The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97F (36C) heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. In 1985, the Lakers beat the Celtics behind FInals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 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. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season. Larry Bird is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. All-NBA First-Teamers NOT in the Hall of Fame, Basketball Positions 101: Understanding the Different Roles on the Court, The Best NBA Players to NOT Make the Hall of Fame, The Best All-Defensive Team in NBA History, The All-Time Worst NBA Finals Performances by a Superstar by Position. Answer (1 of 6): Larry Bird (basketball player) was 3-2 in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird is one of the few basketball players in history that are widely recognized even by people who dont even know the sport. Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Draft: The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's clothesline take-down of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Certain completely unbiased fans, like myself, rank him very highly in that top ten. Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. In 1981, 1984 and 1986, it was Bird who led the Boston Celtics to championships, with him taking home two Finals MVP awards. Meanwhile, the Clydesdales, AKA the Celtics, were coming off a season where they went 56-26 and were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in round 2 of the playoffs. As it turned out, Chauncey Billups was right about KG getting in trouble for being too vocal. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. With Kareem ageing, the Celtics hoped that they could win the finals. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! Magics Michigan State team won the game 75-64, preventing Bird from winning a title for Indiana State. Small Forward and Power Forward I am fully convinced that anyone under the age of 40 will never admit Larry Bird was a better player than Stephen Curry. Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. As weve mentioned, all these players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Lakers drew first blood but Boston evened the series in Game 2. 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. It was one of the most dominant playoff runs that we had ever seen in basketball at this time and it was hard to imagine them as anything other than favorites entering that series against the Rockets, a team that they already beat in the championship before. Teaming with players like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Maxwell was an essential player on Boston teams that won NBA championships in both 1981 and 1984. That went to Birds teammate. Navigation Toggle NBA. Ruland, a center, averaged 22 points and 12 boards for the season. Why did the Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns? 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) . The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. 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. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. Thanks in main to two close overtime wins, Boston won the series in seven games despite Bird struggling in the deciding game. Washington Bullets 3-1, 1984 Conference Semis: Celtics def. Carr revealed that the motto of the 1983-84 Celtics was Dont be denied, and the team ended up winning the championship that no one thought they would win. Larry Bird beat iconic NBA players on his way to three NBA championships including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon. J Erving, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Birds Finals record is in the lower half of the list of all-time greats below. Why did David Stern Veto the Chris Paul to the Lakers Trade? Your default site has been set for 7 days, Scoring the rivalry: How Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played in their legendary head-to-head matchups. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Erving played forward and was noted for his fast breaks, balletic leaps toward the basket . Bird averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 boards and 7.0 assists for the series. Larry Bird is one of the ten greatest players in the history of the NBA. 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. The American greatest basketball still worked as a coach and executive in the NBA, which had indeed led him to get over the low . more information Accept. She reported on the Celtics' sideline while Pat O'Brien reported on the Lakers' sideline. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. 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 top 31 players and coaches, In 1981, the Celtics beat a Houston Rockets team featuring, In 1984, Birds Celtics beat the Showtime Lakers featuring, In 1986 the Celtics defeated a pretty different Houston Rockets squad. Bird's 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Referee Hugh Evans became dehydrated and fainted at one point in the first half. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge 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. Only the strong survive. 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. What surprises me more, though, is that former NBA player, 38-year-old JJ Redick, can't admit that the NBA of the 1980s was more physical than the game played today.. Nearly two weeks ago, Redick caused a stir by saying Bird shouldn't be considered . The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. MUMBAI, India Twenty-seven years after Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and the "Dream Team" made the world fall in love with the game of basketball in 1992, India showed its adoration for the Boston Celtics great during the first NBA India Games last week. Two superstars, Magic and Larry, and the two most iconic teams in the leagues history, the Lakers and the Celtics. Please check your email for a confirmation. The Celtics won the Finals convincingly 4-2. The Celtics blew out Houston in game 5 behind a big effort from Cedric Maxwell and then took a big lead and held on to win in game 6. . Larry Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 & 1986, the trophy would go to his teammate Cedric Maxwell in 1981. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. . 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. Larry Bird Owns Many Records, But Only One Unique One Bird owns a unique NBA record. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. Finally, lets discuss the NBA Finals. Who is the highest paid NBA player in the 2021-2022 Season? Learn more and register, International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. However, this changed in the 1979 season when Birds Indiana State qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Shoots: Larry Bird was born on as Larry Joe Bird to parents: Georgia and Claude Joseph "Joe" Bird, a veteran of the Korean War.He attended Springs Valley High School. . Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. Houston Rockets in 6 games (4 wins, 2 losses) * 1984: Boston Celtics def. Bird won three in a row between 1983 and 1986, whereas Johnson closedthe decade out with a pair ofMVP awards. The series was full of things like that., We knew that we had to physically beat them because they had never played that kind of game. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. Atlanta Hawks 4-1, 1986 Eastern Conference Final: Celtics def. The Lakers defeated the Celtics in the finals twice, preventing Bird from having any more NBA titles. Bird scored almost 26 points per game in winning his third-straight MVP award. Larry Joe Bird. Larry averaged 27.4 points, 14 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in this series. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. Regular Season Record: 62-20 (The Celtics tied with 76ers for 1st in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the NBA but the Cs got the #1 seed in a tiebreaker by winning the last game of the season vs the Sixers). Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. Boston entered the new decade by winning the 1981 NBA Finals. The Celtics won game 2 at home but lost two games in Philly to fall behind 3-1. Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 Times, But Magic Johnson Won The Head-To-Head Matchups . In his career, Larry Bird won three NBA regular season MVP awards. Houston Rockets 4-2, who would briefly play with Bird later in his career, the greatest non-final series in NBA history, Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. The Celtics took four games to get by the Bullets in the first round best-of-five series. 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. 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. 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. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. Who Did Larry Bird Defeat in the NBA Finals? In this first iconic matchup, eight Hall of Famers saw play. What Was Michael Jordans Playoff Record? Fans gave Bird a standing ovation when he was introduced. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . Some notable games between the two of them: At least when it comes to how they fared in theirhead-to-head matchups. 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. Despite getting swept in the 1983 NBA Finals by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers entered the season among the favorites to win the title. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. Furthermore, Johnson and Bird earned five of the 10 MVP awards handed out during the 1980s. Fast forward a couple of seasons and Bird marched his team back into the 1984 postseason. Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . You can't tell the story of the 1980s without Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. 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. Cedric Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists to win Finals MVP. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Celtics took seven games to defeat Bernard Kings Knicks in the conference semifinals. Bird's 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson , 1985 & 1987. Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. His back suffered major issues, as he injured it building on his farm. Despite the changes, it did not stop the Lakers from finishing with the best record (5428) in the Western Conference, powered by their one-two punch of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. 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. Im kind of country, she explained. They snuck into the playoffs because of a weak Central division. NAME. A superstar. He made the Finals five times in his thirteen-year career, winning the championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Key Names off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Gerald Henderson, Rick Robey and M.L. The Cs closed it out winning game four by 3 points. He joined the Celtics a year later. Birds 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson, 1985 & 1987. In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists, an NBA Finals record. Indiana took Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. 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. This Finals had everything. The couple has two adopted children named Conner Mariah.. Family. Boston finished with a 62-20 regular season record and got their revenge on the Bucks, whom they beat 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. . They quickly swept the Chicago Bulls, then marched down and knocked off the 76ers in a revenge series that wound up going into seven games. Johnson and Bird met at the NBA Finals three times in 1984, 1985 and 1987. Two-time National Basketball Association champion Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell points to the pillars of the game when it comes to the question, "Who is the greatest NBA player of all time?" "I measure it by those who changed the game," said the former Boston Celtics standout on Sunday afternoon while taking part in the Legends & Stars Sports Expo at Batavia Downs Gaming. Between 1980 and 1989, there were only two seasons that ended with someone other than Johnson or Bird winning the title. One of the ongoing debates within the world of sports centers around how you define greatness. Despite good performances from Bird, Magic Johnson outplayed him as the jumbo sized Lakers guard won finals MVP. More player info In their professional careers, Bird played for the Boston Celtics and Magic played for the Los Angeles . The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. How Many Championships did Larry Bird win? Home; Tickets; Schedule. The games were close enough but never really in doubt. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984. Do you have a blog? What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. The Lakers and the Celtics met again in 1987 where the Lakers won in six games. The top 31 players and coaches, The Bulls featured Reggie Theus and Artis Gilmore (. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. The Cs won in a blowout in game 3 in Houston before Houston tied it up with a tight win in game 4. Pretty good matchup between he and MJ. Join our linker program. Aside from the two stars, the teams were among the most stacked in history. Larry Bird went 3-2 in his five NBA Finals appearances. Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. The Celtics ended up shedding the ghosts of the last season and convincingly won 4-1. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. So for an entire decade, the NBA Finals included one of the two marquee franchises. This was the Celtics' first appearance in The Finals since their 1976 championship winning team against the Phoenix Suns.The Celtics were not quite the same team as five years before, as they added the likes of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, a trio that would come to be known as "The Big Three." M. L. Carr, Cedric Maxwell, and Nate Archibald were also capable players off the . Larry Bird. Larry Bird's 1986 Playoff Stats . Is it tied to championships? (the Lakers) learned a valuable lesson. 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. In the Finals, Bird dropped a triple-double on the Rockets in a series-clinching Game 6, giving the Celtics another ring. The famous forward might not have been the most athletic man ever to hit the hardwood, but that wasnt a problem. inWest Baden,Indiana The following season, the Celtics did end up losing to the Philadelphia 76ers after winning their first-round series against the Washington Bullets (what a team name!). While that body of work would give anyone the right to too their own horn, Larry Legend took a different course of action. Larry Bird (Larry Legend; The Hick from French Lick) Position: Forward 6-9, 220lb (206cm, 99kg) School: Indiana State (Men) Draft: Boston Celtics, 1st round (6th pick, 6th overall), 1978 NBA draft. Larry was no slouch, averaging 15-15-7 in a 4-2 series win. At the macro level, the famous won three titles with the Boston Celtics. Click the links to read up on the Finals records of the best players in league history. Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief led the Bucks. Game 7 at the Boston Garden was one for the ages! Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. This Rockets team still had Robert Reid but now also featured Rodney McCray. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war.". In other words, he noticed that some . Birds 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Johnson won 11 of those games, posting averages of 19.4 points, 11.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds in their head-to-head matchups compared to 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game for Bird. In his last season as the teams head coach, Birds Pacers were the number one seed in the east and were not really tested throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. The games were closer than youd expect for a 1 seed vs 8 seed series. 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. Between the two players, they won eight NBA titles, five Finals MVP awards, six league MVP . Which NBA Team had the Most Hall of Famers for one Season. 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. Larry led the team to a Game 7 victory while averaging 26-13-5, putting up a great stat line of 23-11-5 with 5 steals in the deciding Game 7. Background. Big Names Off the Bench: Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Quinn Buckner, Scott Wedman. The Celtics next opponent was the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that swept them the year earlier. . He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. He was one member of the greatest rivalry in the leagues history between himself and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Magic Johnson. The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time, and the first championship that the Celtics claimed at home since 1966. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. 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. The Celtics again saw their Eastern Conference rivals matching up against the Milwaukee Bucks. As the reigning rookie of the year, Bird led the Celtics to the finals, beginning with a sweep of the Bulls. Hakeem was no slouch, averaging the most points and rebounds in the NBA playoffs. The NBA Playoffs saw some change this year, with the tournament expanding to 16-teams and the four-round knockout we see today. Do you have a sports website? Bird won their first meeting in seven games, winning the NBA Finals MVP. That's the first time the (80's) Lakers ever encountered that, someone stronger minded. His teams overall record in finals games was 16-15. How to say Basketball in different languages? 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. But it was in 1986 when the Celtics faced the Houston Rockets for the championship when Bird . And after watching the Lakers face the Philadelphia 76ers twice during the 1982 and 1983 Finals, they were determined to win in 84. Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. 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 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for most of this season to a foot injury and they were mostly terrible, finishing 4th in the Central Division. 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. Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. 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. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. Malone is an underrated player, not as well-known as he should be. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 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. Larry Bird of the Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Lakers, Malcolm Emmons and MPS - USA TODAY Sports. Former Celtics player M.L. So, for me, being back in the old Boston Garden for Game 7, with twelve seconds left on the clock, and knowing that we were going to be world champions when absolutely no one gave us a chance but usthat is the thing that I remember the most.. 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. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! 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. He was the NBA Finals MVP in 1981, and the .