Larry Bird

Bird was briefly married to his high school sweetheart, Janet Condra, from 1975 to 1976. The couple had one daughter, Corrie.

In 1989, Bird married Dinah Mattingly. Together, they adopted two children, a son named Conner and a daughter named Mariah.

Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana, and grew up in the nearby town of French Lick. He attended Springs Valley High School, where he emerged as a local sensation and became the school's all-time leading scorer by the time he graduated in 1974.

He initially accepted an athletic scholarship to play for coach Bob Knight at Indiana University. Overwhelmed by the size of the campus, Bird left the university before playing a game and briefly attended Northwood Institute before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

At Indiana State, Bird transformed the Sycamores basketball program into a national contender. In his senior season (1978-1979), he led the team to an undefeated regular season and a 33-1 overall record. The Sycamores reached the 1979 NCAA championship game, where they were defeated by the Michigan State Spartans, led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The contest began a famous rivalry and friendship between Bird and Johnson that defined basketball throughout the 1980s. Bird concluded his collegiate career with the USBWA College Player of the Year, Naismith, and Wooden awards as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history at the time.

The Boston Celtics selected Bird with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, though he opted to remain in college for his senior year before debuting in the 1979-1980 season. Bird sparked an immediate turnaround in Boston, helping the team improve by 32 wins and earning the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Prior to his second season, the Celtics acquired center Robert Parish and drafted forward Kevin McHale, forming one of the most acclaimed frontlines in league history. Alongside Parish and McHale, Bird led Boston to the 1981 NBA championship over the Houston Rockets. The Celtics captured two more titles in 1984 and 1986, reaching the NBA Finals five times during Bird's tenure.

Bird earned 12 All-Star selections and was named NBA Most Valuable Player for three consecutive seasons from 1984 to 1986, becoming the first non-center to accomplish the feat. Known for his court vision, clutch shot-making, and anticipation, he also captured three consecutive Three-Point Contest titles from 1986 through 1988.

In the late 1980s, Bird began battling severe heel and back injuries. He played in only six games during the 1988-1989 season following surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels, and recurring back ailments limited his availability over his final three seasons.

In the summer of 1992, Bird joined the United States Olympic men's basketball team, dubbed the "Dream Team," competing alongside Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. The team cruised to an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

On August 18, 1992, Bird announced his retirement as an active player due to his back condition. He finished his 13-season NBA career with 21,791 points, 8,974 rebounds, and 5,695 assists across 897 regular-season games, while shooting 88.6 percent from the free-throw line. Boston retired his uniform number 33, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.

After spending five years as a special assistant in the Celtics' front office, Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers in May 1997. Despite possessing no prior coaching experience, he guided Indiana to a franchise-record 58-24 mark in his debut season and received the 1997-1998 NBA Coach of the Year award. Bird stepped down following the 1999-2000 season after leading the Pacers to the 2000 NBA Finals.

Bird returned to the franchise in 2003 as president of basketball operations. Under his leadership, the Pacers rebuilt into consistent playoff contenders. He was awarded the NBA Executive of the Year award for the 2011-2012 season, making him the only individual in NBA history to win Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.

Bird stepped down from his front-office post in 2012, returned to the position in 2013, and stepped down again in May 2017 to transition into a scouting and advisory consultant role for the Pacers.