I truly believe there is a big misconception about Larry Bird now a days. I believe that a lot of people think he got the publicity that he got simply because he was white. Larry Bird might have been slow, might not have jumped high, but he was a fundamentally sound, sharp shooting assassin out on the court. To really understand how good Larry Bird was simply think about one thing and that is he took Indiana State to the national title game. Yes I said Indiana State.
Larry Bird guided the Celtics to three NBA champions ships. I was to young to remember the first one, but I remember 1984 and 1986 very well. The 1986 Boston Celtics were one of the greatest NBA teams ever. They pretty much dominated the league that year and at home were unbeatable. They beat a pretty good Houston Rockets team in the finals, that same Houston Rockets team dominated Magic Johnson and the Lakers four games to one.
Larry Bird was much more than just a shooter, the guy could post, rebound, pass, was a very good team defender and great in the clutch. He was a great leader and after his playing days became a very good coach. He averaged for his career 24 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, 6 assist per game, 1.7 steals per game. He played 13 seasons and despite having a bad back that forced his retirement in 1992 he still put up those type of numbers. Thinking back on it all it was amazing. I have a bad back and to think a guy can go out and get 20 points per game, 9.6 rebounds, 6.8 assist with a back that constantly hurts is amazing and it is exactly what Larry Bird did in his last season for the Boston Celtics.
I was a young kid when Bird and the Celtics were winning championships and I didn’t get to appreciate him as much as I should have. Now when I go back and look at those games, look at his stats, you begin to understand just how good he was. You have to give it up to Red Auerbach knew talent when he saw it. It did not matter where you were from, what color you were, Red simply wanted winners and Larry Bird was a winner. Larry Bird is a Boston Celtic Legend and simply one of the greatest NBA players to ever live.