Cole Tussing12/7/11Period 4

Larry BirdWhat I Know.....

Do you know who Larry Bird is? He was a forward basketball legend. He

was one of the best basketball players the NBA has ever seen. To prove it, the

NBA has decided to put him in the Top 10 Best Basketball Players in the NBA or

TBBPN for short. Being nominated as a TBBPN is a hard and an amazing

accomplishment. Only the best of the best players make it in there. Some

players in there also are Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, and finally Dominque

Wilkins. Larry Bird is 6’9’’ weighing 220 pounds. He played Michael Jordan and

defeated him, 96-84. Mr. Bird played for the Boston Celtics in ‘86 with the jersey

number 33. He led his team to win the championship in 1990, he also won the

MVP award that same season.

Also, Magic Johnson said this about him, “Larry Bird is so good it’s

terrifying!!!” Also, Magic Johnson said this when he was playing Larry Bird in the

NBA championship!! You can tell by that quote said by the Great Magic Johnson,

Larry Bird has got to be amazing. People say he’s a good basketball player but

no one knows how good he is.

What I want to learn....

   

    Through my research later on, I hope I can compare him with other great

basketball players. For example other great basketball players are, Derrick

Rose, John Wall, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and finally Rajon Rondo. Even

though those players I just mentioned are professionals but not as good as Larry

Bird, they still are amazing and skillful basketball players. A few questions I hope

to answer with my research are How did he get his skills? How much and how

often does he practice? What number was he when he played college? Was he

good when he played college? When did he get drafted into the NBA with the

Boston Celtics? Did people start admiring him in college or NBA? What position

did he play in college? There are more and more questions people still are

wondering about The Great Larry Bird.

Biography....

Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956 in Indiana. He was raised in a

little town called French Lick. Surprisingly, Larry Bird learned how to play

basketball at an early age. Mr. Bird attended Springs Valley High School, where

he starred on the school’s basketball team, becoming the school’s all-time

scorer before he graduated!

Since he became the all-time scorer on his basketball team, Larry Bird

had earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Indiana, the team he will

be on for college basketball under the legendary coach, Bob Knight. Larry had to

make a big decision either go to Indiana or wait until another college interests

him. Unfortunately, Bird decided to enroll and go to Indiana State. When it was

his first year playing on Indiana State’s basketball team, Bird led them to the

championship game. They were playing against Michigan State led by there star

player, Magic Johnson. It is the first time these legends played each other, but it

wouldn’t be their last. When it was the end of his first season, Indiana State

finished with a record of 33-1, which means they got 33 wins and only 1 loss.

Larry Bird ended up getting 3 awards in that one season! Those awards are

Player of the Year, Naismith Award, and the Wooden Award. Surprisingly, he

averaged 30.3 points per game.

In 1979, after his college years, Mr. Bird got welcomed by the Boston Celtics

in the number 1 draft pick!! That means, he got chosen first out of the entire

draft!!! He went to the Boston Celtics manager, and got a record of $65,000 a

year!!! After Larry played a few games with the Boston Celtics, the Celtics

became one of the two dominate teams in the NBA!! The other dominant team is

the Los Angeles Lakers, led by their star player, Magic Johnson. In the 1983-84

Finals, Larry Bird faced Magic Johnson. Turns out, Larry Bird had defeated

Magic Johnson yet again, with the score of 111-102. After Larry defeated Magic,

he decided to retire. The players, coaches, and fans were very disappointed.

When he retired, people called him, “The Hick from French Lick.” They called

him this because he grew up in a town called French Lick.

Also, his stats are remarkable. He scored 21,791 points in his career!

On the other hand, Michael Jordan got 32,292 points in his career! He also got

5,695 assists! He got 2,000 and-ones. He has a field goal percentage of .496!

This means that 8,591 of his shots went in. An average player has about 40%.

Finally, he got 755 blocks and 1,556 steals! Unfortunately, he retired in 1992,

which means no more Larry Bird. He retired because he has a wife and two

children he wants to spend more time with. Before NBA he decided to do college

basketball at his college which University of Indiana State. Michael Jordan went

there and played basketball for that college. Then Larry Bird tried out for NBA in

1979, because people and himself believe he is good enough.

How my view has changed....

Before my research, I thought he was just a plain basketball player. I thought

this because I’ve heard rumors that he is just a basketball player. That’s why I

researched him for this project. To find out if he is just a basketball player. Or is

Larry Bird something else? After my research, I figured out who he really is.

Turns out, he was a basketball legend that every basketball players’ goals. The

goals are to be as good as him. My view has changed about him. Before my

view was he is good but not a legend, and that’s what I heard about with the

rumors going around. Hopefully, those rumors will turn around and Larry Bird will

be respected even more than he imagined. If you still think he isn’t a legend than

hear this by Larry Bird, “I would like to see you be better than me!!”