Larry Bird is a basketball player who played for the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Larry Bird has been awarded Most Valuable Player and won 3 NBA tournaments.
Early life
On December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana Larry Bird was born. And, he spent his childhood in a village near a town called French Lick. As of now, he is already 66 years old and his sun sign is Saggitarus. He was born to his father Claude Joseph Bird and his mother’s name is Georgia. His mother struggled to raise him and his siblings as his father moved to find a job.
He has siblings named Mike, Mark, Jeff, Eddie, and Linda. He was very interested in sports and college, he concentrated on basketball rather than studies. Later, their parents divorced which affected his family. He attended Springs Valley High School and joined the basketball team. During that time, he was a great player and decided to make his career in it. For higher education, he went to Indiana State University.
Career
While Larry Bird was playing in school he was caught by Indiana University. Due to this, he was offered a scholarship and an opportunity to play for their team. He accepted to offer but failed to gel with the students there. Eventually, he dropped out of college. Later, he enrolled his name at Indiana State University, situated at Terre Haute. Then, he started playing for the team Sycamores.
Caption: Larry Bird during his match. Source(Getty Image)
Later on, the team made its debut appearance in the NCAA tournament. He was awarded the Player of the Year even though his team lost the championship. In 1978, he got his biggest breakthrough when he was chosen to play for the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, the offer was declined, and, decided to play in the final season for Indiana State.
Moreover, he played with Sycamores and led the team to qualify for the NCAA title game. Similarly, he got involved in a contract dispute with Arnold Jacob Red Auerbach. Again, he did not accept the offered amount as he wanted a hike. Sooner, he signed the contract for the amount of 3.25 million dollars. Moving on, the contract brought about a major change in the NBA selection committee. For all the players, a new rule called the Bird Collegiate Rule became mandatory.
More about career
The team was led by him to newer heights and was named to the All-Star Team. Besides, he also won the Rookie of the Year. After a few defeats, the team defeated the Houston Rockets and finally won the championship in the finals. In addition, he won the All-Star Game MVP Award, in 1982. Also, he was the runner-up for the Most Valuable Player Award.
Thus, the team lost 7 games in the Conference Finals and later finally won 5 Conference Finals. Between 1984 and 1985, in-game he scored a record 60 points. Hence, he was honored with the MVP award for the 2nd consecutive year. His team lost six back-to-back games against the Lakers, and he couldn’t do anything, in 1987. Unfortunately, he failed to make it to the NBA finals that year even after delivering remarkable statistics.
Career highlight
Due to a heel injury, he popped playing for a long period. In 1989, finally, he made his comeback but his health once again failed him. For the United States basketball team, he played and won a gold medal in the Olympics, in 1992. The Olympics was hosted in Barcelona, Spain. Later, his retirement was announced, on August 18, 1992. He had a remarkable post-retirement career too after his glorious career as an NBA player.
As a special assistant in the team’s front office, he served from 1992 to 1997. Later on, as a coach, he signed a 3-year contract for the team Indiana Pacers. Eventually, the team went on to make a record score of 58-24, under his guidance. He was successful in creating history in the NBA and was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year. Thus, he became the only coach to have won the MVP award too.
In 1999 and 2000, the team won back-to-back Central Division titles and performed exceptionally well. In 2003, for Pacers, he became the president of basketball operations. Similarly, he was honored with the NBA Executive of the Year. On May 1, 2017, he started serving as the advisor and retired from the NBA operation. And, the estimated net worth of Larry Bird is $75 million.
Personal life
Larry Bird was married to Janet Condra and married for less than a year. They together have a daughter named Corrie born in 1977. Later, he was married to Dinah Mattingly, in 1989. Together they adopted children named Conner and Mariah. He got into controversy when he was involved in a verbal spat on the court with coaches and players of the opposite team. Additionally, he has been blamed for insulting others and using cuss words in court. There was a headline when he verbally brawled with the coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Caption: Larry with his wife. Source(Getty Image)
Larry Bird – Body measurement
Larry Bird is very tall, good-looking, and handsome. He has a higher height than normal people and stands 6 feet 9 inches tall (206cm/ 2.06m). and Larry weighs around 100kg (220 lbs) and has grey hair color and blue eye color.
Larry Bird – Social media
He is active on different social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. His Twitter account @LarryBirdDaily has more than 9,584 followers. He has more than 27.7k followers on his Instagram account @larry_bird_33. Likewise, he has 110K followers on Facebook.
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