A man who said he wasn't sure if he would be good at it but came armed with a collection of three championship rings and three Most Valuable Player trophies from Boston. When the Pacers trailed the New York Knicks by 18 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, they bought into his refusal to panic, his confidence, his cockiness. Bird the player never would admit defeat, so neither did the Pacers, rallying to win the game and advancing for the first time to the Finals. They did, and now they do on both benches. In the myth and the hype, as much as the men.
Image is everything.