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Born in Indiana in 1956, Larry Bird began playing basketball at a young age. The games were reasonably close if the series was not. Some of the greats Bird defeated in the playoffs include Moses Malone, Julius Dr. Carr revealed that the motto of the 1983-84 Celtics was Dont be denied, and the team ended up winning the championship that no one thought they would win. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. This site is a participant in the Impact Affiliate Platform which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Fanatics.com . He worked the first half, but was replaced by John Vanak for the second half. Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. October 9, 2019. Larry Bird could do it all on the basketball court. After going 33-0, Bird led his team to the final of the tournament where he faced off against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Larry Birds NBA Finals record is 3-2. This cost the Lakers valuable depth, as James Worthy, a key contributor off the bench, would now have to start in Wilkes' place. Another book that demonstrated the competitive drive amongst athletes was, Magic/ Bird written by Eric Simonson. He was the only NBA Rookie of the Year, MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the . Some of Johnson's notable performances against Bird: As for some of Bird's notable performances against Johnson: Johnson and Bird played against each other 19 times in the playoffs over the course of three NBA Finals. Houston had gone 40-42 in the 1980-81 regular season compared to Boston's 62-20 season under second-year Celtics sensation Larry Bird you may have heard of him. However, this changed in the 1979 season when Birds Indiana State qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. His back suffered major issues, as he injured it building on his farm. * 1981: Boston Celtics def. Data runs from 1946-47 to present unless otherwise noted. During that year Lesley Visser, Stockton's wife, became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals for CBS. Summary: Larry Bird's Finals Record. The Conference Semifinals was a seven-game series against the Knicks, which ended with Boston winning 4-3. . The #1 and #2 seeds were set to face off in the Conference Finals. Which player is ultimately better all-time is a different conversationbecause that includes a lot more than their individual matchups. MUMBAI, India Twenty-seven years after Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and the "Dream Team" made the world fall in love with the game of basketball in 1992, India showed its adoration for the Boston Celtics great during the first NBA India Games last week.
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