larry bird finals record larry bird finals record

The Houston Rockets were mostly a completely different team from the Moses Malone-led Rockets of the 1981 Finals. . Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? What is Larry Birds Record in the NBA Finals? Two superstars, Magic and Larry, and the two most iconic teams in the leagues history, the Lakers and the Celtics. . Both these players were representing teams from their home States, adding extra spice to the whole thing. The Knicks had slipped past a young Detroit Pistons team featuring Kelly Tripucka, Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer in five games in the first round. Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. Stephen Curry is now a career 21-4 (.840) in playoff series. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. In 1987-88, Bird was the first Celtic ever to record a 40-20 game, with a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against Indiana. Larry Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 & 1986, the trophy would go to his teammate Cedric Maxwell in 1981. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. 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. The Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. Bill suffered through injuries for much of his career but appeared in 80 games for the Celtics. Boston's most crucial addition was Dennis Johnson, whom they acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the offseason in hopes of addressing their porous back-court defense. The Celtics took seven games to defeat Bernard Kings Knicks in the conference semifinals. Regular season: PTS, FG, FT, 3P complete all-time. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. While Bird did not have the finals success of a Jordan or Russell, he still had a better record than greats including LeBron and Wilt. Aside from the two stars, the teams were among the most stacked in history. Its pretty easy to forget how many times Bird has been in the NBA Finals with all of the many accolades and unbelievably, but true, stories about him. Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. Julius Erving, in full Julius Winfield Erving II, byname Doctor J, (born February 22, 1950, Roosevelt, New York, U.S.), American collegiate and professional basketball player who was one of the most colourful and exciting figures in the game during the 1970s and '80s. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? BOSTON (AP) June 12, 1984: The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-102 in Game 7 in the first NBA Finals between Boston's Larry Bird and Los Angeles' Magic Johnson . Malone is an underrated player, not as well-known as he should be. Those same Lakers defeated Bird in both his finals losses. The Bucks were led in the series, as they had been in the regular season, by wing Marques Johnson and Hall of Fame guard Sidney Moncrief. This book highlighted the rivalry between Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson throughout their respected basketball careers. home/away, monthly, etc More Larry Bird Basketball Reference pages, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:46PM. 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. In the Celtics 1981 Championship, Bird did not win Finals MVP. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Despite this, Bird did not win any championships during his college career. L.A. went on to blow out the Celtics in Game 3 but the resilient Celtics responded with a 129-125 OT win in Game 4 which was sealed by Carrs steal at the buzzer. Birds third and final NBA championship came in 1986. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Birds college career as a whole was exceptional. Bird averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the series. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. Navigation Toggle NBA. The Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984. In Birds rookie season in the league, he helped lead the Boston Celtics all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bullets featured Jeff Ruland a really good, likely underrated, player who was at his peak. 1983: Moses Malone: C: His first run to the NBA Finals came in his second season, averaging 21-11-5 with 2 steals a game. Another book that demonstrated the competitive drive amongst athletes was, Magic/ Bird written by Eric Simonson. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Knicks were led by the explosive scorer Bernard King, who averaged 29-5-3 in the series. Games. Why did the Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns? Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This series was an eye-opener into how good the Celtics were this season. When asked about what he remembers most about beating the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals, Carrs reply was: The final seconds of Game 7. Larry Joe Bird. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. They did make the playoffs the year after and many thought that they would easily repeat at first. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? The games were close enough but never really in doubt. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: Philadelphia 76ers 4-3, 1981 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. The 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. 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. BIrd averaged 27.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assist per game for the series. As of 2023, Larry Bird's net worth is around $80 million; he has different income sources. They were the thoroughbreds, we were the Clydesdales., It was a very physical series, and thats exactly what we wanted because we knew thats the only way we could beat those guys. Despite home wins in games three and five, the Pacers lost the series in six games, with Shaq and Kobe just being too much for Indianas stars. Bird averaged 24.2 points,10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game in the 1983-84 season. Larry Bird is 6-9. They were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games. The 1984 championship series scored high TV ratings. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games (4 wins, 3 losses) * 1985: Los Angeles Lak. The #1 and #2 seeds were set to face off in the Conference Finals. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . Jordan scored an all-time playoff record in game 2: 63 points. Check out stats on every National Basketball Association Finals MVP winner on ESPN.com. The Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121, thanks to Scott Wedman's game-winning shot from the baseline with 14 ticks left. 0:49. Maybe you lived through the glory days of the 1980s Celtics but you cant quite remember how Bird got his rings. 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. You can't tell the story of the 1980s without Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. Fast forward a couple of seasons and Bird marched his team back into the 1984 postseason. Between 1980 and 1989, there were only two seasons that ended with someone other than Johnson or Bird winning the title. So lets look at the 1984 NBA season. In this first iconic matchup, eight Hall of Famers saw play. Bird won three in a row between 1983 and 1986, whereas Johnson closedthe decade out with a pair ofMVP awards. The first series matched Boston up with the Chicago Bulls. More player info In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. The Celtics next opponent was the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that swept them the year earlier. The series was not a close one: the Cs took a 3-0 lead before Milwaukee won their second home game to stay alive. The teams traded games throughout the series. Former Celtics player M.L. The Lakers took game 1 in Boston and looked like they made take a commanding 2-0 lead when Gerald Henderson stole the ball and the series. Larry Bird went 3-2 in his five NBA Finals appearances. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3, winning by nine points in the deciding Game 7. 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. he guided the Pacers to a 58-24 record, which was the best in franchise history at the time. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage, which continued through 2013. Featuring prime Larry Legend, apex Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. The Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. And, to be clear, he came by it honestly. It was Boston's worst playoff defeat in franchise history to that date. All rights reserved. But it was in 1986 when the Celtics faced the Houston Rockets for the championship when Bird . I write about games, players and seasons from the past. No one thought we could beat the Lakers. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. After . 1979-80 Bird 1980-81 Bird 1981-82 Bird 1982-83 Bird 1983-84 Bird 1984-85 Bird 1985-86 Bird 1986-87 Bird 1987-88 Bird 1988-89 Bird 1989-90 Bird 1990-91 Bird 1991-92 Bird 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 82 82 77 79 79 80 82 74 76 6 75 60 45. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Cedric Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists to win Finals MVP. How Does Larry Birds Finals Record Compare to Other Great NBA Players? 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. Answer (1 of 43): To start by answering the question, I'd say - yes. Or write about sports? This Finals had everything. Answer (1 of 6): Larry Bird (basketball player) was 3-2 in the NBA Finals. These Knicks really were Bernard Kings team. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . Bird did not technically average a triple double for the series because both his rebounds and assists were slightly below 10 and Ive rounded them, but, still, those stats are unreal. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Reflecting back on the series, Magic Johnson said ". During the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings in three, the Dallas Mavericks in five, and the Phoenix Suns in six. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 198384 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. Bird averaged 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the series. Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. The rules shift was a big factor . Better than MJ, LeBron, Kareem, Larry and Magic.If you take out Steph's games with an NBA75 teammate (KD), Steph's Playoff Win% is 48-26 (.649), which is still better than Duncan, Kobe and Larry Bird's with all their NBA75 teammates. It brought Bird his third and final NBA Championship. You can only imagine how fiery this rivalry was, with two consecutive seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals. Since then Bird won a championship in 1981, then Magic led the Lakers to the finals in 1982 and 1983, winning in the former. He was one member of the greatest rivalry in the leagues history between himself and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Magic Johnson. 2022-23 Season Schedule; Hall of Fame. It did not slow Bird down as he won a title the next season with the now legendary 86 Celtics. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. He joined the Celtics a year later. Bird was Finals MVP in the teams victories over the Houston Rockets in 1986 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984. Regardless, Johnson and Bird are widelyregarded as beingtwo of thegreatest players to have ever played the gameand they made for one of the greatest rivalries, one that will never be forgotten. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. Larry Bird won three championships as a player, but did not win any as a coach. Is it tied to championships? . If you were wondering about his career numbers while we wrap this up, he averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. No stats available. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. The Celtics won the series, with Bird getting a triple double in the deciding game six. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. Not only did he possess the skillset to thrive, but he had more than enough confidence to put any opponent in their place. The Cs won games five and six by two points each to reach game 7. 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. Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge in 1984. It was yet again against the Lakers and they split the first two games 1-1. Certain completely unbiased fans, like myself, rank him very highly in that top ten. Atlanta Hawks 4-1, 1986 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. I am fully convinced that anyone under the age of 40 will never admit Larry Bird was a better player than Stephen Curry. Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. The Bucks were no match for the Celtics, and this spelled the end of a competitive Bucks team that fizzled out after this season. Larry pushed the Celtics out of the second round with an easy 4-1 series win over the Atlanta Hawks, led at the time by Dominique Wilkins. Larry Legend also sank 42 of 47 foul shots in the pressure-packed series (89.4 . Featured Image Photo Credit: Adapted from:Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. FlynnbyBoston City Archivesis licensed underCC BY 2.0. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. In 1974, Bird received a scholarship to play basketball at Indiana University but struggled to adapt to the large student population. The Hawks also still had good rebounder Tree Rollis. All the playoff action was documented on the 1984 NBA Season documentary Pride and Passion, narrated by Dick Stockton. If you remember, there was Kevin McHales hit on Kurt Rambis, and there was Larry Bird bumping Michael Cooper out of bounds. Amazing! So as it seems unlikely for Bird to ever coach again, Larry Bird has never won a championship as a coach. Magics Michigan State team won the game 75-64, preventing Bird from winning a title for Indiana State. Peak, Bird was better imo Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. He stayed loyal to the Celtics throughout his entire career and they were the team that reaped the benefits of his five NBA Finals appearances and three NBAchampionships. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. Fans gave Bird a standing ovation when he was introduced. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. The Bucks won a five-game series over the Hawks to start the playoffs and got by Darryl Dawkins and his NJ Nets in round 2. Jordan averaged an insane 43.7 points, 5.7 assists and 6.3 rebounds for this. more information Accept. And, as if that wasnt enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. Bird averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 boards and 7.0 assists for the series. The Cs won a couple home games to start the series then lost a close one on the road. During a mid-1980's game vs. Utah when Bird was torching the Jazz, Larry looked over at . 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. 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. Magic gets the edge because he finished his career stronger, he was able to get/maybe steal from Charles Barkley the 1990 MVP, and he got the Lakers to another finals in 91, after 88 and the injuries Boston was done being any kind of serious contender they never got past the second round again for the rest of Larry Bird's time but if you're talkin Peak vs. In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors, including Magic Johnson's bad pass to Robert Parish late in the fourth quarter, and missing two crucial free throws in OT as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. Carr. Bird retired from the NBA in 1992 and immediately took up an advisory role with the Boston Celtics. His performances helped to take the Celtics to 62 wins in the regular season, topping the NBA. The Pacers had two pretty comfortable series to begin the 1998 post season with wins over the Cavaliers and the Knicks. 1981 was against the Houston Rockets where Cedric Maxwell was the NBA Finals MVP. The kick-off of one of the greatest rivalries of all time. Same ammount of titles, Lebron has more MVP's and FMVP's, played longer etc. Jelani Scott. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. Those other two times? Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. Larry Mangurian announced that he was selling the team because of difficulties with the owners of the Boston Garden. Larry Bird's Celtics made the Finals in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. They easily won their first round series against the Washington Bullets as they were named at that time, then advanced and knocked off the New York Knicks in a seven-game series. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. Birds mother, Georgia, once said that she couldnt fathom he sons NBA salary and, despite his earning power, insisted that she wasnt out buying expensive clothes. Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . This site is a participant in the Impact Affiliate Platform which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Fanatics.com . Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. He has been an NBA champion in 1981, 1984 and 1986 out of which he was the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. Bird picked up his first Finals MVP honurs. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards. The NBA Playoffs saw some change this year, with the tournament expanding to 16-teams and the four-round knockout we see today. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. 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. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series. Birds missed game winner in game four turned out to be vital in the series as the Lakers did not let their 3-1 lead slip, winning the series in six games. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates. It's an era thing. The seeds of the 1984 Finals were first sown five years earlier, during the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.In the final game of the tournament, Larry Bird and his erstwhile unbeaten Indiana State Sycamores lost to Magic Johnson and his Michigan State Spartans by the score of 75-64. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and an oxygen tank was provided to give air to an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. The Celtics won a very close game 3 in Houston to take control of the series with a 3-1 lead. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Bird poured in 39 in game 7 to lead the Cs to 30.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the series. . 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. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics.