The Bucks swept the Nets in the first round then took seven games to get by a tough Sixers squad starring a young. Maybe you lived through the glory days of the 1980s Celtics but you cant quite remember how Bird got his rings. 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, "Here Are Some Final Facts on NBA Playoffs", Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_NBA_Finals&oldid=1141615206, 20th century in Los Angeles County, California, Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California, May 1984 sports events in the United States, June 1984 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, No. Even with Jordan exploding, only game two was close at 135-131. Larry averaged 23-13-7 on his way to a four-game sweep. While he didnt change who he was if anything, the Hick from French Lick was remarkably consistent he had an incredibly low-key take when it came to his own legacy. A superstar. 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. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Not only did he possess the skillset to thrive, but he had more than enough confidence to put any opponent in their place. Known as "Larry Legend," Bird has achieved incredible success in his career, earning multiple awards and holding numerous records. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Larry Bird went 3-2 in his five NBA Finals appearances. Take a look below. Find out more. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. Key Names off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Gerald Henderson, Rick Robey and M.L. 0:00. Coopers. The Philidelphia 76ers were led by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins. What is Larry Birds Record in the NBA Finals? Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. Regular Season Record: 62-20 (The Celtics tied with 76ers for 1st in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the NBA but the Cs got the #1 seed in a tiebreaker by winning the last game of the season vs the Sixers). The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. . If you are interested in Larry Bird Championships, you might be interested in checking out some of these posts I have written about Larry Legend. Sadly, after that Finals loss, Bird never made it into another Finals series. 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. Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. Another book that demonstrated the competitive drive amongst athletes was, Magic/ Bird written by Eric Simonson. 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. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cs were heavily favored and had won 10 straight vs the Rockets, but Houston put up more of a fight than expected. Funny story about that series, Boston was actually down 3-1 entering Game 5, and Bird ended up dropping 32, 25 and 23 points in each of those games to rally off three straight wins and advance his team to the Finals. Featuring prime Larry Legend, apex Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. talent just don't get it. Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. There were three Larry Bird championships with the Boston Celtics: in 1981, 1984 and 1986. The Lakers took an early lead in overtime, but a controversial foul call foul on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, had been his 6th foul, and he was out of the game. 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. us, College: In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? It went back and forth but the Celtics were able to walk away with a massive victory to seal the series. inWest Baden,Indiana Your default site has been set for 7 days, Scoring the rivalry: How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played in their legendary head-to-head matchups. 1956 The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. 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. Despite excellent performances in his first two seasons, Indiana State had very little success. 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 won three titles with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. Of the subsequent finals, Basketbawful writes, "the Lakers played great and the Boston bench sucked. Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA Draft, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 (Full List), More Larry Bird pages at Sports Reference. The 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. In 1987 the Lakers once again beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. 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. There are so many different titles that Bird has. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Bill suffered through injuries for much of his career but appeared in 80 games for the Celtics. Larry Bird won his first NBA Finals MVP. Dominique was an offensive force, but, unlike MJ, he was not noted for doing much else . After dispatching MJ, the Cs cruised by Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. 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. It featured the first time that Larry Bird met Magic Johnson in the NBA Finals, their first head-to-head championship meeting since the 1979 NCAA title game. In his career, Larry Bird won three NBA regular season MVP awards. Instead of battling fatigue and exhaustion from their grueling Semi-Finals series, they went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Draft: The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. Sadly for Bird, the Pacers lost the series in six games. He was pre-knee injury at this point and averaged 26 per game in the regular season and 29 per game in this series. In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not as bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91F (33C) during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). 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 Lakers destroyed the Cs in their first home game 137-104 in game 3. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. Data Provided By What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? In this first iconic matchup, eight Hall of Famers saw play. The Celtics-Lakers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Larry Birds Celtics lost two NBA Finals. Bird's 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson , 1985 & 1987. Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. Then head coach Bill Fitch resigned as head coach despite having the second-best coaching record in the NBA during his four-year stint in Boston. This was Birds last finals appearance, meaning that he went to five NBA finals overall, winning 3. However, the Lakers suffered a key injury when their 3rd leading scorer, Jamaal Wilkes (17 PPG) was ruled out of the finals. Below you can see the playoff results for all of Birds Celtics teams. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. We had Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson on the Celtics. Between the two players, they won eight NBA titles, five Finals MVP awards, six league MVP . James Posey shared the culture that made the 2008 Boston Celtics experience so unique. Teaming with players like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Maxwell was an essential player on Boston teams that won NBA championships in both 1981 and 1984. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. The Cs won a couple home games to start the series then lost a close one on the road. In addition to Nique, the Hawks starred Kevin Willis. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. The Houston Rockets were led by their Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Bird's 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Los Angeles Lakers 4-3, Larry Bird Championship #3: 1986 Boston Celtics, 1986 First Round: Celtics def. Birds third and final NBA championship came in 1986. In his last season as the teams head coach, Birds Pacers were the number one seed in the east and were not really tested throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. The Sixers took an 89-82 lead with five+ minutes to go. All rights reserved. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] 2022-23 Season Schedule; In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. He averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 . This series was a rematch of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic JohnsonLarry Bird pair entering the league. Some of the greats Bird defeated in the playoffs include Moses Malone, Julius Dr.

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