Boston Celtics - Larry Bird - jersey

This item is rarely offered. A silver/gray Celtics Mitchell & Ness Legend jersey. The item comes with a COA (certificate of authenticity) and a hologram.

Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana, to Georgia and Joe Bird. He grew up in West Baden Springs and the nearby town of French Lick, earning him the nickname "The Hick from French Lick." Bird began his basketball career on the Springs Valley High School team, where he is still known as the most productive player ever to play for Springs Valley High.

In 1974, Bird chose Indiana University, where he joined the team of the famous basketball coach Bobby Knight. However, Bird felt completely out of place there and decided to leave the university after a month, only to return later to college basketball at Indiana State University (ISU) Sycamores.

In 1978, Bird also participated in the NBA draft. He was then selected as the 6th pick by the Boston Celtics. However, Bird decided to stay and play another year for the Sycamores. Despite this, the Celtics retained the exclusive right to recruit him a year later.

In 1979, Larry Bird led his Sycamores to the NCAA championship final, where he lost in one of the most legendary college games ever against Michigan State University, which was then led by Earvin Magic Johnson. A game in which Bird scored 19 points compared to Magic Johnson's 24. To this day, it is claimed that this was the beginning of March Madness, the modern 'craze' surrounding the NCAA championships held in March.

At the end of the 1979 basketball year, Bird was named NCAA Player of the Year, with averages of 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.

After the bitter loss to Michigan State University, Bird decided to make the move to the 'big' boys in the NBA, where he landed with the Boston Celtics thanks to the 1978 draft.

Bird was immediately influential on the Celtics' game due to his extraordinary leadership qualities, court vision, passing, and an incredible jumpshot. He was instantly chosen as Rookie of the Year in 1979, ahead of the very talented Magic Johnson, who also made the jump to the NBA that same year and was the first pick in the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Bird primarily played in the small-forward and power-forward positions.

Bird had averages of 21.3 points per game, 10.4 rebounds per game, and 4.5 assists per game in his rookie year. In 1979, already as a rookie, Bird was selected for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team, an achievement he would replicate for the next 12 years.

Bird, alongside NBA legends like Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, managed to win a total of three NBA championships. Along with Magic Johnson, he led the popularity of NBA basketball, which had been somewhat in the doldrums, to new heights. They achieved this primarily by reviving the long-standing rivalry between Bird's Celtics and Magic's Lakers.

During his NBA career, Larry Bird averaged very impressive 24.3 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, and 6.3 assists per game.

At the 1992 Games, he won the gold medal with the first and most legendary Dream Team.

Bird is still considered one of the greatest players in NBA history and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. In 1996, Bird was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players of the NBA.

This item is shipped insured by default, but you are also welcome to pick it up.