Bird, Larry

Bird, Larry

▪ American athlete
in full  Larry Joe Bird 
born Dec. 7, 1956, West Baden, Ind., U.S.

      American basketball player who led the Boston Celtics to three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1981, 1984, and 1986) and is considered one of the greatest pure shooters of all time.

      Bird was raised in French Lick, Ind., and attended Indiana State University, where he helped revive the basketball program and led the team to a 33–1 record in his senior season. That season ended with a loss to Michigan State University in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) championship game (1979), which was the first meeting of Bird and Magic Johnson (Johnson, Magic), a rivalry that would become the centrepiece of the NBA's popularization during the 1980s. Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics after his junior year at Indiana State (1978) but did not play professionally until the 1979–80 season, when he won the Rookie of the Year award after contributing to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in NBA history (a 32-win improvement).

      Over the course of his 13 seasons with the Celtics, the self-described “hick from French Lick” cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history. A 6-foot 9-inch (2.06-metres) forward, he was known for his unflappable confidence and clutch shooting ability, which together created an intimidating presence on the court. The Celtics won their first NBA title with Bird (and 14th overall) in 1981; they repeated with title wins in 1984 and 1986. Bird was a 12-time All Star and won three consecutive league Most Valuable Player awards (1984–86), the first noncentre to do so. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.

      Bird retired in 1993 and moved to a front-office position with the Celtics. He became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers (despite having no previous coaching experience) in 1997 and was named Coach of the Year after his first season. Bird resigned in 2000 and became the Pacers' president of basketball operations in 2003.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Bird,Larry Joe — Bird (bûrd), Larry Joe. Born 1956. American basketball player and coach. As a forward for the Boston Celtics (1979 1992), he helped lead the team to three world championships between 1981 and 1986 and was named the National Basketball Association …   Universalium

  • Bird, Larry (Joe) — born Dec. 7, 1956, West Baden, Ind., U.S. U.S. basketball player. Bird spent most of his collegiate career at Indiana State University, before being drafted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing forward and… …   Universalium

  • Bird, Larry (Joe) — (n. 7 dic. 1956, West Baden, Ind., EE.UU.). Basquetbolista estadounidense. Bird pasó la mayor parte de su carrera deportiva universitaria en la Universidad del estado de Indiana, antes de ser contratado por los Boston Celtics de la NBA. Como… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bird (surname) — Bird is a surname, and may refer to:* Aaron Bird * Alan Bird (1906 1962), Australian politician * Albert Bird (cricketer) *Alfred Bird (1811 1878), food manufacturer and chemist *Alfred Frederick Bird (1849 1922), food manufacturer *Andrew Bird,… …   Wikipedia

  • Larry Bird — Infobox NBAretired width=200 caption=Larry Bird position=Small forward height=6 9 (2.06 m) number=33 birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|1956|12|7 West Baden Springs, Indiana, USA deathdate= debutyear=1979 finalyear=1992 draftyear=1978 draftround …   Wikipedia

  • Larry Bird — Datos personales Nombre completo …   Wikipedia Español

  • Larry Joe Bird — Larry Bird Spielerinformationen Voller Name Larry Joe Bird Geburtstag …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Larry Bird — Spielerinformationen Voller Name Larry Joe Bird Ge …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bird — /berrd/, n. Larry, born 1956, U.S. basketball player. * * * I Any of the warm blooded, beaked vertebrates of the class Aves, including more than 9,600 living species. A covering of feathers distinguishes birds from all other animals. Birds have a …   Universalium

  • bird — birdless, adj. /berrd/, n. 1. any warm blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard shelled egg. 2. a fowl or game bird. 3 …   Universalium

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