Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Top 100 NBA Players: #18 - Larry Bird


Larry Bird

Teams

Boston Celtics - 1979-92


Playoffs

Appearances - 12 (1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1990,1991,1992)

Conference Finals - 8 (1980,1981,1982,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988)

NBA Finals - 5 (1981,1984,1985,1986,1987)

Championships - 3 (1981,1984,1986)


Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 1980

MVP - 3 (1984,1985,1986)

Finals MVP - 2 (1981,1984,1986)

All-NBA First Team - 9 (1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988)

All-NBA Second Team - 1 (1982,1990)

Hall of Fame - 1998

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)


All-Time Ranks

Free Throw Percentage - #13

Points Per Game - #18

Total Steals - #40

Steals Per Game - #41

Total Points - #41

Total Assists - #44

Assists Per Game - #47

Rebounds Per Game - #60

Total Rebounds - #61


League Leads

Free Throw Percentage (#1-1984,1986,1987,1990, #2-1988,1992, #5-1982)

Three-Pointers Made (#1-1986,1987, #4-1985,1988, #5-1980)

Total Points (#2-1985, #3-1988, #4-1986, #5-1987)

Points Per Game (#2-1985, #3-1988, #4-1986,1987)

Three-Point Percentage (#2-1985, #3-1980, #4-1986)

Total Rebounds (#4-1981)

Rebounds Per Game (#4-1981)


Following a junior season in which he averaged 30.0 points and 11.5 rebounds for Indiana State, Larry Bird was selected with the #6 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He decided to return to school for his senior year, and led the Sycamores to an undefeated season and their first-ever NCAA Tournament, where they advanced all the way to the championship game before losing to Magic Johnson and Michigan State.

Bird made an immediate impact with the Celtics, helping them win 32 more games than the year before and winning the Rookie of the Year award with averages of 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He edged out Magic Johnson, who averaged 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 2.4 steals. He also took Boston all the way to the Conference Finals before losing to Philadelphia.

Before the next season the Celtics added Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, and with Bird matching his averages from the year before, they were able to get revenge on the 76ers in the Conference Finals, then beat the Houston Rockets in the Finals to win the first title of Bird career. Bird averaged 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 7 assists in the Finals was awarded the Finals MVP after putting up 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Bird made steady improvement over the next 2 years, but both seasons ended in playoff disappointment, with the 76ers beating them in the Conference Finals in 1982, and the Bucks beating them in the second round in 1983. In 1984, Bird won his first MVP award after averaging 24.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game and leading the league by shooting .888 from the free throw line.

That year in the playoffs, Boston faced Milwaukee again, this time in the Conference Finals, and they got their revenge, which got them to the NBA Finals to play Magic Johnson and the Lakers. The series went to 7 games, with Boston finally winning, and Bird won the Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points and 14 rebounds per game.

Bird averages the next year were nearly identical, with the exception of his scoring, which rose to 28.7 per game, which was #2 in the league and earned him his second straight MVP. He once again led Boston to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the Lakers, but this time they fell in 6 games.

Bird became the third player ever, after Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, to win 3 consecutive MVP awards in 1986, with averages of 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists while leading the league in free throw shooting again. Boston led the league with 67 wins that year, then cruised to another championship, beating the Rockets in 6 games and earning Bird his second Finals MVP.

Bird led the Celtics back to the Finals for the 4th straight year in 1987, beating the Pistons in the Conference Finals, before meeting the Lakers for the third time in 4 seasons in the championship round. Just like 2 years before, the Lakers knocked off the Celtics in 6 games, preventing a championship repeat.

Bird set a career high in scoring the next year, pouring in 29.9 per game, but Boston lost to Detroit in a Conference Finals rematch, and the Celtics would not make the Finals again in Bird's career. Just 6 games into the next season, Bird had surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels, which put him out for the rest of the season.

Bird had one more season where he was still among the best in the league. He averaged 24.3 points upon returning from his missed season and led the league in free throw percentage for the 4th time, but Boston lost in the first round for the first time in his career.

He missed 59 games over the next two seasons due to back issues, though he was still productive while he was on the court, scoring around 20 points per game each season, but Boston couldn't make any noise in the playoffs, and Bird's back forced him to retire in the summer of 1992, right after playing for the Dream Team in Barcelona.

The only statistical category where Bird ever led the league was free throw percentage, but he was very good and very consistent in the 3 major categories throughout his career, averaging between 19 and 30 points each season, between 8 and 11 rebounds (not counting the year he largely missed), and at least 5 assists in every full season after his rookie year. He got 3 well-deserved MVP awards and should have had 3 Finals MVPs as well, and he is definitely one of the best to ever play the game.




No comments:

Post a Comment