Larry Bird Biography

Fast Facts

• Left Indiana University and the Hoosiers basketball team a month into his freshman year after being homesick in a big city
• Nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend
• " Won three NBA championships (in 1981, '84 and '86) and was named NBA Finals MVP twice (1984 and '86)
• Voted NBA MVP three seasons in a row, from 1984 to '86
• Retired after helping the United States Olympic team, dubbed the "Dream Team," win a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona
• Coached the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000, leading the Pacers to the 2000 NBA Finals
• Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998
• Named President of Basketball Operations for the Pacers in 2003
• In 2012, became the first person to win NBA MVP, NBA Coach of the Year, and NBA Executive of the Year
• Larry the Bird, Twitter's bird logo, is named after him