Larry, to his credit, was phenomenal. Who Did Larry Bird Defeat 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. However, the Lakers suffered a key injury when their 3rd leading scorer, Jamaal Wilkes (17 PPG) was ruled out of the finals. Birds third and final NBA championship came in 1986. 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. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird's Celtics made the Finals in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings in round 1, then took six games to get by a fun Denver Nuggets team starring Alex English and Fat Lever. As one of the greatest players to ever step foot in the . He was pre-knee injury at this point and averaged 26 per game in the regular season and 29 per game in this series. The Detroit Pistons took two games off them in the second round but it didnt matter, Bird averaged 28 points per game as they won in six. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. 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 Bucks took them to seven games before they were able to advance and the Pistons took them to seven in the Conference Finals. 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. The Celtics then knocked the 76ers off once again, this time in five games and advanced to the Finals for the second time in as many years. If you remember, there was Kevin McHales hit on Kurt Rambis, and there was Larry Bird bumping Michael Cooper out of bounds. 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record. It did not slow Bird down as he won a title the next season with the now legendary 86 Celtics. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. It brought Bird his third and final NBA Championship. He swept through the Bulls the next year, then beat the Atlanta Hawks in five games, then swept the Bucks. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA. The Eastern Conference Finals were much more difficult. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Erving played forward and was noted for his fast breaks, balletic leaps toward the basket . In other words, he noticed that some . If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. 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. The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. 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. 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 teams traded games throughout the series. So for an entire decade, the NBA Finals included one of the two marquee franchises. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Even from his first season with Indiana State, Birds performances were exceptional. 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. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. Background. In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. In the playoffs, the team went 15-3 en route to winning the championship. In 1987 the Lakers once again beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals. 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. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. In Game 7, the Celtics got 24 points from Cedric Maxwell and 22 from DJ with Bird scoring 20 as they won the game 111-102 and the series for Bostons 15th NBA title. The Bullets were the 8th seed in the East winning only 35 regular season games and finishing last in the Atlantic division. Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. 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. Both times it was to his rival dating back to college: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Which Player has Played in the Most NBA Finals Games? In 1985, the Lakers beat the Celtics behind FInals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I wrote about his underrated defense here. 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. 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. 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. Some of the greats Bird defeated in the playoffs include Moses Malone, Julius Dr. However, this changed in the 1979 season when Birds Indiana State qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, starting with their first . Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . * Larry Bird was injured and missed the playoffs in 1989. 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. He led the Cs to a Conference Finals appearance once or twice in the ensuing years but the team just wasnt nearly as competitive anymore and it was obvious that Larry was getting up there in age. That might seem unbelievable this is coming from a man who famously asked his Three-Point Contest peers who was coming in second but it largely fits within Birds character. Fast forward a couple of seasons and Bird marched his team back into the 1984 postseason. 1984 was against the Los Ange. Among his accomplishments, Bird set the new single-game franchise record for points. December 7, Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. Another book that demonstrated the competitive drive amongst athletes was, Magic/ Bird written by Eric Simonson. More player info Bird averaged 24 points per game as Boston won the series in six to net him his THIRD ring. How Does Larry Birds Finals Record Compare to Other Great NBA Players? What are the abbreviations on the NBA table. The big reason of course for this is Magic Johnson and the Lakers. How to say Basketball in different languages? 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. They lost twice to the same team: the Los Angeles Lakers. 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 number two-seeded Bucks went down in a series sweep, with all five Celtics starters averaging double-digit points. In the Celtics 1981 Championship, Bird did not win Finals MVP. Larry Bird won the NBA Finals MVP two times. But it was in 1986 when the Celtics faced the Houston Rockets for the championship when Bird . Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. Born in Indiana in 1956, Larry Bird began playing basketball at a young age. Birds college career as a whole was exceptional. Pretty good matchup between he and MJ. Larry Bird Stats and news - NBA stats and news on Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics. Traditional Boston won two close ones to start the series before Washington stole game three by 3 points. 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 Rockets fought back to win handily in game 5 at home but the Celtics closed out the series in game 6 in the Boston Garden to take their third title of the Bird era. Right, Born: There were three Larry Bird championships with the Boston Celtics: in 1981, 1984 and 1986. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. 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. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. 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. The Lakers defeated the Celtics in the finals twice, preventing Bird from having any more NBA titles. The Larry Bird Finals Record was first recorded by Bill Simmons in his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Bird finished second in the MVP voting to Malone and was unable to lead the Celtics back to the Conference Finals. The Celtics stayed unbeaten all-time in home Game 7s with a clear cut 111-102 victory. The Celtics won the series, with Bird getting a triple double in the deciding game six. Indiana State University, High School: The Lakers destroyed the Cs in their first home game 137-104 in game 3. 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. Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. Trailing in game 4, Kevin McHale clothes lined Kurt Rambis to spark the Cs to victory. The Boston Celtics won the 1981 NBA Championship in six games giving Larry Bird his first NBA title. 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. In the first two NBA matchups between Bird and Magic . Click the links to read up on the Finals records of the best players in league history. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. It was a tough six game slugfest with the Houston Rockets but Bird and company were just too good. The 86 Celtics are in the conversation for best team ever with Bill Walton joining Bird, Robert Parish and. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. It was clear that the Celtics were mentally exhausted after playing that many games in such a short span, which resulted in the Lakers beating Bird and the Celtics in six quick games. Larry Bird Owns Many Records, But Only One Unique One Bird owns a unique NBA record. . Jayson Tatum passed Celtics legend Larry Bird (1987-88) last night with his 34th 30-point game of the 2022-23 season. Despite good performances from Bird, Magic Johnson outplayed him as the jumbo sized Lakers guard won finals MVP. Bill Walton needed a change of scenery when he was in San Diego and Red Auerbach provided that for him in Boston. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. . Your email address will not be published. Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. Bird also won Finals MVP in 1986 when he scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and had 2.7 steals per game. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Larry Bird Playoffs Game Log. Sadly for Bird, Michigan State were just too much for him as the Spartans ran out 75-64 winners.