As basketball fans know, Michael Jordan had no problem taking things personally. Whether he was actually insulted or just needed to build some extra motivation, His Airness was always happy to prove someone wrong. While he could have been a little less aggressive outwardly, Larry Bird possessed a similar drive. The Hick From French Lick was always there to prove he was somebody, and you could underestimate him at your peril.
And, like MJ, Larry Legend had a high school snub that served as early motivation on the hardwood. Let’s take a walk in the past.
Larry Bird made the Indiana All-Star team but barely saw the ground
Even in high school, Larry Bird turned out to be a real talent. A basketball coach, however, apparently missed the memo.
“All that barn-side shooting made Bird a high school star. At Springs Valley High, Bird scored 1,125 career points, averaged 30.6 points, and 20.5 rebounds,” recounted Dana Hunsinger Benbow in the Indianapolis Star “He was named an Indiana All-Star.”
When that all-star game arrived, however, things didn’t go as planned for the young forward. Rather than strutting, Bird spent most of the time stapled to the bench. According to Bill Benner, sports columnist for the Indianapolis Star, the coach “didn’t think [Bird] was worth playing.
“I remember Larry being extremely upset,” Benner recalled. “It was another stepping stone for Larry, his endless drive to prove himself, to prove that he was so much more than a small town, a country kid.”
Needless to say, Bird followed suit and became an NBA legend
Although things didn’t follow a straight path after high school — Bird almost gave up basketball in college — things eventually worked out. If the striker wanted to prove he could be someone, he more than exceeded those goals.
In the Association, Bird had an immediate impact. He lifted the struggling Celtics and, in a short time, led the club to a championship. By the time he retired, Larry Legend had brought home two more titles to Boston, earning him a place in the sports-mad city’s history.
And, lest you think the striker was just a member of some talented squad, his stats prove that Bird was leading from the front. In his 13 professional seasons, the forward averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. He also earned regular season MVP honors three times, which is even more impressive considering the talent in the NBA at the time.
It all combined to make Bird one of the biggest names in basketball history. If he wanted to prove he could do anything on his own, he passed this test with flying colors.
“Larry believed in Larry,” Benner explained, “long before anyone else believed in him.”
Statistics provided by Basketball-Reference
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