larry bird finals record larry bird finals record

Larry Bird was one of the most polished rookies to enter the league and was great for the Celtics right from game one. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . This was a fantastic series overall. Carr stole James Worthy's inbounds pass followed by a dunk to seal the win. 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. Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. 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. Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. Bird won their first meeting in seven games, winning the NBA Finals MVP. The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series: The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden. The first round was a 3-1 victory over the Washington Bullets. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? Larry Birds Celtics lost two NBA Finals. It was yet again against the Lakers and they split the first two games 1-1. 2 NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3 NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) . Larry, to his credit, was phenomenal. Keep reading to learn more about each championship win, the series leading up to the finals, and each Larry Bird championship season. He averaged a career-high 29.9 points that year, falling just five points . 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. 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 . 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. 1956 The Celtics won game 2 at home but lost two games in Philly to fall behind 3-1. As it turned out, Chauncey Billups was right about KG getting in trouble for being too vocal. If you remember, there was Kevin McHales hit on Kurt Rambis, and there was Larry Bird bumping Michael Cooper out of bounds. 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. The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. 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. 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. It went back and forth but the Celtics were able to walk away with a massive victory to seal the series. These Knicks really were Bernard Kings team. 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 Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep by the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous year's finals. 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. Referee Hugh Evans became dehydrated and fainted at one point in the first half. In the first two NBA matchups between Bird and Magic . Birds Celtics also defeated a very different Rockets team in 1981. At the end of the season, Bird was named Coach of the Year. Bird became only the third player in NBA history to win three titles in a row. The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. 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. Should individual honors and scoring records take precedence? The Bulls had swept the Knicks 2-0 in a best-of-three first round. Los Angeles Lakers 4-3, Larry Bird Championship #3: 1986 Boston Celtics, 1986 First Round: Celtics def. [1] The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. The teams traded games throughout the series. Larry Bird could do it all on the basketball court. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Sadly for Bird, Michigan State were just too much for him as the Spartans ran out 75-64 winners. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! 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. He has been an NBA champion in 1981, 1984 and 1986 out of which he was the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. 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. How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. 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. And they werent. Shoots: Unfortunately for the Pacers and Larry Bird, the Lakers were just too much for the Pacers. The Hawks also still had good rebounder Tree Rollis. 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. Larry Bird's Career Record vs. NBA Legends: He Beat Michael Jordan 23 Times, But Magic Johnson Won The Head-To-Head Matchups . May 12, 2022. The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. Coopers. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. FGA, TRB, AST, PF, GS over 99% complete back to 1975-76. . In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA. 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. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. According to Basketball Reference, Johnson and Bird played against each other 18 times in the regular season throughout their careers. Bird only averaged 15 points per game throughout the series but he did drop a series high 27 points in Game 6 to officially send the Rockets packing, as Bird won his first chip. In the Finals, Bird dropped a triple-double on the Rockets in a series-clinching Game 6, giving the Celtics another ring. 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. Get the latest news on Larry Bird, biographical info . What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. The Philidelphia 76ers were led by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins. Or write about sports? Sadly, after that Finals loss, Bird never made it into another Finals series. The games were close enough but never really in doubt. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. The 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell led the team in scoring after saying something like Get on my back boys before the game. Arrives by Wed, Mar 15 Buy Larry Bird Boston Celtics Autographed Wilson Replica Basketball with "HOF 1998" Inscription - Limited Edition of 133 at Walmart.com The Boston Celtics were matched up against the Houston Rockets, led by Hall of Famer Moses Malone. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. Larry is a three time NBA MVP consecutively from 1984-86, which is still a record. He was pre-knee injury at this point and averaged 26 per game in the regular season and 29 per game in this series. Washington Bullets 3-1, 1984 Conference Semis: Celtics def. Larry Bird Reacts to Eastern Conference Finals MVP Trophy Named After Him. 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 . Chicago Bulls 3-0, 1986 Conference Semis: Celtics def. 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. Larry Bird won three NBA championships in his basketball career. Larry Bird of the Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Lakers, Malcolm Emmons and MPS - USA TODAY Sports. Not that there was anything to really worry about for him, it really just added a chip on his shoulder to come back and perform to a high standard. Pretty good matchup between he and MJ. Regular season: PTS, FG, FT, 3P complete all-time. Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. 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. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. In 1986, they failed a third straight NBA Finals meeting (it was later accomplished 31 years later by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors), as the Lakers were eliminated in the Conference Finals by the Houston Rockets. Magic beat Larry in their college showdown, but Bird made sure he got his revenge in 1984. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. The big reason of course for this is Magic Johnson and the Lakers. The rules shift was a big factor . The first two meetings of the season between Cleveland and Boston took OT, but the Celtics were able to sneak a 117-113 win at home. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. They snuck into the playoffs because of a weak Central division. Answer (1 of 43): To start by answering the question, I'd say - yes. Those same Lakers defeated Bird in both his finals losses. 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. The Conference Semifinals was a seven-game series against the Knicks, which ended with Boston winning 4-3. 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. His performances helped to take the Celtics to 62 wins in the regular season, topping the NBA. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for 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. During a mid-1980's game vs. Utah when Bird was torching the Jazz, Larry looked over at . They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. He averaged 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the series. Why did the Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns? As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That went to Birds teammate. 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. 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. 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 seeds of the 1984 Finals were first sown five years earlier, during the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Only the strong survive. Finally, lets discuss the NBA Finals. When discussing his legacy with Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press (h/t the Daily Hampshire Gazette), Bird didnt take much time to sing his own praises. During the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Kansas City Kings in three, the Dallas Mavericks in five, and the Phoenix Suns in six. But what is Larry Birds record in the NBA Finals? 1984: Larry Bird: Boston Celtics: No stats available. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. Bird's 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Answer (1 of 2): Larry Bird has been in the NBA Finals 5 times as a player, all while playing with the Boston Celtics. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. Here are some of Larry Bird's notable career achievements and statistics: Three-time NBA champion (1981, 1984, 1986) . Former Celtics player M.L. But it is also quite possible even probable that Larry Bird cost the Celtics the 1985 NBA championship.". Despite just reaching the finals, Bird stuck to his word and resigned shortly after the finals, taking up the role of Pacers president of basketball operations in 2003. In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Washington Bullets in four, the New York Knicks in seven, and the Milwaukee Bucks in five.