Larry Bird Research Paper

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Pages: 5

Larry Bird was the second youngest of six siblings, early on he liked to play basketball. Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana. He grew up in a very small town called French Lick. When he was younger he earned the nickname the ‘Hick from the French Lick.’ His father became very depressed because he could not support his family. His father committed suicide when bird was attending college. Bird went to Spring Valley High School, and played basketball. This was when he knew basketball was his sport. He was so committed to basketball that when their furnace went out, he would go outside and play in the cold night air. Soon enough Bird became one of the best players in the area. Larry set new records for the school’s basketball team. His senior year he went above and beyond. He averaged …show more content…
Larry was the first draft pick signing for $650,000 dollars per year. When the Celtics drafted Bird they had been having a terrible season with losing record of 29-53. After drafting Larry their record improved to 61 wins and only 21 loses. Larry averaged 21.3 points per game with 10.4 rebounds. He also led the team in minutes played with 2,995 minutes. His outstanding performance earned him the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. That year the Celtics made it to the playoffs! They lost to Philadelphia unfortunately, but Larry Bird was the good sign of the franchise comeback. In other words, Boston came out of their lean 70's performance, rising up on Larry Bird’s shoulders. In 1980, the Celtics received a new center from the Golden State Warriors, Robert Parish. Larry Bird worked very well with him and another new player drafted from Minnesota, Kevin Michale. The 1980-1981 seasons watched the Boston Celtics defeat “Dr. J” and the 76er's in the playoffs and then advancing to the finals. This was Larry Bird's first final and the Celtics won defeating the Houston Rockets in six games. Larry Bird's was now a