[Bird's basic information]

Full name: Larry Joe Bird

Born: 12/7/56 in West Baden, Ind.

High school: Springs Valley (French Lick, Ind.)

College. Indiana State

Draft: Boston Celtics (1978, 6th)

Height: 6-9

Weight: 220 lbs.

Nickname: Larry Legend

[Individual honors for Bird]

Inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Member (1998)

Inducted into the NBA's All-Time Top 50 Players (1996)

3-time NBA Champion (1981, 1984, 1986)

2-time NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)

3-time NBA Regular Season MVP (1984-86)

1-time NBA Second Team (1990)

3-time NBA Defensive Second Team (1982-84)

NBA Rookie of the Year (1980)

3-time NBA Three-Point Contest Champion (1986-88)

12 All-Star team selections (1980-88, 1990-92)

1-time Olympic basketball champion (1992)

In 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics, from '79-'80 through '91-'92, Bird was perfect in every aspect of his on-court game - -whether as a scorer, a passer, a rebounder, a defender, a team player or a key player. Bird was always so confident, as you know, that the man would waltz up to the opponent's bench before a big game and tell them he was going to score 40 points in the game, and no one dared to take that as a joke. Bird was such a lethal shooter that he used to close his eyes when practicing his three-point shot to get the effect. In Bird's era, perhaps only Magic Johnson did him a little better in passing. Magic is Bird's greatest enemy, but also a lifelong friend, these two superstars in the 80's **** with the staging of the black and white competition has become an indelible classic of the NBA.

Bird is the embodiment of Celtics honor, he is a set of elegance, confidence, hard work in a player, like under pressure to meet the challenge, while helping teammates to do their best. Just like Bob Cousy, Bill Cousins, and the rest of the Celtics. Cousy, Bill Russell, John Kennedy. Russell, John Havlicek and Dave Havlicek. Havlicek and Dave Cowens. Like his predecessors, Bird has a selfless team spirit running through him, and is more concerned with helping his teammates and the team perform at their best than he is with individual glory. And compared to the legendary stars who came before him, Bird is better at mobilizing fans at the Boston Garden and taking control of the game.

The key to the Celtics' rebuild, Bird helped the club emerge from a poor record and a sluggish market in the late 1970s. The team grew to perfection under his leadership,**** winning three NBA championships and 10 Atlantic Division titles. Along with his 3 rings, Bird also collected numerous personal honors. He is the third player ever in the NBA to win three consecutive regular season MVP awards, and the first non-center player to be so honored. He was named to the All-Star team 12 times, was twice the Finals MVP, was named to the NBA's first team nine times and was a four-time league free-throw king.

Bird was a stubborn perfectionist when it came to basketball, something that Boston fans and many followers of orthodox basketball idolized. He had exceptional vision on the court, often making incredible 35ft+ long range shots that fans swooned over as opponents clamped down on their defense.

"Larry Bird changed an entire generation of basketball. Bird changed the tastes and philosophies of an entire generation of basketball fans who appreciated the NBA." When Bird, who won a gold medal in basketball at the Barcelona Olympics with the Dream Team in 1992, had to opt out because of a back injury, league president David. Stern had such high praise for him.

Bird's legacy began in a town called French Lick, where he was born, bordering the corn fields of Indiana, where his entire family lived a simple life.The town of French Lick*** has a population of 2,059, and every time there was a home boys' basketball game at the local Springs Valley High School, the town's majority of the town goes to the games to cheer on a blonde guy named Larry Bird. Byrd, a blonde-haired young man.

Even though Byrd had to miss most of the season due to an ankle injury he suffered as a sophomore at Springs Valley High School, he still became a rising star on everyone's radar. As Springs Valley went 19-2, the young Larry became a minor local celebrity. Although the Byrd family could not yet afford their own automobile, fans in town were happy to give them a ride. In Byrd's graduation year, he set a new school scoring record. When he attended his school's last home game, about 4,000 fans showed up to support him.

Byrd then found adjusting to college life much more difficult, initially choosing Indiana University, a basketball powerhouse with legendary NCAA head coach Bobby Knight, but leaving after just two days. He then returned to his hometown of Northwood Specialized College, but soon left again, and eventually made his way to Indiana State and stayed there until graduation.

Byrd's first home game at Indiana State had a crowd of about 3,100, and just as he had done at Springs Valley High School, Byrd turned the team around on his own. In the first tournament he played after joining the Figs (the name of the Indiana State University basketball team), Larry got amazing numbers of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds per game. As a result of his stellar performance, the team's ticket sales tripled throughout the season, and television stations replaced commercials with Larry's in-game highlights. And many students skipped class early to get in line for tickets.

"Larry Bird Basketball" was the most popular sport in Terre Haute (the city where Indiana State University is located) that year

In his final year of college, Bird led the Figs to invincibility in the NCAA, winning a petulant 33 consecutive games until they met in the championship game. Michigan State's varsity basketball team led by a 6-9 point guard named Magic Johnson. It was one of the most recognizable Final Fours in NCAA history and one of the most watched college basketball games in the 25 years that followed. Although the Figs ultimately lost the Final Four, Byrd won the Naismith Award for College Basketball Player of the Year as well as the John Wooden Award, and he is also the 5th highest scoring player in NCAA history. In the years they had Bird, the Figs produced an impressive 81-13 record.

The Boston Celtics drafted Bird with the sixth overall pick back in 1978, and at the time, they believed Bird was fully equipped to play in the NBA and strongly urged him to forgo his final year of college and go straight to professional basketball. Bird refused, but it was worth it to wait one more year. 77-78 Celtics had a record of 32 wins and 50 losses, the worst since 1949, and the 78-79 season saw the Celtics set a new low of 29 wins and 53 losses as Bird delayed joining the NBA for a year to finish his studies. But with Bird's arrival in Boston in 1979, the greatest turnaround in NBA league history was marked.

The Celtics won exactly 32 more games the following 79-80 season, going 61-21 and regaining the division title. In a total of ***82 games, rookie Bird topped the team in scoring (21 points per game), rebounding (10.4 per game), breakups (143), and minutes played (2,955), while finishing second on the team in assists (4.5 per game) and 3-pointers (58). Bird was named Rookie of the Season and made his first All-Star team despite a stunning performance by Magic Johnson, who entered the NBA the same year and helped the Lakers win a championship.

In the following off-season, the Boston Celtics acquired center Robert Parish and sixth man Kevin McHale in what is considered one of the best value trades in NBA history, and they, along with Bird and Cedric Maxwell, formed a superstar front line that finally brought the Celtics to the 80-81 championship. The Celtics were the first team to win the championship in the 80-81 season. The Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers was an all-time classic, with the Celtics first trailing 1:3, and then on the precipice of a three-set comeback. In the Finals, the Celtics beat Moses Malone's Houston Rockets 4-2. Malone-led Houston Rockets. Bird, in his second year in the NBA, also led the team in scoring (21.2 points per game), rebounding (10.9), blocked shots (161) and minutes played (3,239).

Bird's skills not only drew throngs of fans to the Boston Garden to see him play, they were equally packed when he played on the road. Together with Magic, he saved a previously dismal NBA ball market and helped the league realize its new slogan: The Incredible NBA Show. In just two seasons, fans, coaches, and players know what the name Bird means: big numbers and clutch performances. The focus and composure he exemplified in the game made him hard to beat, and the elite shooting skills he developed from a young age helped him be invincible on offense. No other shooter in that era was as good and consistent as Bird.

Bird was the embodiment of Celtics glory, a player who combined grace, confidence and hard work, and who loved to rise to the challenge of playing under pressure while helping his teammates do their best.

Bird was named to the NBA's second defensive team three consecutive times from the 1981-82 season, even though he looked a little slow and wasn't the best one-on-one defender. But with superb anticipation and jamming made him a good defender. His insight into the game allows him to always act a beat ahead of his opponents.

Bird was voted regular-season MVP three years in a row, starting with the 1983-84 season, the third person in NBA history to win the award after Russell and Chamberlain. In the 1984 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Bird and the Celtics ended up winning the decisive Game Seven. It was also the first time he and the Magic had met in the playoffs since the 1979 NCAA Final Four. Bird scored 34 points in Game 5 to help the Celtics win 121-103, and 20 points and 12 rebounds in the pivotal Game 7 to help his team win 111-102. With averages of 27.4 points and 14 rebounds in seven games, Bird deserved to be the Finals MVP.

In the 1984-85 season, Bird's scoring average reached a new high of 28.7 points per game, the second highest in the league, and the second highest of his entire career. This was the second highest scoring season of Bird's entire career. A personal record of 60 points was set in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. Bird also finished the season second in the league in three-point shooting at 131-of-56 for a 42.7 percent clip. The Celtics ended up going 2-4 against the Lakers in the Finals that year due to injuries to Bird's elbow and finger, but Bird still received his second regular-season MVP trophy at the end of the season.

The following season, the Celtics won their 16th championship in franchise history, and Bird reached the pinnacle of his career. His individual honors during the year included regular-season MVP, Finals MVP, Sports Personality of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. In addition to ranking first in the league in three-point field goal and free throw percentage, he also ranked in the top of all other individual stats. He even traveled to the All-Star Weekend three-point shooting contest to perform a miraculous shooting stunt to get his first three-point shooting contest title. Under Bird's leadership, the Celtics had the best record in franchise history with 67 wins and 15 losses. In the Finals, Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists in a quasi-triple-double performance again to help the team beat the Houston Rockets 4:2, including the crucial sixth game, Bird scored 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, there is no doubt that he became the Finals MVP for the second time.

The 1986-87 season, Bird's performance was equally amazing. He became the first player in NBA history to shoot over 50 percent (actually 52.5 percent) from the field and over 90 percent (actually 91.0 percent) from the free throw line in a single season. And the season after that, he proved in classic Bird fashion that it was no flash in the pan - shooting 52.7% from the field and 91.6% from the free throw line to break another record. Meanwhile, he's maintained his personal numbers of 28+ points + 9+ rebounds + 6+ assists per game over those two seasons.

As we know, Bird was a crafty defensive player, and one of his most famous performances came in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons, when the Celtics trailed by one point, 106-107, with five seconds left in the game and Detroit had the serve. Bird predicted that Thomas's sideline ball to be sent to Ranbir, grabbed the ball before Ranbir shot to break the ball and quickly distributed to teammates Dennis Johnson, by the latter shot whistling ball to turn defeat into victory. The Celtics eventually beat the Pistons in seven games to become Eastern Conference champions and reach their fourth consecutive Finals.

Bird was already a 30-year-old veteran at this point, with mounting back and foot injuries preventing his dream of winning a fourth championship ring. But he still put on superhuman performances from time to time during games.

In the 1987-88 season, Bird became the first player in Celtics history to score 40-plus points and rebound 20-plus in a single game, a 42-point, 20-rebound effort against the Indiana Pacers. His 29.9 scoring average that year was also a career high. During the season, Bird also achieved his feat of winning three consecutive 3-point contests, a record only later reached by Craig Hodges of the Chicago Bulls (1990-92).

In that year's Eastern Conference semifinal against the Atlanta Hawks, Bird and the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins had a classic fourth-quarter scoring duel, with Bird scoring 20 points in the final stanza to give the Celtics the win -- even though he was suffering from severe bronchitis.

Bird played only six games in the 88-89 season because of surgery to remove a heel spur. The following season, Bird made 71 consecutive free throws, the third-highest mark in NBA history. Bird missed another 22 games in the 90-91 season due to back neuralgia, an ailment that ultimately forced Bird to opt for retirement in 1992. In Game 5 of the first round of the 90-91 playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, Bird fell hard in the second quarter resulting in injuries to his face and back. But he returned to the court in the third quarter to help the Celtics eventually win 124-121. Doctors operated on his back after the season, but it didn't seem to do much good.

The 1991-92 season was Bird's last, as he missed a full 37 games with a back injury. In a nationally televised game against the Portland Trail Blazers in March, Bird was Mr. Key -- he scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and scored the Celtics' final nine points, including a game-changing 3-pointer with two seconds left in the game! After two overtimes, Boston ended up winning 152-148. Bird finished the game with 49 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals.

"Whenever Bird is on the floor, miracles are possible." So said Drexler, a superstar on the Portland Trail Blazers, to the Boston Express after the game.

If there was one glaringly cheap mistake in Bird's career, it came in Game 4 of his final playoff season against the Cleveland Cavaliers, when Bird missed a routine overtime layup that led to a 112-114 loss for the Celtics. And the Cleveland Cavaliers ended up eliminating the Celtics by a final score of 4-3. Bird was unable to play in three of the four games the Celtics lost because of a back injury.

It's time for Bird to talk about retirement, but before he does, he has one more wish to fulfill, and that is to join the 1992 U.S. Dream Team that won the gold medal in basketball at the Barcelona Olympics, a perfect ending to his career as a professional player.

When the 1992-93 season began to approach, Bird made the final decision, and on August 18 he officially announced his retirement to the media. In 897 games over 13 seasons, Bird*** scored 21,791 points, 8,974 rebounds, 5,695 assists, and averaged 24.3 rebounds, 10.0 assists, and 6.3 ppg. He shot 49.6 percent from the field and 88.6 percent from the free-throw line for his career.

Bird then chose to work as a management official in the Celtics ballclub, where his duties centered on evaluating players' abilities and performance. In fact, he spent the vast majority of his five years of retirement on Florida golf courses. He sometimes attended business events or made cameo appearances in movies such as Michael Jordan's "The Air Ride". Jordan's "Slam Dunk".

Nevertheless, Bird's life began to get boring because of the lack of competition, and the desire to return to a more challenging role in the NBA grew. When the Celtics bottomed out in the 1996-97 season, Bird had hoped he could be a coaching candidate to reorganize the team. But when the Celtics named Rick Pitino the new team president and head coach, Bird knew he had few options left in Boston and decided to resign and return home to Indiana for another career.

Byrd was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers on May 12, 1997, and even though he had never coached a game before, no one doubted Bird's play-calling talents.

"Everything I think about every day, this guy has it all," Pacers president Donnie Walsh said of Bird. "I want our high school, college and professional basketball careers here to **** together and complement each other, and Bird is such an icon. I have every confidence that he will be a great head coach. "

"He has a mesmerizing charisma, and when he speaks, you are transported into his world without even realizing it. That's a must for a manager."

"I'm still new to this as a coach, but I feel like I'm capable of doing the job well." Bird had this to say to the media "I have enough experience and knowledge about basketball that I will lead the way in doing what is right and necessary to win games."

In Bird's three years as a head coach, he's led his teams to great success. In his first season, the Pacers used Reggie Miller as their primary scoring machine. Miller as the main scoring machine, achieved 58 wins and 24 losses in the team's history of the best regular season record, and all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, the bitter fight seven sets before the final 3:4 defeat Jordan led by the defending champion Chicago Bulls. Bird himself was honored as the NBA's best coach that year. 98-99 season, the Pacers once again reached the Eastern Conference Finals, this time losing to the New York Knicks. 99-2000 season, Bird led the Pacers back to the Eastern Conference Finals, and finally defeated the Knicks in 6 games, avenging the loss. Although the finals against the KO led Los Angeles Lakers, but Bird to the Pacers brought a huge change can be said to be witnessed ****.

After the Finals loss, Bird resigned as head coach, and after a three-year break, Bird came back as president of the Pacers' basketball department. He fired head coach Isaiah Thomas at the start of his tenure. Thomas and replaced him with his assistant Rick Carlisle, who was the Pacers' head coach at the time. He was replaced by Rick Carlisle, who had been the Pacers' assistant when he was head coach. Although the Pacers lost veteran Reggie Miller in 2005, Jermaine Miller has been a key part of the team's success. Although the Pacers lost veteran Reggie Miller in 2005, Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, Stephen F. O'Neal, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Jamal Tinsley and a number of other young stars have become mature, the team in all positions on the strength of not bad, the age structure of the players is also quite reasonable, is recognized as a first-class strong team in the league. With Bird's popularity, he is undoubtedly aiming for only one goal - that is, to lead the team to win the championship, let's wait and see