Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former NBA basketball player, coach, and team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships.
Due to chronic back problems, he retired as a player in 1992. He was a member of the Dream Team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. He served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, and he held that position until 2012. In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 Club, he is the only person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Read more about Larry Bird: Early Life, Collegiate Career, 1979–1981: Immediate Impact, 1982–1987: MVPs, Championships and The Rivalry With Magic Johnson, 1988–1992: Waning Years, NBA Career After Retirement, Legacy, Player Profile, NBA Career Statistics, In Popular Culture
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“Class isn’t something you buy. Look at you. You have a $500 suit on and you’re still a lowlife.”
—Roger Spottiswoode, U.S. screenwriter, Walter Hill, and Larry Gross. Jack Cates (Nick Nolte)
“And the one bird singing alone to his nest,
And the one star over the tower.
I thought of our little quarrels and strife,
And the letter that brought me back my ring;
And it all seem’d then, in the waste of life,”
—“Owen” “Meredith” (1831–1891)