Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since retiring as a player, he has been a mainstay of the Indiana Pacers organization, currently serving as team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA’s most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale. Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He played his entire professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards.
Due to chronic back problems, he retired as a player in 1992. He was a member of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team (“The Dream Team”) that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team[1] in 1996 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame[2] in 1998 (and was inducted again 2010 as a member of the “Dream Team”).
He served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, holding the position until retiring in 2012.[3] After a year away from the position, he announced he would return to the Pacers as president of basketball operations in 2013.[4] In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 club, he is the only person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.[5]
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