Larry Bird

Larry Bird

Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former NBA basketball player, coach, and team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships.

Due to chronic back problems, he retired as a player in 1992. He was a member of the Dream Team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, and he held that position until 2012. In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 Club, he is the only person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.

Read more about Larry Bird:  Early Life, Collegiate Career, 1979–1981: Immediate Impact, 1982–1987: MVPs, Championships and The Rivalry With Magic Johnson, 1988–1992: Waning Years, NBA Career After Retirement, Legacy, Player Profile, NBA Career Statistics, In Popular Culture

Famous quotes containing the words larry and/or bird:

    “Where you gonna go? Where you gonna run? Where you gonna hide? Nowhere. ‘Cause there’s no one like you left.”
    —Nicholas St. John, U.S. screenwriter, Larry Cohen (b. 1936)

    “They tell us sometimes that if we had only kept quiet, all these desirable things would have come about of themselves. I am reminded of the Greek clown who, having seen an archer bring down a flying bird, remarked, sagely: “You might have saved your arrow, for the bird would anyway have been killed by the fall.””
    —Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)