There are so many different titles that Bird has. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . I wrote about his underrated defense here. Magic led the Lakers to victory at home in game 6, setting the stage for a Boston Garden Game 7. Only the strong survive. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . home/away, monthly, etc More Larry Bird Basketball Reference pages, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:46PM. We had Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson on the Celtics. That went to Birds teammate. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . he was voted the NBA Finals MVP. And, to be clear, he came by it honestly. All the playoff action was documented on the 1984 NBA Season documentary Pride and Passion, narrated by Dick Stockton. Then came the championship series. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 197980 season with high expectations. Im not a guy that talks about my past because I always look to the future, but you really sit down and look at it, Ive been involved in a lot, its pretty nice, the forward simply explained. Despite this, Bird did not win any championships during his college career. Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA Draft, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1998 (Full List), More Larry Bird pages at Sports Reference. This cost the Lakers valuable depth, as James Worthy, a key contributor off the bench, would now have to start in Wilkes' place. In the Finals, Bird dropped a triple-double on the Rockets in a series-clinching Game 6, giving the Celtics another ring. The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111-102 victory. The Lakers destroyed the Cs in their first home game 137-104 in game 3. 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. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. This Rockets team still had Robert Reid but now also featured Rodney McCray. Tree had famously bit Danny Ainge in a playoff fight three seasons prior. The seeds of the 1984 Finals were first sown five years earlier, during the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. After dispatching MJ, the Cs cruised by Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis. Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games (4 wins, 3 losses) * 1985: Los Angeles Lak. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. Unfortunately, the team was defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in five games and they were sent home. Larry Bird would go after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Dominique was an offensive force, but, unlike MJ, he was not noted for doing much else . Birds Boston Celtics finished 16-15 in NBA Finals games and 3-2 in NBA Finals series. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. 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. J Erving, The Sixers swept a weak Indiana Pacers team in round 1 (2-0) then went seven games to defeat a tough Milwaukee Bucks team starring Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson and. Answer (1 of 43): To start by answering the question, I'd say - yes. 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 were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games. He swept through the Bulls the next year, then beat the Atlanta Hawks in five games, then swept the Bucks. 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. Philadelphia 76ers 4-3, 1981 NBA Finals: Celtics def. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. The Celtics won the first three games by an average of 6 points before the Hawks got their only win at home. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. The first round was a 3-1 victory over the Washington Bullets. (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right. 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. December 7, 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. Now, the explanation. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. More player info 2 NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3 NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) . The game after setting an NBA finals record for made threes with eight in game 2 against the Lakers in 2010, Ray Allen . Birds 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Some of the greats Bird defeated in the playoffs include Moses Malone, Julius Dr. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. New York also featured Bill Cartwright and Rory Sparrow. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? Bird won their first meeting in seven games, winning the NBA Finals MVP. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? While everyone has their own favorite NBA players, its impossible to argue with Larry Birds position in the all-time basketball pantheon. Larry Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 & 1986, the trophy would go to his teammate Cedric Maxwell in 1981. The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. After a tough seven game series in the conference finals against the Sixers, Boston advanced to the finals to face the Rockets. Instead of battling fatigue and exhaustion from their grueling Semi-Finals series, they went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. It was yet again against the Lakers and they split the first two games 1-1. Have the Phoenix Suns ever won the NBA title? Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Michael Cooper Backs Larry Bird and Blasts JJ Redick, Calling Him a Poor Mans Danny Ainge. Traditional 1984: Larry Bird: Boston Celtics: No stats available. Simmons says that he got the idea from watching basketball and looking at player statistics. It's an era thing. This was the last NBA Finals to use the 22111 format until 2014. He finished 1986 with averages of 25-10-7. more information Accept. Chicago Bulls 4-1, 1981 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Bulls had swept the Knicks 2-0 in a best-of-three first round. 1956 Larry averaged 23-13-7 on his way to a four-game sweep. "[3] The teams met again in the 1985 finals, which the Lakers won 42. The Celtics had lost to the Lakers in the finals the previous year, but this time their opposition was the Houston Rockets. Larry Bird, the former basketball player for NBA's Boston Celtics, is a true icon in the world of basketball. But it is also quite possible even probable that Larry Bird cost the Celtics the 1985 NBA championship.". Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge in 1984. . The Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121, thanks to Scott Wedman's game-winning shot from the baseline with 14 ticks left. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. The Lakers drew first blood but Boston evened the series in Game 2. The NBA Playoffs saw some change this year, with the tournament expanding to 16-teams and the four-round knockout we see today. Larry Bird won the NBA Finals MVP two times. At that time, Bird also expressed unhappiness over Mangurians decision to sell the team, and he was one of the players who defended Fitch after they were swept by the Bucks. Isn't 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 7 assists per game one of the coolest statlines for an NBA playoff series ever?A quote from Larry Bird's book "Drive" co. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. During a mid-1980's game vs. Utah when Bird was torching the Jazz, Larry looked over at . From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. This Finals had everything. Carr stole James Worthy's inbounds pass followed by a dunk to seal the win. Larry Joe Bird (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) . They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. The games were reasonably close if the series was not. Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were carrying their teams on the offensive [] 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. Indiana State University, High School: Please check your email for a confirmation. It brought Bird his third and final NBA Championship. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. The 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell led the team in scoring after saying something like Get on my back boys before the game. Hakeem was no slouch, averaging the most points and rebounds in the NBA playoffs. Larry Bird stats . Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. 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. In addition to Nique, the Hawks starred Kevin Willis. Larry led the way and averaged 27-14-4 to lead the team to the championship, along with his first Finals MVP. Larry Bird averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 31 games in the NBA Finals in his career. Bird averaged 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists across the regular season as the Celtics once again topped the eastern conference. How to say Basketball in different languages? As weve mentioned, all these players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. You can read up on all three of Larry Birds incredible championships below. After . Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. 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. The Larry Bird Finals Record was first recorded by Bill Simmons in his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. The Celtics again saw their Eastern Conference rivals matching up against the Milwaukee Bucks. Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. 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. Cedric Maxwell, Larry Birds teammate, was awarded Finals MVP with 18-9-3. This was brought on after Ralph had an altercation with a Boston player in game five. Games. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. Key Names off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Gerald Henderson, Rick Robey and M.L. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. The Houston Rockets were mostly a completely different team from the Moses Malone-led Rockets of the 1981 Finals. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. In other words, he noticed that some . The 1984 NBA Finals was the first championship meeting between old rivals Boston and Los Angeles since 1969. The teams traded games throughout the series. Keep reading to learn more about each championship win, the series leading up to the finals, and each Larry Bird championship season. Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. Larry Bird Net Worth. Amazing! The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. According to Basketball Reference, Johnson and Bird played against each other 18 times in the regular season throughout their careers. Bird averaged 26.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the series. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. The first series matched Boston up with the Chicago Bulls. Bird had a good series in other categories, but did not score at his normal rate. 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. Which player is ultimately better all-time is a different conversationbecause that includes a lot more than their individual matchups. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? Larry Legend also sank 42 of 47 foul shots in the pressure-packed series (89.4 . . 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. Stockton, the play-by-play announcer for the series, was joined by Tom Heinsohn, and the duo would call the next four NBA Finals until 1987. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. Larry Bird is one of the few basketball players in history that are widely recognized even by people who dont even know the sport. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. The Lakers and the Celtics met again in 1987 where the Lakers won in six games. Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. The Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. Larry averaged 27.4 points, 14 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in this series. NAME DATE SEASON SERIES TM OPP REC W% MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% PF +/-Magic Johnson: 5/27/1984: 1983-84 . Throughout the season, he showed that he was the reigning MVP and had an excellent statistical season. 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. Who is the highest paid NBA player in the 2021-2022 Season? The Bullets featured Jeff Ruland a really good, likely underrated, player who was at his peak. 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. Celtics Starters: Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Here are some of the records and historical rankings that Larry Bird achieved at Indiana State: A member of the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club: 2,850 points and 1,247 rebounds Indiana State's all . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge in 1984. In his first trip to the NBA Finals, Tatum averaged 21.5 points, seven assists and 6.8 rebounds, but the Celtics came up short. Larry Birds finals record was 3-2. Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. 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. The trade signaled a transition period, as some of the key players from the first two championships gave way to younger talent. The 86 Celts, in the conversation for the greatest team of all time, defeated Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player of all time, in the first round. Fox believes the Westbrook is the most scrutinized player in the NBA, while also stating that everyone inside the league loves Westbrook, regardless of what the outside perception may be, Arenas believes that the Grizzlies should ignore Morant's actions because every other team would and he's a productive player for them, Tim Hardaway told his favorite Run TMC story involving Don Nelson which resulted to an unforgettable moment for the group. They did make the playoffs the year after and many thought that they would easily repeat at first. The Eastern Conference Finals were much more difficult. One of the most exciting 3-0 series in league history, the Celtics made quick work of the up-and-coming Bulls featuring a young Michael Jordan. Houston had a tough road to the Finals: they beat the defending champion Lakers featuring both. Some of Johnson's notable performances against Bird: As for some of Bird's notable performances against Johnson: Johnson and Bird played against each other 19 times in the playoffs over the course of three NBA Finals. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Cedric Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists to win Finals MVP. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. No one thought we could beat the Lakers. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. He averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game across his three seasons, winning Naismith College Player of the Year in 1979. In the game, the Lakers rallied to cut a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Despite the similarities, the Lakers won the series in six games. The Lakers fell in the Western Conference finals to a new team that sprung up seemingly out of nowhere. The Cs closed it out winning game four by 3 points.