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. Its surprising that he wasnt able to win at least one more, though three championships nowadays is something that is wildly difficult to do, its no feat to be taken lightly. The Celtics won the Finals in six games to cap off a season that . It seemed like it should be an easy series for the Celtics, with game one and two victories by double digits, but the Knicks home crowd helped their team to win all their series home games. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. 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. Larry Bird won three championships as a player, but did not win any as a coach. Finals stats: 19.4 points, 11.7 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 50 games Finals rank: . Answer (1 of 6): Larry Bird (basketball player) was 3-2 in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird is one of the ten greatest players in the history of the NBA. Bird was very honest when taking up the role saying he would only coach the team for three years. The Celtics then took the series lead for the first time by winning Game 5 but the thoroughbred Lakers sent the series to a Game 7 with their own double-digit win. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. Coming off the back of a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the finals, many people saw Bird taking a step back going into the 1985-86 season. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards. However, this changed in the 1979 season when Birds Indiana State qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. Sadly, after that Finals loss, Bird never made it into another Finals series. The Celtics entered the next season off a high, cruising into the NBA playoffs and sweeping Cleveland in the opening series. 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. Hey, it's enough to make Allen Iverson burn his Celtics throwbacks. Bill Walton needed a change of scenery when he was in San Diego and Red Auerbach provided that for him in Boston. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . 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 7564. Larry Bird Championship #1: 1981 Boston Celtics, 1981 Conference Semis: Celtics def. Houston lost a close game 1 then won a tight game 2 in Boston. In the Western Conference Finals the Rockets handled the defending champion Lakers in five games. Larry Bird Reacts to Eastern Conference Finals MVP Trophy Named After Him. 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). Larry, to his credit, was phenomenal. 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 series was not a close one: the Cs took a 3-0 lead before Milwaukee won their second home game to stay alive. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. BIrd averaged 27.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assist per game for the series. Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . The Celtics got the better of their Showtime Lakers rivales in a heated seven game series to claim the 1984 NBA Title. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. Big Names Off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Quinn Buckner, Scott Wedman. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. Only the strong survive. As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the . We had Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson on the Celtics. It gave Bird his first finals loss in his third appearance. 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. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. That NCAA tournament final is one of the most iconic games in college basketball history. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? Dominique was an offensive force, but, unlike MJ, he was not noted for doing much else . At the risk of boring you with a list of his all-time accomplishments, well run through an abbreviated version of Birds body of work. The teams traded games throughout the series. After that the series was all Lakers, they won four of the next five games to end the series in six and hand Larry his first Finals loss. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. . The Lakers were indeed the thoroughbreds that year. Larry averaged 27-10-7 and led the Celtics with 36 points in a game-five win that saw the Celtics beat the Hawks by 33 points. Summary: Larry Bird's Finals Record. The Hawks also still had good rebounder Tree Rollis. His career was cut dramatically short by injury. Bird's Boston Celtics won the NBA championship three times during his career (1981 and '86 vs. the Houston Rockets, '84 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers), and Bird won Finals MVP in '84 and '86. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. He banked in a shot with a minute to go to put the Cs ahead for good and they won 91-90. He worked the first half, but was replaced by John Vanak for the second half. 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 . The Bulls had swept the Knicks 2-0 in a best-of-three first round. The Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings in round 1, then took six games to get by a fun Denver Nuggets team starring Alex English and Fat Lever. It featured the first time that Larry Bird met Magic Johnson in the NBA Finals, their first head-to-head championship meeting since the 1979 NCAA title game. One of the ongoing debates within the world of sports centers around how you define greatness. 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 Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Even with Jordan exploding, only game two was close at 135-131. Carr. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. 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. The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3, winning by nine points in the deciding Game 7. Nevertheless, it is rare to see a player dominate in so many areas of the game, theres no wonder why the Celtics made multiple deep playoff runs. Im kind of country, she explained. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Bird outscored Dr. J 26.7 to 19.9 ppg in the series, led all players in rebounds and was second on Boston in assists. The Bullets were the 8th seed in the East winning only 35 regular season games and finishing last in the Atlantic division. As weve mentioned, all these players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. 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. The Celtics won the series, with Bird getting a triple double in the deciding game six. Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. The Conference Semifinals was a seven-game series against the Knicks, which ended with Boston winning 4-3. This included a Game six victory where a hostile Boston crowd booed Ralph Sampson, sapping his confidence to the point he only had 8 points on 3-12 shooting. The Lakers fell in the Western Conference finals to a new team that sprung up seemingly out of nowhere. more information Accept. In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Former Celtics player M.L. In the 198384 season, the Celtics won 62 games to lead the league. Of the subsequent finals, Basketbawful writes, "the Lakers played great and the Boston bench sucked. Birds third and final NBA championship came in 1986. The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. 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. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. 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. He was one member of the greatest rivalry in the leagues history between himself and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Magic Johnson. 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. The Celtics then knocked the 76ers off once again, this time in five games and advanced to the Finals for the second time in as many years. Among his accomplishments, Bird set the new single-game franchise record for points. 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. The following year, the NBA Finals format was changed to 232 after Red Auerbach complained about the constant travelling during the Finals. Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) . No one thought we could beat the Lakers. Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. 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. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not as bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91F (33C) during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). Larry averaged 23-13-7 on his way to a four-game sweep. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Why did David Stern Veto the Chris Paul to the Lakers Trade? In 1974, Bird received a scholarship to play basketball at Indiana University but struggled to adapt to the large student population. 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. This was brought on after Ralph had an altercation with a Boston player in game five. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season. In the Celtics 1981 Championship, Bird did not win Finals MVP. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. With Kareem ageing, the Celtics hoped that they could win the finals. . The first series matched Boston up with the Chicago Bulls. The Boston Celtics won the 1981 NBA Championship in six games giving Larry Bird his first NBA title. Bird averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 boards and 7.0 assists for the series. Bird averaged 24.2 points,10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game in the 1983-84 season. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? 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. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . The Celtics won the first three games by an average of 6 points before the Hawks got their only win at home. 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. Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. However, despite sweeping the Bulls in the first round again, they had serious issues the next few. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. Hall of Fame. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. The Celtics ended the series shooting 52% from the field while holding the Bucks to 44% shooting. Birds 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup. I wrote about his underrated defense here. She reported on the Celtics' sideline while Pat O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline. 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 won his first NBA Finals MVP. While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. The game after setting an NBA finals record for made threes with eight in game 2 against the Lakers in 2010, Ray Allen . Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Your email address will not be published. Despite the similarities, the Lakers won the series in six games. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. A superstar. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. SI examines the rivalry between the basketball hall of famers and how they changed the landscape of the NBA. That went to Birds teammate. The 86 Celtics are in the conversation for best team ever with Bill Walton joining Bird, Robert Parish and. With a new head coach in KC Jones and plenty of uncertainties, Carr said their motto for the season was Dont be denied. The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. After altering wins with the Lakers, the Celtics won Game 7 and the series with a score of 111102. Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. Being the reigning MVP, there were big expectations for Bird in the 1984-85 season. Fitch went on to say that Mangurians decision to sell the team was the backbreaker and that he would have reconsidered his resignation had the team not been put up for sale. The first round was a 3-1 victory over the Washington Bullets. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. . He tied it up with two free throws with 3 minutes to go. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Which Player has Played in the Most NBA Finals Games? He scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out 3.6 assists and had 2.1 steals per game. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. Larry Birds Finals record is in the lower half of the list of all-time greats below. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. 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. Despite a back injury in the 1985 offseason, Bird averaged 25.8 points, 9.8 rebound and 6.8 assists per game and for the third straight season, the Celtics finished top of the Eastern Conference. Larry Joe Bird. Larry Bird Net Worth. All three broke into laughter, led by Russell's infamous cackle. Bird won three in a row between 1983 and 1986, whereas Johnson closedthe decade out with a pair ofMVP awards. 6-9 , 220lb (206cm, 99kg) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info. Larry Bird averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 31 games in the NBA Finals in his career. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Larry Bird starred at Indiana State University before joining the NBA's Boston Celtics in 1979. . Finally, lets discuss the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals series was closer than either of the Conference Finals. In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA.