Houston Rockets 4-2, Larry Bird Championship #2: 1984 Boston Celtics, 1984 First Round: Celtics def. 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. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. The Bulls had swept the Knicks 2-0 in a best-of-three first round. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. How to say Basketball in different languages? Is it tied to championships? Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Erving played forward and was noted for his fast breaks, balletic leaps toward the basket . The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97F (36C) heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Bird averaged 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the series. One of the ongoing debates within the world of sports centers around how you define greatness. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. Aside from stats, Larry Bird was a winner, bringing home multiple championship rings during his time with the Celtics. Johnson was called "Tragic Johnson" by Celtics fans due to the two crucial errors he committed in Game 4 (the Parish steal, followed by two botched free throws in OT). The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. In 1987 the Lakers once again beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. During that year Lesley Visser, Stockton's wife, became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals for CBS. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. Summary: Larry Bird's Finals Record. 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. 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. Larry Bird was a star. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Birds rookie season in the league, he helped lead the Boston Celtics all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. Boston entered the new decade by winning the 1981 NBA Finals. 9 John Vanak (alternate, replaced Evans), This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:16. Larry Legend also sank 42 of 47 foul shots in the pressure-packed series (89.4 . There's always a mystique about players that played before the 90's because we don't have all the data, stats etc as we have to. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Larry Bird's NBA Finals record is 3-2. Celtics forward Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Lakers and the Celtics met again in 1987 where the Lakers won in six games. In the Celtics 1981 Championship, Bird did not win Finals MVP. Larry Birds Celtics made the Finals in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Larry Birds Finals record is in the lower half of the list of all-time greats below. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. His first run to the NBA Finals came in his second season, averaging 21-11-5 with 2 steals a game. The 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time, and the first championship that the Celtics claimed at home since 1966. He scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out 3.6 assists and had 2.1 steals per game. And they werent. We present them here for purely educational purposes. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action.
How Many Championships did Larry Bird win? - Basketball Noise And, to be clear, he came by it honestly. The Houston Rockets were led by their Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . 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. Celtics Starters: Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. No stats available. In MVP voting, Bird dominated the competition as he took home his third straight MVP award. The Cs won a couple home games to start the series then lost a close one on the road. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . Karl Malone believes LeBrons greatness is there to appreciate, not to hate. So as it seems unlikely for Bird to ever coach again, Larry Bird has never won a championship as a coach. Allen Iverson Jersey Mitchell and Ness: A Complete Guide. He has been an NBA champion in 1981, 1984 and 1986 out of which he was the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. With Kareem ageing, the Celtics hoped that they could win the finals. In the Finals, Bird dropped a triple-double on the Rockets in a series-clinching Game 6, giving the Celtics another ring. Bird won three titles with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two. 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. Larry averaged 27-10-6. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right. The Bucks swept the Nets in the first round then took seven games to get by a tough Sixers squad starring a young. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. It was yet again against the Lakers and they split the first two games 1-1. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. Born in Indiana in 1956, Larry Bird began playing basketball at a young age. Certain completely unbiased fans, like myself, rank him very highly in that top ten. Johnson won 11 of those games, posting averages of 19.4 points, 11.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds in their head-to-head matchups compared to 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game for Bird. He and Chauncey Billups are the only two retired players to win Finals MVP but not to make the Hall of Fame. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. This was a fantastic series overall.
Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Bird was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in the series. In retirement, though, Larry Legend managed to take things down a notch. This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. 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.
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird's rivalry - Sportskeeda Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war.". Larry Bird was one of the most polished rookies to enter the league and was great for the Celtics right from game one. Boston also had to deal with the impending free agency of Kevin McHale and Larry Bird.
Celtics-Lakers Rivalry | Basketball Wiki | Fandom Nobody thought that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in 1984. His first MVP award was in 1984. In terms of individual honors, he won the 1979-80 Rookie of the Year title, claimed three MVP crowns, and earned two NBA Finals MVP nods. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. [2] It was also the last time that a team with home court advantage in the NBA finals played Game 5 on its own floor until 2014. The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. Bill suffered through injuries for much of his career but appeared in 80 games for the Celtics. In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. The Celtics swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Shoots: His accolades are countless, with the former Indiana State man being an NBA legend. This Finals had everything.
Larry Bird Had a Perfectly Understated Response While Discussing His His performances included scoring 60 points against the Hawks which is still a Boston record to this day.
Michael Cooper Explains What Made Larry Bird 'Larger Than Life' - MSN Aside from the two stars, the teams were among the most stacked in history.
Jayson Tatum passed Larry Bird for the most 30 point games As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. Whether he makes an All-Defense team this season remains to be seen, but few wings in the association deserve more recognition than McDaniels this campaign. They quickly swept the Chicago Bulls, then marched down and knocked off the 76ers in a revenge series that wound up going into seven games. Despite excellent performances in his first two seasons, Indiana State had very little success. Chicago Bulls 4-1, 1981 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Celtics blew out Houston in game 5 behind a big effort from Cedric Maxwell and then took a big lead and held on to win in game 6.
Larry Bird Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 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. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) . Larry Bird won three championships as a player, but did not win any as a coach. Simmons says that he got the idea from watching basketball and looking at player statistics. 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. . Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. Thanks for signing up. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Only game 3 finished within ten points with the Cs winning 111-107. Houston had gone 40-42 in the 1980-81 regular season compared to Boston's 62-20 season under second-year Celtics sensation Larry Bird you may have heard of him. His back suffered major issues, as he injured it building on his farm. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. It's an era thing. You have to really understand the circumstances in each Finals run and see how he ended up with the record that he has right now. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. 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. While everyone has their own favorite NBA players, its impossible to argue with Larry Birds position in the all-time basketball pantheon. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. Malone is an underrated player, not as well-known as he should be. 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.
Cedric 'Cornbread' Maxwell speaks out on GOAT, today's NBA, Larry Bird During the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings in three, the Dallas Mavericks in five, and the Phoenix Suns in six. Larry Bird always showed up at the highest level when the Celtics needed him most. Bird retired from the NBA in 1992 and immediately took up an advisory role with the Boston Celtics. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. Who Did Larry Bird Defeat in the NBA Finals? As someone who watched Bird play and has now researched and written more than a half dozen articles about his career, I can help you out. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. Larry Bird stats . Magic led the Lakers to victory at home in game 6, setting the stage for a Boston Garden Game 7. 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. 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. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. It gave Bird his first finals loss in his third appearance. He shone as a head coach and executive for the Indiana Pacers; in fact, hes the only man in history to win Rookie of the Year, MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. Safe to say he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game for that second ring. 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. Im kind of country, she explained. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season.
Larry Bird News, Biography, NBA Records, Stats & Facts - Sportskeeda Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter. Both teams could have easily succeeded in taking the Eastern Conference Finals. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. This book highlighted the rivalry between Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson throughout their respected basketball careers. Two superstars, Magic and Larry, and the two most iconic teams in the leagues history, the Lakers and the Celtics.
Exclusive Q&A with former Charlotte star Cornbread Maxwell | Charlotte The rules shift was a big factor . Instead of battling fatigue and exhaustion from their grueling Semi-Finals series, they went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. Even from his first season with Indiana State, Birds performances were exceptional.
Larry Bird [2023 Update]: Wife, Net worth & Family - Players Bio Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana The first round was a 3-1 victory over the Washington Bullets. 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. 1984: Larry Bird: Boston Celtics: No stats available. As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the . Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Furthermore, Johnson and Bird earned five of the 10 MVP awards handed out during the 1980s. Carr stole James Worthy's inbounds pass followed by a dunk to seal the win. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981.
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