At the end of the season, Bird was named Coach of the Year. Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. Hall of Fame. 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) . The Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984. The Cs were heavily favored and had won 10 straight vs the Rockets, but Houston put up more of a fight than expected. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3, winning by nine points in the deciding Game 7. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: No one thought we could beat the Lakers. Julius Erving, in full Julius Winfield Erving II, byname Doctor J, (born February 22, 1950, Roosevelt, New York, U.S.), American collegiate and professional basketball player who was one of the most colourful and exciting figures in the game during the 1970s and '80s. Larry Bird would go after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. 6-9 , 220lb (206cm, 99kg) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info. . It did not slow Bird down as he won a title the next season with the now legendary 86 Celtics. As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. What is Larry Birds Record in the NBA Finals? The games were reasonably close if the series was not. The Celtics had lost to the Lakers in the finals the previous year, but this time their opposition was the Houston Rockets. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. Tree had famously bit Danny Ainge in a playoff fight three seasons prior. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics. Not that there was anything to really worry about for him, it really just added a chip on his shoulder to come back and perform to a high standard. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and an oxygen tank was provided to give air to an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 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. Is it tied to championships? Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. You can only imagine how fiery this rivalry was, with two consecutive seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lakers fell in the Western Conference finals to a new team that sprung up seemingly out of nowhere. Atlanta Hawks 4-1, 1986 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. Larry Bird picked up the 1984 MVP award and led his Celtics to the first seed in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 overall record. Everything you wanted to know about Indiana legend Larry Bird The Lakers drew first blood but Boston evened the series in Game 2. Do you have a blog? The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. The Bucks took them to seven games before they were able to advance and the Pistons took them to seven in the Conference Finals. The series was full of things like that., We knew that we had to physically beat them because they had never played that kind of game. It was an offensive and defensive clinic. Larry Bird | Bio-married, divorce, affair, children - Playerswiki Larry Bird - College Basketball At Sports-Reference Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. Its surprising that he wasnt able to win at least one more, though three championships nowadays is something that is wildly difficult to do, its no feat to be taken lightly. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's rivalry - Sportskeeda (the Lakers) learned a valuable lesson. But does that record provide a fair verdict on James' performance in the NBA Finals? The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. The Houston Rockets have long been a sneakily dangerous team even when they were losing, dating from when the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics in the 1981 NBA Finals with a losing record. The Celtics stayed unbeaten all-time in home Game 7s with a clear cut 111-102 victory. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. The following season, the Celtics did end up losing to the Philadelphia 76ers after winning their first-round series against the Washington Bullets (what a team name!). The East's award is named after Larry Bird and the West's after Magic Johnson. Celtics forward Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 Times, But Magic Johnson Won The Head-To-Head Matchups . He was still one to wear what he wanted, enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and, in this case, refuse to hype up his own accomplishments. There are so many different titles that Bird has. Magic vs. Bird: Reliving rivalry 40 Years after first NBA matchup Larry averaged 23-13-7 on his way to a four-game sweep. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. However, this was not the case. Bird outscored Dr. J 26.7 to 19.9 ppg in the series, led all players in rebounds and was second on Boston in assists. As with many teams in the 1990s, the Pacers were stopped by the Chicago Bulls, losing the series in seven games as the Bulls did not lose a home game in the series. Before the season began, the Lakers traded long-time guard Norm Nixon to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Byron Scott. Your email address will not be published. Then came the championship series. His first run to the NBA Finals came in his second season, averaging 21-11-5 with 2 steals a game. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. Houston lost a close game 1 then won a tight game 2 in Boston. After going 33-0, Bird led his team to the final of the tournament where he faced off against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. The 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. This was Birds last season with Indiana State as he had been drafted by the Celtics in 1978, but chose to play out one final year with his college instead of going straight to the NBA. NBA Finals: Ranking the top Finals performers in NBA history - HoopsHype Same ammount of titles, Lebron has more MVP's and FMVP's, played longer etc. Larry Bird went 3-2 in his five NBA Finals appearances. As for their averages, Johnson posted 20.7 points, 13.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game in their head-to-head matchups in the Finals compared to Bird's 25.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. Small Forward and Power Forward In Birds rookie season in the league, he helped lead the Boston Celtics all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. After dispatching MJ, the Cs cruised by Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis. Larry Bird Q&A: Being a white player in the NBA, trash - Andscape Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. How Larry Bird was robbed of the 1981 NBA playoff and - CelticsBlog The game after setting an NBA finals record for made threes with eight in game 2 against the Lakers in 2010, Ray Allen . . Simmons says that he got the idea from watching basketball and looking at player statistics. In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors, including Magic Johnson's bad pass to Robert Parish late in the fourth quarter, and missing two crucial free throws in OT as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. They were the thoroughbreds, we were the Clydesdales., It was a very physical series, and thats exactly what we wanted because we knew thats the only way we could beat those guys. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. M.L. Carr on Lakers vs. Celtics 1984 Finals being epic - Basketball Here's when Larry Bird, Magic Johnson learned they have a lot - Yahoo Larry Bird Playoffs Game Log. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! These performances earned Bird his second MVP award. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. It was Boston's worst playoff defeat in franchise history to that date. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards. 1956 I wrote about his underrated defense here. In the 198384 season, the Celtics won 62 games to lead the league. Top 15 Worst NBA Finals Performances by a Star - TheSportster Larry Bird won three NBA championships in his basketball career. In MVP voting, Bird dominated the competition as he took home his third straight MVP award. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. Larry Bird of the Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Lakers, Malcolm Emmons and MPS - USA TODAY Sports. Regular season: PTS, FG, FT, 3P complete all-time. Both these players were representing teams from their home States, adding extra spice to the whole thing. Find out more. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. While everyone has their own favorite NBA players, its impossible to argue with Larry Birds position in the all-time basketball pantheon. The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Celtics in the conference finals before losing to the Lakers in the 1980 NBA Finals, with Johnson earning Finals MVP honors for his Game 6 performance. New York also featured Bill Cartwright and Rory Sparrow. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. MUMBAI, India Twenty-seven years after Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and the "Dream Team" made the world fall in love with the game of basketball in 1992, India showed its adoration for the Boston Celtics great during the first NBA India Games last week. Head to Head: Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson. A superstar. His team mate Cedric Maxwell won MVP. . The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. Bird also won Finals MVP in 1986 when he scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and had 2.7 steals per game. 1983: Moses Malone: C: 1984: Larry Bird: Boston Celtics: No stats available. 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. Only game 3 finished within ten points with the Cs winning 111-107. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. Featured Image Photo Credit: Adapted from:Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. FlynnbyBoston City Archivesis licensed underCC BY 2.0. Which NBA Team had the Most Hall of Famers for one Season. he guided the Pacers to a 58-24 record, which was the best in franchise history at the time. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter. Scoring the rivalry: How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played in their Who Did Larry Bird Defeat in the NBA Finals? October 9, 2019. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. What is Larry Bird's record in the NBA finals? - Quora Michael Cooper Backs Larry Bird and Blasts JJ Redick, Calling Him a Poor Mans Danny Ainge. The Celtics next opponent was the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that swept them the year earlier. It's an era thing. By: HoopsHype. Click the links to read up on the Finals records of the best players in league history. Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. Bird: "So you're overpaid.". Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . Coming off the back of a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the finals, many people saw Bird taking a step back going into the 1985-86 season. Get to know Larry Bird: Stats, records and more - RSN Bird picked up his first Finals MVP honurs. Philadelphia 76ers 4-3, 1981 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Thanks in main to two close overtime wins, Boston won the series in seven games despite Bird struggling in the deciding game. The Celtics were led by Bird, who won his first MVP award, and was complemented by 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell, first-time all-star and Sixth Man Award winner Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Gerald Henderson and Danny Ainge. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bird's Boston Celtics finished 16-15 in NBA Finals games and 3-2 in NBA Finals series. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. Magic led the team in scoring this time but was still joined by the same stars: Kareem, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. J Erving, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. BIrd averaged 27.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assist per game for the series. It was one of the most dominant playoff runs that we had ever seen in basketball at this time and it was hard to imagine them as anything other than favorites entering that series against the Rockets, a team that they already beat in the championship before. The 86 Celts, in the conversation for the greatest team of all time, defeated Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player of all time, in the first round. The last four games all came down to the last shot, with all the games being decided by two points or less. Larry Bird: College basketball stats, best moments, quotes Not only did he possess the skillset to thrive, but he had more than enough confidence to put any opponent in their place. It brought Bird his third and final NBA Championship. They were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games. The Lakers and the Celtics met again in 1987 where the Lakers won in six games. Larry led the way and averaged 27-14-4 to lead the team to the championship, along with his first Finals MVP. Larry Bird: Biography. Have the Phoenix Suns ever won the NBA title? Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . Some of Johnson's notable performances against Bird: As for some of Bird's notable performances against Johnson: Johnson and Bird played against each other 19 times in the playoffs over the course of three NBA Finals. Trailing in game 4, Kevin McHale clothes lined Kurt Rambis to spark the Cs to victory. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. The 1984 championship series scored high TV ratings.