Larry Bird

Larry Bird is a retired professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Bird was offered a basketball scholarship to play for the Indiana Hoosiers in 1974, but dropped out after a month because he could not adjust to the student population. After spending some time in community college, Bird enrolled at Indiana State University in 1975 where he helped them reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history and he helped them to the national championship game in 1979, where they ended up losing. This game started the rivalry between Bird and Magic Johnson that would last through their professional career. The Celtics drafted Bird as the sixth overall pick in the 1978 Draft. Bird was no consulted about his selection with the Celtics. As a rookie, Bird was selected to the All-Star Team and named Rookie of the Year. Bird was part of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team that won the men’s basketball gold medal. Bird played for the Celtics from 1979-1992 and announced his retirement on August 18, 1992. In 1997, Bird accepted the position of coach of the Indiana Pacers where he coached until 2000.