Larry Bird

**Larry Joe Bird** (born December 7, 1956) is an American retired NBA basketball player. He won three NBA championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986 with the Boston Celtics. He has also won the NBA MVP award three times, in 1984, 1985, and 1986 as a Celtic. He played college basketball at Indiana State University where he developed a rivalry and friendship with Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson when he faced him in the 1979 NCAA national championship game and three NBA championship series (1984, 1985 and 1987). He has been described as one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooters of all time.  Bird was nicknamed **Larry Legend** and **The Hick from French Lick**, after his hometown in Indiana.  He was also called **Kodak** by his first NBA coach, Bill Fitch, because Bird could form pictures in his head of the plays on the basketball court. Finally, he was nicknamed **The Great White Hope**.

In 1992, Bird was a member of the United States men's national basketball team. The team was one of the most famous teams in US Olympic history, known as "The Dream Team." The team captured the gold medal after going undefeated.

In 1997, Bird became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. He was also President of the Pacers (2000-2012, 2013-2017).

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

He was also inducted into the American Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. The induction ceremony was held on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

## Infobox (basketball biography)

- **name**: Larry Bird
- **image**: Larrybird.jpg
- **caption**: Bird in 2004
- **height ft**: 6
- **height in**: 10
- **weight lb**: 220
- **birth place**: West Baden Springs, Indiana
- **nationality**: American
- **high school**: Springs Valley High School, Springs Valley
(French Lick, Indiana)
- **college**: Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball, Indiana State (1976–1979)
- **draft year**: 1978
- **draft round**: 1
- **draft pick**: 6
- **draft team**: Boston Celtics
- **career start**: 1979
- **career end**: 1992
- **career position**: Small forward / Power forward (basketball), Power forward
- **career number**: 33
- **coach start**: 1997
- **coach end**: 2000
- **years1**: –
- **team1**: Boston Celtics
- **cyears1**: –
- **cteam1**: Indiana Pacers
- **highlights**: **As player:**
* 3× NBA champion (, , )
* 2× Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Finals MVP (, )
* 3× NBA Most Valuable Player Award, NBA Most Valuable Player (–)
* 12× NBA All-Star (–, –)
* NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, NBA All-Star Game MVP ()
* 9× All-NBA First Team (–)
* All-NBA Second Team ()
* 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (–)
* NBA Rookie of the Year Award, NBA Rookie of the Year ()
*NBA All-Rookie Team ()
* 3× NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout, NBA 3-Point Shootout champion (–)
* 2× 50–40–90 club (, )
* Associated Press Athlete of the Year, AP Athlete of the Year (1986)
* No. 33 List of Boston Celtics accomplishments and records#Retired numbers, retired by Boston Celtics
* NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
* List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards, National college player of the year (1979)
* 2× Consensus first-team NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American (1978 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, 1978, 1979 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, 1979)
* Third-team All-American – National Association of Basketball Coaches, NABC, United Press International, UPI (1977 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, 1977)
* 2× Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, MVC Player of the Year (1978, 1979)
* No. 33 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball#Retired numbers, retired by Indiana State Sycamores
**As coach:**
* NBA Coach of the year Award, NBA Coach of the Year ()
* NBA All-Star Game head coach (1998 NBA All-Star Game, 1998)
**As executive:**
* NBA Executive of the Year Award, NBA Executive of the Year ()
- **stats league**: NBA
- **stat1label**: Point (basketball), Points
- **stat1value**: 21,791 (24.3 ppg)
- **stat2label**: Rebound (basketball), Rebounds
- **stat2value**: 8,974 (10.0 rpg)
- **stat3label**: Assist (basketball), Assists
- **stat3value**: 5,695 (6.3 apg)
- **bbr**: birdla01
- **hof player**: larry-bird
- **cbbaskhof year**: 2006