Regardless, Johnson and Bird are widelyregarded as beingtwo of thegreatest players to have ever played the gameand they made for one of the greatest rivalries, one that will never be forgotten. The 1984 NBA Finals is considered one of the most epic series in league history. A superstar. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? Cedric Maxwell, Larry Birds teammate, was awarded Finals MVP with 18-9-3. 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. The Cs closed it out winning game four by 3 points. The Bucks were led in the series, as they had been in the regular season, by wing Marques Johnson and Hall of Fame guard Sidney Moncrief. Nobody thought that the Celtics would beat the Lakers in 1984. . The Houston Rockets have long been a sneakily dangerous team even when they were losing, dating from when the Rockets faced the Boston Celtics in the 1981 NBA Finals with a losing record. The Pacers had two pretty comfortable series to begin the 1998 post season with wins over the Cavaliers and the Knicks. 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. The NBA unveiled two new postseason awards on Thursday morning: the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP. The Boston Celtics were matched up against the Houston Rockets, led by Hall of Famer Moses Malone. With a new head coach in KC Jones and plenty of uncertainties, Carr said their motto for the season was Dont be denied. Some notable games between the two of them: At least when it comes to how they fared in theirhead-to-head matchups. Now, the explanation. Michael Jordans First Championship: An Epic Run! The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. It must have lit a fire underneath Larry because he didnt let anything get in his way during his sophomore season. Larry Bird is one of the ten greatest players in the history of the NBA. Bird averaged 26.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game for the series. Featured Image Photo Credit: Adapted from:Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. FlynnbyBoston City Archivesis licensed underCC BY 2.0. The Celtics blew out Houston in game 5 behind a big effort from Cedric Maxwell and then took a big lead and held on to win in game 6. 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. FTA complete back to 1948-49. Houston Rockets 4-2, Larry Bird Championship #2: 1984 Boston Celtics, 1984 First Round: Celtics def. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Larry Bird won his first NBA Finals MVP. The Celtics won a very close game 3 in Houston to take control of the series with a 3-1 lead. If you are thinking of buy an NBA jersey then check out the official retailers of the NBA below. The 1984 NBA Finals was the first championship meeting between old rivals Boston and Los Angeles since 1969. All the playoff action was documented on the 1984 NBA Season documentary Pride and Passion, narrated by Dick Stockton. he guided the Pacers to a 58-24 record, which was the best in franchise history at the time. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. The number two-seeded Bucks went down in a series sweep, with all five Celtics starters averaging double-digit points. Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief led the Bucks. These performances earned Bird his second MVP award. Before the season began, the Lakers traded long-time guard Norm Nixon to the San Diego Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Byron Scott. Big Names Off the Bench: Jerry Sichting, Bill Walton and Scott Wedman. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 197980 season with high expectations. Larry Birds finals record was 3-2. Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. Do you have a sports website? 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. Born: December 7, 1956 in West Baden, Indiana us College: Indiana State University High School: Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana His performances included scoring 60 points against the Hawks which is still a Boston record to this day. Larry is a three time NBA MVP consecutively from 1984-86, which is still a record. It brought Bird his third and final NBA Championship. No matter which side of the aisle you find yourself on, though, Larry Bird has you covered. Houston Rockets 4-2, who would briefly play with Bird later in his career, the greatest non-final series in NBA history, Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. Your email address will not be published. The Knicks were led by the explosive scorer Bernard King, who averaged 29-5-3 in the series. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Things werent as cheerful from this point forward for Boston though. 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. 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. Larry Bird then married Dinah Mattingly on September 30, 1989, who he met while studying at the Indiana State University. By: HoopsHype. Larry Bird averaged 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for the series. It's clear the two dominated the decade, but who got the better of who? Having finished second in MVP voting the prior year, Bird dominated the season and the voting. 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. Bird won three titles with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two. Springs Valley in French Lick, Indiana, Draft: (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope) Position: Small Forward and Power Forward Shoots: Right. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. Even when he found fame and fortune, the NBA star never forgot his humble roots. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The next year, the NBA Finals switched to the 2-3-2 format with Game 5 going to the team without home-court advantage, which continued through 2013. 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. 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. 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. Even from his first season with Indiana State, Birds performances were exceptional. Despite excellent performances in his first two seasons, Indiana State had very little success. The Lakers took game 1 in Boston and looked like they made take a commanding 2-0 lead when Gerald Henderson stole the ball and the series. Please check your email for a confirmation. He averaged 27.4 points, 14.0 boards and 3.6 assists per game for the series. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. Then came the championship series. The Celtics had hope they could avenge the loss of two years prior. The rules shift was a big factor . Larry Bird stats . Bird does not have any titles outside of the NBA, despite making the NCAA tournament final in 1979. The Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987 with Bird and Cooper going at it. Birds 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Bird averaged 25.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the series. Michael Cooper Backs Larry Bird and Blasts JJ Redick, Calling Him a Poor Mans Danny Ainge. Its pretty easy to forget how many times Bird has been in the NBA Finals with all of the many accolades and unbelievably, but true, stories about him. Bird averaged 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists across the regular season as the Celtics once again topped the eastern conference. Home; Tickets; Schedule. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Coming off the back of a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the finals, many people saw Bird taking a step back going into the 1985-86 season. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97F (36C) heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for most of this season to a foot injury and they were mostly terrible, finishing 4th in the Central Division. Known as "Larry Legend," Bird has achieved incredible success in his career, earning multiple awards and holding numerous records. In this first iconic matchup, eight Hall of Famers saw play. The game after setting an NBA finals record for made threes with eight in game 2 against the Lakers in 2010, Ray Allen . Larry Birds First NBA Championship 1981. However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. 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. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. He averaged 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game across his three seasons, winning Naismith College Player of the Year in 1979. Birds third and final NBA championship came in 1986. He tied it up with two free throws with 3 minutes to go. In MVP voting, Bird dominated the competition as he took home his third straight MVP award. Do you have a blog? Bird's 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Larry Bird said there were 'obvious' differences between himself and Magic Johnson. Bird picked up his first Finals MVP honurs. Maxwell later claimed he said something like that but not quite so family friendly. The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111-102 victory. 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. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. The Celtics made short work of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning in five games. Traditional Birds mother, Georgia, once said that she couldnt fathom he sons NBA salary and, despite his earning power, insisted that she wasnt out buying expensive clothes. Summary: Larry Bird's Finals Record. The expected CelticsLakers finals, however, never happened. The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. It was also the first of three NBA Finals meetings between the Celtics and Lakers during the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson era. The type of player who didnt even care about stats but always seemed to put up the most absurd statlines ever seen. This was the last NBA Finals to use the 22111 format until 2014. Better than MJ, LeBron, Kareem, Larry and Magic.If you take out Steph's games with an NBA75 teammate (KD), Steph's Playoff Win% is 48-26 (.649), which is still better than Duncan, Kobe and Larry Bird's with all their NBA75 teammates. Larry averaged 27-10-6. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bird found success after hanging up his sneakers. Bird set a career-high with 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks during the 1984-85 season. Finals stats: 19.4 points, 11.7 assists and 7.9 rebounds in 50 games Finals rank: . The Houston Rockets were led by their Twin Towers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Whether he makes an All-Defense team this season remains to be seen, but few wings in the association deserve more recognition than McDaniels this campaign. 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. Bird won two finals against very different Houston Rockets teams and one against the Showtime Lakers featuring Kareem and Magic. Copyright 2023 Sports Nostalgia HQ | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme, By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. 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. more information Accept. 1956 The NBA Finals series was closer than either of the Conference Finals. The first round was a 3-1 victory over the Washington Bullets. Larry Bird | Net Worth, Salary, And Career Earnings The Indiana-born was the highest-paid rookie of the year, with $3.25 million an average of $650,000 a year in a 5-year contract with the Celtics.Bird had played 879 games in his career until his retirement in 1992.. Carr. Celtics Starters: Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford, Larry Bird, Cedric Cornbread Maxwell and Robert Parish. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. Bird won the first Finals meeting between them in 1984 and Johnson won the two others; one in 1985, the other in 1987. 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. Bird scored almost 26 points per game in winning his third-straight MVP award. the Celtics posted a 61-21 record and defeated the Houston Rockets to take the first NBA . From a statistical perspective, he also averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists across his career. The Hawks also still had good rebounder Tree Rollis. In his second season with the Celtics, Boston finished first in the East as they had done the previous year. I have been a Boston sports fan for more than forty years. Bird averaged 27.2 points, 9.6 boards and 7.0 assists for the series. How to say Basketball in different languages? Larry was no slouch, averaging 15-15-7 in a 4-2 series win. The Western Conference Finals also led to one of the greatest game-winners ever. James Posey shared the culture that made the 2008 Boston Celtics experience so unique. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. That NCAA tournament final is one of the most iconic games in college basketball history. Finally, lets discuss the NBA Finals. 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. Johnson and Bird met at the NBA Finals three times in 1984, 1985 and 1987. Larry led the way and averaged 27-14-4 to lead the team to the championship, along with his first Finals MVP. (the Lakers) learned a valuable lesson. He won his second NBA Finals MVP. Larry Bird: Biography. J Erving, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, the Lakers suffered a key injury when their 3rd leading scorer, Jamaal Wilkes (17 PPG) was ruled out of the finals. 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. 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. Bird's Pacers fell in the East finals in '98 and '99, then came up short in the NBA Finals in 2000 against 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 . He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. How many games did Larry Bird field goal miss a season due to injury? Right, Born: Safe to say he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game for that second ring. The Sixers had an incredible roster featuring three Hall of Famers in Julius Dr. Find out more. You have to really understand the circumstances in each Finals run and see how he ended up with the record that he has right now. Who is the highest paid NBA player in the 2021-2022 Season? These Knicks really were Bernard Kings team. 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. By the end of the 1984 season Bird had won his second NBA title, both with the Celtics. The first happened in 1985, a year after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals. All-NBA First-Teamers NOT in the Hall of Fame, Basketball Positions 101: Understanding the Different Roles on the Court, The Best NBA Players to NOT Make the Hall of Fame, The Best All-Defensive Team in NBA History, The All-Time Worst NBA Finals Performances by a Superstar by Position. His individual performance was recognised all across the NBA as he helped Boston to a then record breaking 67-15 regular season record. Take a look below. Isn't 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 7 assists per game one of the coolest statlines for an NBA playoff series ever?A quote from Larry Bird's book "Drive" co. Bird is a universally known NBA legend and is often credited with the NBAs explosion of popularity in the 1980s. It didnt take the Lakers long to learn, but in that series, it was the element of surprise that we needed. Required fields are marked *. Check out stats on every National Basketball Association Finals MVP winner on ESPN.com. Jordan averaged an insane 43.7 points, 5.7 assists and 6.3 rebounds for this. How Does Larry Birds Finals Record Compare to Other Great NBA Players? Head-to-Head Regular Season Stats. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's clothesline take-down of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. The Celtics entered the next season off a high, cruising into the NBA playoffs and sweeping Cleveland in the opening series. Larry Bird starred at Indiana State University before joining the NBA's Boston Celtics in 1979. . The Bucks now featured a young Terry Cummings along with Paul Pressey and Sidney Moncrief. Larry Bird could do it all on the basketball court. Celtics Starters: Gerald Henderson, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish. The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. Both teams could have easily succeeded in taking the Eastern Conference Finals. Johnson evened the series after helping the LA . 1981 was against the Houston Rockets where Cedric Maxwell was the NBA Finals MVP. The Bulls had swept the Knicks 2-0 in a best-of-three first round. Malone is an underrated player, not as well-known as he should be. 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. However, this was not the case. 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. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. All rights reserved. Here are some of the records and historical rankings that Larry Bird achieved at Indiana State: A member of the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club: 2,850 points and 1,247 rebounds Indiana State's all . Bird's 2 Finals losses both came against the Lakers and Magic Johnson , 1985 & 1987. Jelani Scott. The Celtics struggled to slow down finals MVP Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bird struggled compared to his incredibly high standards. 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, "Here Are Some Final Facts on NBA Playoffs", Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_NBA_Finals&oldid=1141615206, 20th century in Los Angeles County, California, Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California, May 1984 sports events in the United States, June 1984 sports events in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, No. Larry Bird reached 5 NBA Finals, wining 3 and losing 2, he played his entire career with the Boston Celtics. 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. Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. . Houston Rockets in 6 games (4 wins, 2 losses) * 1984: Boston Celtics def. The Lakers then inbounded the ball and Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled the clock out during regulation time. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. Stephen Curry is now a career 21-4 (.840) in playoff series. The East's award is named after Larry Bird and the West's after Magic Johnson. No stats available. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . 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 averaged 27-10-7 and led the Celtics with 36 points in a game-five win that saw the Celtics beat the Hawks by 33 points. 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. Which Player has Played in the Most NBA Finals Games? Larry Bird had a winning record in NBA Finals games and series. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. Your email address will not be published. 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 Bucks, coached by Celtics legend Don Nelson, won the Central Division title in 1984. You can only imagine how fiery this rivalry was, with two consecutive seven-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals. Larry Bird was a star. [1] The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. In 1980, 1982, 1985 and 1988, Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to championships, winning three Finals MVPs along the way. 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. Magic led the team in scoring this time but was still joined by the same stars: Kareem, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. During that year Lesley Visser, Stockton's wife, became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals for CBS. The following season, the Celtics did end up losing to the Philadelphia 76ers after winning their first-round series against the Washington Bullets (what a team name!).
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