Dossier · 1980s
Larry Bird
Three straight MVPs, and the most complete offensive mind the game has had.
1979-1992 · Celtics
- MVPs
- 3 straight (1984, 1985, 1986)
- Titles
- 3 (1981, 1984, 1986)
- Career line
- 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists
- Best season
- 29.9 points, 1987-88
- 50-40-90
- 1986-87
- Career high
- 60 points, March 12, 1985
The numbers
Bird won the MVP in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Only he, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry's own contemporaries at the very top have won 3 in a row.
His career line is 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists. That combination, over 13 seasons, belongs to almost nobody.
In 1986-87 he shot 52.5% from the field, 40.0% from 3, and 91.0% from the line. He averaged 28.1 points that season and did not win the MVP.
His best scoring season was 1987-88 at 29.9 points a game. On March 12, 1985 he scored 60 against Atlanta, and the Hawks' bench stood up to applaud the last one.
The context
Bird arrived in 1979 with Magic Johnson, into a league whose Finals had been shown on tape delay the year before. The rivalry is the reason the league became a television property, and both of them knew it while it was happening.
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