As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. How Many Championships did Larry Bird win? Cedric Maxwell, Larry Birds teammate, was awarded Finals MVP with 18-9-3. Allen Iverson Jersey Mitchell and Ness: A Complete Guide. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. With a new head coach in KC Jones and plenty of uncertainties, Carr said their motto for the season was Dont be denied. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. Unlike some of the other players that have gone down in NBA History, Larry didnt leave his team whatsoever. That went to Birds teammate. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) . Bird only averaged 15 points per game throughout the series but he did drop a series high 27 points in Game 6 to officially send the Rockets packing, as Bird won his first chip. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. 1979-80 Bird 1980-81 Bird 1981-82 Bird 1982-83 Bird 1983-84 Bird 1984-85 Bird 1985-86 Bird 1986-87 Bird 1987-88 Bird 1988-89 Bird 1989-90 Bird 1990-91 Bird 1991-92 Bird 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 82 82 77 79 79 80 82 74 76 6 75 60 45. Birds college career as a whole was exceptional. He was a monster, averaging 22-16 in this Finals series. That NCAA tournament final is one of the most iconic games in college basketball history. His first MVP award was in 1984. All rights reserved. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. This Finals had everything. 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. Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 Times, But Magic Johnson Won The Head-To-Head Matchups .
Head to Head: Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson | Stathead.com His teams overall record in finals games was 16-15. Sadly for Bird, Michigan State were just too much for him as the Spartans ran out 75-64 winners. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. Boston also had to deal with the impending free agency of Kevin McHale and Larry Bird. Small Forward and Power Forward The Lakers, no slouch themselves, had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthey, and Bob McAdoo. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. This included a Game six victory where a hostile Boston crowd booed Ralph Sampson, sapping his confidence to the point he only had 8 points on 3-12 shooting. In his second season with the Celtics, Boston finished first in the East as they had done the previous year. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Born in Indiana in 1956, Larry Bird began playing basketball at a young age. Larry Bird of the Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Lakers, Malcolm Emmons and MPS - USA TODAY Sports.
. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. Dominique was an offensive force, but, unlike MJ, he was not noted for doing much else . . After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 197980 season with high expectations. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. While the 22111 format remained intact for the remainder of the playoff rounds, the 232 format would be used until 2013. Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on.
My favorite quotes about Larry Bird - CelticsBlog When Larry Bird Began His Coaching Career, He Revealed - Sportscasting Bird's 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson , 1985 & 1987.
Larry Bird's Stats For Each Season: Consistency Was The Key, He It was the beginning of one of the most legendary basketball rivalries in the history of the NBA, with Bird and Magic Johnson facing off against each other for the first time. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. "[3] The teams met again in the 1985 finals, which the Lakers won 42. Larry Birds Celtics made the Finals in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. The NBA Finals series was closer than either of the Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics legend is one of three players in NBA history to win three straight MVPs, and he helped the C's win three championships in the 1980s.. Bird, along with Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson, helped take the NBA to another level. 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. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? 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. Answer (1 of 2): Larry Bird has been in the NBA Finals 5 times as a player, all while playing with the Boston Celtics. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. We have seen some teams lose in the NBA Finals off of some injuries and other situations leading up to it that the box score doesnt show, so lets dive into Birds record. This series was an eye-opener into how good the Celtics were this season. Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. The Pacers had two pretty comfortable series to begin the 1998 post season with wins over the Cavaliers and the Knicks. In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA. Johnson and Bird met at the NBA Finals three times in 1984, 1985 and 1987. Sadly, after that Finals loss, Bird never made it into another Finals series. Bird won the first Finals meeting between them in 1984 and Johnson won the two others; one in 1985, the other in 1987. Larry Joe Bird. The East's award is named after Larry Bird and the West's after Magic Johnson. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's clothesline take-down of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Houston Rockets 4-2, Larry Bird Championship #2: 1984 Boston Celtics, 1984 First Round: Celtics def. Larry Bird is one of the ten greatest players in the history of the NBA.
Larry Bird Vs Magic Johnson : r/nba - Reddit What surprises me more, though, is that former NBA player, 38-year-old JJ Redick, can't admit that the NBA of the 1980s was more physical than the game played today.. Nearly two weeks ago, Redick caused a stir by saying Bird shouldn't be considered . Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. 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. Two-time National Basketball Association champion Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell points to the pillars of the game when it comes to the question, "Who is the greatest NBA player of all time?" "I measure it by those who changed the game," said the former Boston Celtics standout on Sunday afternoon while taking part in the Legends & Stars Sports Expo at Batavia Downs Gaming. Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. He stayed loyal to the Celtics throughout his entire career and they were the team that reaped the benefits of his five NBA Finals appearances and three NBAchampionships. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Who is the highest paid NBA player in the 2021-2022 Season?
Scoring the rivalry: How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played in their Pretty good matchup between he and MJ. In Birds career with Indiana State he did not ever win a championship. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. Larry Bird | Net Worth, Salary, And Career Earnings The Indiana-born was the highest-paid rookie of the year, with $3.25 million an average of $650,000 a year in a 5-year contract with the Celtics.Bird had played 879 games in his career until his retirement in 1992.. Not only did he possess the skillset to thrive, but he had more than enough confidence to put any opponent in their place. There were three Larry Bird championships with the Boston Celtics: in 1981, 1984 and 1986. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage, which continued through 2013. In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Between 1980 and 1989, there were only two seasons that ended with someone other than Johnson or Bird winning the title. The Celtics took four games to get by the Bullets in the first round best-of-five series. As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the . Game 4 of the 1984 Finals marked the last Finals game to go into overtime until Game 2 of the 1990 NBA Finals. Larry Bird stats .
In retirement, though, Larry Legend managed to take things down a notch. Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984.
What is Larry Bird's record in the NBA Finals? - Hoop Maestro Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Amazing!
The Celtics won the Finals in six games to cap off a season that . The Cs won in a blowout in game 3 in Houston before Houston tied it up with a tight win in game 4. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. He banked in a shot with a minute to go to put the Cs ahead for good and they won 91-90. The kick-off of one of the greatest rivalries of all time. The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. Cedric Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists to win Finals MVP. Boston's most crucial addition was Dennis Johnson, whom they acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the offseason in hopes of addressing their porous back-court defense. Then came the championship series.
How Larry Bird was robbed of the 1981 NBA playoff and - CelticsBlog But what is Larry Birds record in the NBA Finals? SI examines the rivalry between the basketball hall of famers and how they changed the landscape of the NBA. The league had changed the Finals homecourt schedule to the 2-3-2 format that year, allowing the team with the lesser record (LA) to host the middle three games. During that year Lesley Visser, Stockton's wife, became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals for CBS. The top 31 players and coaches, In 1981, the Celtics beat a Houston Rockets team featuring, In 1984, Birds Celtics beat the Showtime Lakers featuring, In 1986 the Celtics defeated a pretty different Houston Rockets squad. Larry Bird won the NBA Finals MVP two times. The Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. Despite home wins in games three and five, the Pacers lost the series in six games, with Shaq and Kobe just being too much for Indianas stars.
1981 NBA Finals - Wikipedia He and Chauncey Billups are the only two retired players to win Finals MVP but not to make the Hall of Fame. 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. Do you have a blog? Safe to say he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game for that second ring. the Celtics posted a 61-21 record and defeated the Houston Rockets to take the first NBA . It's an era thing. And after watching the Lakers face the Philadelphia 76ers twice during the 1982 and 1983 Finals, they were determined to win in 84. Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. 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 led the Cs to a Conference Finals appearance once or twice in the ensuing years but the team just wasnt nearly as competitive anymore and it was obvious that Larry was getting up there in age. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? Boston won two close ones to start the series before Washington stole game three by 3 points.
Larry Bird's Finals Record: An All-Time Great! - Sports Nostalgia HQ The 1985 NBA Finals & Brawling Larry Bird Bird is a universally known NBA legend and is often credited with the NBAs explosion of popularity in the 1980s.