larry bird finals record

They were the thoroughbreds, we were the Clydesdales., It was a very physical series, and thats exactly what we wanted because we knew thats the only way we could beat those guys. Washington Bullets 3-1, 1984 Conference Semis: Celtics def. Known as "Larry Legend," Bird has achieved incredible success in his career, earning multiple awards and holding numerous records. At the macro level, the famous won three titles with the Boston Celtics. Your email address will not be published. In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. Larry Bird is 6-9. The Philidelphia 76ers were led by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins. This was the last of Larrys three straight MVP seasons. Magic led the team in scoring this time but was still joined by the same stars: Kareem, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. Many were expecting another Lakers-Celtics matchup, but it just wasnt in the cards this Finals. Boston had lost the previous two matchups to the Cavs and they were hungry for revenge last night. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. 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. NAME. 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. Larry Birds Celtics lost two 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. 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. 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. His first MVP award was in 1984. He banked in a shot with a minute to go to put the Cs ahead for good and they won 91-90. 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. This series was a rematch of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after their rivalry was revived in 1979 with the Magic JohnsonLarry Bird pair entering the league. Larry Bird's career NBA stats. In MVP voting, Bird dominated the competition as he took home his third straight MVP award. Birds Celtics beat three pretty different teams in their Finals victories despite two of them being the Houston Rockets. The Lakers were coming off a four-game sweep by the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous year's finals. Despite good performances from Bird, Magic Johnson outplayed him as the jumbo sized Lakers guard won finals MVP. 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 . . Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . Sample Searches for learning more about the power and flexibility of Stathead. Funny story about that series, Boston was actually down 3-1 entering Game 5, and Bird ended up dropping 32, 25 and 23 points in each of those games to rally off three straight wins and advance his team to the Finals. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. The Bullets also had rookie Jeff Malone, who was a backup at this point but would go on to be a star, and future Piston Bad Boy Rick Mahorn. Maxwell later claimed he said something like that but not quite so family friendly. And they werent. Amazing! The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. Larry Bird's continuing influence on the game of basketball crossed a new threshold . It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. In other words, he noticed that some . . Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Despite playing for another five seasons after his last title, Bird would retire with three NBA championships. A year later, the Pacers would not have to worry about Michael Jordan as they returned to the playoffs, this time as the second seed in the east. This was Birds last season with Indiana State as he had been drafted by the Celtics in 1978, but chose to play out one final year with his college instead of going straight to the NBA. So lets look at the 1984 NBA season. That's the first time the (80's) Lakers ever encountered that, someone stronger minded. They beat the Rockets twice and the Lakers once to win NBA titles. Of the subsequent finals, Basketbawful writes, "the Lakers played great and the Boston bench sucked. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. As weve mentioned, all these players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Los Angeles Lakers 4-3, Larry Bird Championship #3: 1986 Boston Celtics, 1986 First Round: Celtics def. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Larry Bird beat iconic NBA players on his way to three NBA championships including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon. These performances earned Bird his second MVP award. The Celtics took seven games to defeat Bernard Kings Knicks in the conference semifinals. He was still one to wear what he wanted, enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and, in this case, refuse to hype up his own accomplishments. What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. 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 Larry Bird Finals Record is a statistic of the player who most often wins the NBA Finals. They did make the playoffs the year after and many thought that they would easily repeat at first. He instead enrolled at the smaller Indiana State University. Bird was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in the series. Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson helped define the modern NBA with their individual brilliance and team success in the 1980s. Larry is a three time NBA MVP consecutively from 1984-86, which is still a record. Michael Jordans First Championship: An Epic Run! The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. Home; Tickets; Schedule. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Data Provided By Bird retired from the NBA in 1992 and immediately took up an advisory role with the Boston Celtics. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? SI examines the rivalry between the basketball hall of famers and how they changed the landscape of the NBA. 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. Check out stats on every National Basketball Association Finals MVP winner on ESPN.com. Larry Bird, the former basketball player for NBA's Boston Celtics, is a true icon in the world of basketball. Among his accomplishments, Bird set the new single-game franchise record for points. 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. Find out more. Featuring prime Larry Legend, apex Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists, an NBA Finals record. 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. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. Bird does not have any titles outside of the NBA, despite making the NCAA tournament final in 1979. Former Celtics player M.L. In Birds rookie season in the league, he helped lead the Boston Celtics all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. New York also featured Bill Cartwright and Rory Sparrow. 2 NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3 NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) . It did not slow Bird down as he won a title the next season with the now legendary 86 Celtics. The Celtics won the Finals convincingly 4-2. Answer (1 of 43): To start by answering the question, I'd say - yes. 9 John Vanak (alternate, replaced Evans), This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 23:16. Games. Larry Bird's 1986 Playoff Stats . Navigation Toggle NBA. The Cs closed it out with a lopsided victory in game 5. Hakeem was no slouch, averaging the most points and rebounds in the NBA playoffs. Larry averaged 27-10-6. However, despite sweeping the Bulls in the first round again, they had serious issues the next few. . The Eastern Conference Finals were much more difficult. 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. . Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. 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. According to Basketball Reference, Johnson and Bird played against each other 18 times in the regular season throughout their careers. The Celtics were led by Bird, who won his first MVP award, and was complemented by 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell, first-time all-star and Sixth Man Award winner Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Gerald Henderson and Danny Ainge. The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. inWest Baden,Indiana Why did David Stern Veto the Chris Paul to the Lakers Trade? Take a look below. Larry Bird averaged 23.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 31 games in the NBA Finals in his career. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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. BOSTON (AP) June 12, 1984: The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-102 in Game 7 in the first NBA Finals between Boston's Larry Bird and Los Angeles' Magic Johnson . The East's award is named after Larry Bird and the West's after Magic Johnson. Throughout the season, he showed that he was the reigning MVP and had an excellent statistical season. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . In his first trip to the NBA Finals, Tatum averaged 21.5 points, seven assists and 6.8 rebounds, but the Celtics came up short. 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). Jordan scored an all-time playoff record in game 2: 63 points. They were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games. Bird created a very good team. The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . The Celtics swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Michael Cooper Backs Larry Bird and Blasts JJ Redick, Calling Him a Poor Mans Danny Ainge. Larry Bird won his first NBA Finals MVP. The teams traded games throughout the series. Both times it was to his rival dating back to college: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. 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. Karl Malone believes LeBrons greatness is there to appreciate, not to hate. One of the most exciting 3-0 series in league history, the Celtics made quick work of the up-and-coming Bulls featuring a young Michael Jordan. Thanks for signing up. Bird averaged 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the series. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Erving played forward and was noted for his fast breaks, balletic leaps toward the basket . This was a fantastic series overall. Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Larry Bird in 2023. Houston had gone 40-42 in the 1980-81 regular season compared to Boston's 62-20 season under second-year Celtics sensation Larry Bird you may have heard of him.