It was Boston's worst playoff defeat in franchise history to that date. 2 NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986) 3 NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-1986) . Jelani Scott. 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 cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Houston had a tough road to the Finals: they beat the defending champion Lakers featuring both. However, this was not the case. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Bird was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game in the series. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In his career, Larry Bird won three NBA regular season MVP awards. 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. The game after setting an NBA finals record for made threes with eight in game 2 against the Lakers in 2010, Ray Allen . Averaging 30-10-7 with 3 steals. Arrives by Wed, Mar 15 Buy Larry Bird Boston Celtics Autographed Wilson Replica Basketball with "HOF 1998" Inscription - Limited Edition of 133 at Walmart.com I write about games, players and seasons from the past. On May 16, 1985 the off-day between Games 2 and 3 of . In the first two NBA matchups between Bird and Magic . But what is Larry Birds record in the NBA Finals? Another book that demonstrated the competitive drive amongst athletes was, Magic/ Bird written by Eric Simonson. Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, which broke Sam Jones' record set in 1965. The Celtics won the third and final title of the Bird era with a victory over the twin towers of the Houston Rockets. In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup. Larry Bird's NBA Finals record is 3-2. Larry averaged 27.4 points, 14 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in this series. The NBA Finals series was closer than either of the Conference Finals. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Larry Bird stats . He shone as a head coach and executive for the Indiana Pacers; in fact, hes the only man in history to win Rookie of the Year, MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year. Those same Lakers defeated Bird in both his finals losses. I write about games, players and seasons from the past. So lets look at the 1984 NBA season. Noise Group Limited is a UK registered company. Two years after his first finals loss to the Lakers, the re-match was on. It was the same matchup with pretty much the same teams. Remember, Boston selected Larry in the 1978 draft but decided to return to Indiana State for his senior season. Milwaukee Bucks 4-0, 1986 NBA Finals: Celtics def. In 1980, 1982, 1985 and 1988, Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to championships, winning three Finals MVPs along the way. The Pacers got their revenge on the Knicks, winning the eastern conference finals in six games to go up against the Lakers. Larry Bird, the former basketball player for NBA's Boston Celtics, is a true icon in the world of basketball. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Fanatics.com and other companies linked to on this site. Birds great performances in games one and six helped lead the Celtics to the title and Bird claimed his first NBA Championship in 1981. Michael Jordans Prime: The Greatest of All Time, Who has the most rings in the NBA? However, its the only individual award Cedric Maxwell won in his career. This Rockets team still had Robert Reid but now also featured Rodney McCray. The first two meetings of the season between Cleveland and Boston took OT, but the Celtics were able to sneak a 117-113 win at home. While everyone has their own favorite NBA players, its impossible to argue with Larry Birds position in the all-time basketball pantheon. NAME DATE SEASON SERIES TM OPP REC W% MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% PF +/-Magic Johnson: 5/27/1984: 1983-84 . How Many Finals MVPs Does Larry Bird Have? Bostons setbacks didnt end on the basketball court. The Celtics took four games to get by the Bullets in the first round best-of-five series. In his first season as Pacers coach, Indiana finished third in the east, having finished tenth the prior season. Carr revealed that the motto of the 1983-84 Celtics was Dont be denied, and the team ended up winning the championship that no one thought they would win. In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not as bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91F (33C) during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). 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). Tatum and the rest of his team are eager to avenge the loss in the Finals . Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Celtics again saw their Eastern Conference rivals matching up against the Milwaukee Bucks. Larry was no slouch, averaging 15-15-7 in a 4-2 series win. The Celtics had Larry Bird as their centerpiece and posted a record of 67-15, including an NBA record 40 wins at home. Being the reigning MVP, there were big expectations for Bird in the 1984-85 season. Larry averaged 23-13-7 on his way to a four-game sweep. We present them here for purely educational purposes. J Erving, The Sixers swept a weak Indiana Pacers team in round 1 (2-0) then went seven games to defeat a tough Milwaukee Bucks team starring Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson and. I wrote about his underrated defense here. Same ammount of titles, Lebron has more MVP's and FMVP's, played longer etc. Bernard Cardinal Law, Larry Bird and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn. Born in Indiana in 1956, Larry Bird began playing basketball at a young age. This was a fantastic series overall. Larry Birds NBA Finals record is 3-2. Who Did Larry Bird Defeat in the NBA Finals? Join our linker program. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Larry Bird is 6-9. 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. He held this role for five seasons before being offered the Indiana Pacers head coach role. Their rivalry was second to none and saw them meet up in the NBA Finals three times. Maybe you lived through the glory days of the 1980s Celtics but you cant quite remember how Bird got his rings. Join us for a March Madness Webinar on Tuesday, March 7 at 8pm ET. SI examines the rivalry between the basketball hall of famers and how they changed the landscape of the NBA. The Lakers were coached by Pat Riley and also featured defensive ace Michael Cooper, a young. 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. Birds 3 wins came against the Rockets (1981 & 1986) and the Lakers (1984). Magic Johnson had an 11-8 record in the NBA Finals versus Larry Bird in his career. The Celtics entered the next season off a high, cruising into the NBA playoffs and sweeping Cleveland in the opening series. Bird has four siblings' all brothers named Mike . The Houston Rockets were mostly a completely different team from the Moses Malone-led Rockets of the 1981 Finals. Julius Erving, in full Julius Winfield Erving II, byname Doctor J, (born February 22, 1950, Roosevelt, New York, U.S.), American collegiate and professional basketball player who was one of the most colourful and exciting figures in the game during the 1970s and '80s. He was named NBA Head Coach of the Year in 1998. 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. In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. 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. The Cs took game 5 at home behind Larry Birds 34 points and 17 boards. The Cs won games five and six by two points each to reach game 7. Bird was very honest when taking up the role saying he would only coach the team for three years. Answer (1 of 2): Larry Bird has been in the NBA Finals 5 times as a player, all while playing with the Boston Celtics. The Lakers defeated the Celtics in the finals twice, preventing Bird from having any more NBA titles. Bird won three titles with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986, earning Finals MVP honors in the latter two. In 1974, Bird received a scholarship to play basketball at Indiana University but struggled to adapt to the large student population. His performances helped to take the Celtics to 62 wins in the regular season, topping the NBA. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. 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. 1983: Moses Malone: C: The series was not a close one: the Cs took a 3-0 lead before Milwaukee won their second home game to stay alive. Sadly for Bird, the Pacers lost the series in six games. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 when his Celttics defeated the Lakers in seven games. 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. Sadly, after that Finals loss, Bird never made it into another Finals series. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. In his second season with the Celtics, Boston finished first in the East as they had done the previous year. You can read up on all three of Larry Birds incredible championships below. inWest Baden,Indiana 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. The three finals victories are outlined above, but Bird also had two finals losses. In 1985, the Lakers beat the Celtics behind FInals MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jordan scored an all-time playoff record in game 2: 63 points. [2] It was also the last time that a team with home court advantage in the NBA finals played Game 5 on its own floor until 2014. We had Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson on the Celtics. When discussing his legacy with Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press (h/t the Daily Hampshire Gazette), Bird didnt take much time to sing his own praises. Safe to say he absolutely dominated in every facet of the game for that second ring. Though just looking at his record can get a bit confusing. Or maybe youre a younger fan wondering if Bird really deserves his place in the Pantheon of basketball greats. Aside from stats, Larry Bird was a winner, bringing home multiple championship rings during his time with the Celtics. Despite getting swept in the 1983 NBA Finals by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers entered the season among the favorites to win the title. Do you have a blog? 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. His career was cut dramatically short by injury. . In the 198384 season, the Celtics won 62 games to lead the league. Carr. In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 121-103 victory, as Larry Bird scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Only game 3 finished within ten points with the Cs winning 111-107. 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. With a new head coach in KC Jones and plenty of uncertainties, Carr said their motto for the season was Dont be denied. But does that record provide a fair verdict on James' performance in the NBA Finals? The Celtics won the first three games by an average of 6 points before the Hawks got their only win at home. Its surprising that he wasnt able to win at least one more, though three championships nowadays is something that is wildly difficult to do, its no feat to be taken lightly. 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. Game 4 of the 1984 Finals marked the last Finals game to go into overtime until Game 2 of the 1990 NBA Finals. May 12, 2022. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Between the two players, they won eight NBA titles, five Finals MVP awards, six league MVP . (Larry Legend, The Hick from French Lick, Kodak, The Great White Hope), Position: In total, Larry Bird went to five NBA finals in his career. In MVP voting, Bird dominated the competition as he took home his third straight MVP award. Bird and the Celtics lined up against the Los Angeles Lakers who took them to seven games. How Many Championships did Larry Bird win? The Bucks were no match for the Celtics, and this spelled the end of a competitive Bucks team that fizzled out after this season. Milwaukee Bucks 4-1, 1984 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Even from his first season with Indiana State, Birds performances were exceptional. Larry Bird Championships: He Defeated the Best! The Hawks also still had good rebounder Tree Rollis. While the 22111 format remained intact for the remainder of the playoff rounds, the 232 format would be used until 2013. Check out stats on every National Basketball Association Finals MVP winner on ESPN.com. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. The trade signaled a transition period, as some of the key players from the first two championships gave way to younger talent. 0:49. Three seasons later, the Celtics were in the finals again and this time they faced the Los Angeles Lakers and Magic Johnson for the first time. us, College: Philadelphia 76ers 4-3, 1981 NBA Finals: Celtics def. Seriously, check out his Basketball Reference page. Adding one more hall of famer, Bill Walton, put this team over the top. 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.. Larry Bird picked up the 1984 MVP award and led his Celtics to the first seed in the Eastern Conference with a 62-20 overall record. After altering wins with the Lakers, the Celtics won Game 7 and the series with a score of 111102. Instead of battling fatigue and exhaustion from their grueling Semi-Finals series, they went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. It's an era thing. Two superstars, Magic and Larry, and the two most iconic teams in the leagues history, the Lakers and the Celtics. The seeds of the 1984 Finals were first sown five years earlier, during the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. BIrd averaged 27.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assist per game for the series. The Cs turned up the D and Bird was everywhere. However, this changed in the 1979 season when Birds Indiana State qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. 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. After the tournament, both entered the NBA in the 1979-80 season with high . He won his second NBA Finals MVP. 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 Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers in 1983 and the Detroit Pistons snuck by the Lakers in 1989. In 1979, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird faced off for the first time in the NBA. The 1984 championship series scored high TV ratings. The Celtics had hope they could avenge the loss of two years prior. The Celtics snuck past the Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games after the Sixers had taken a 3-1 lead to open the series. In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists, an NBA Finals record. In retirement, though, Larry Legend managed to take things down a notch. The league had changed the Finals homecourt schedule to the 2-3-2 format that year, allowing the team with the lesser record (LA) to host the middle three games. Please check your email for a confirmation. The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time, and the first championship that the Celtics claimed at home since 1966. 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record. When asked about what he remembers most about beating the Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals, Carrs reply was: The final seconds of Game 7. Johnson had the winning record in the regular season and playoffs, and he took down Bird twice in their three Finals showdowns although Johnson having the better team had something to do with that.