By Lee Strawther
The Sporting Tribune
The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
The state of Indiana knew all about all one Larry Bird well before he rose to stardom in the mid-to-late 70s. Born Larry Joe Bird on December 7, 1956 to humble beginnings in French Lick, Indiana, “the Hick from French Lick” or “Larry Legend,” as he’s been dubbed, is without a doubt one of the greatest players to ever step foot on a basketball court.
He is the only individual in NBA history to earn Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year honors.
Though Bird’s legacy will forever stand on its own, he will also be remembered for his connection with nemesis Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The spicy rivalry began in the NCAA Tournament championship game in 1979 when Bird and his Indiana State Sycamores faced Johnson and the Michigan State Spartans at the Special Events Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The teams battled till the end but an early Sycamores deficit led to the Spartans capturing the title.
That contest attained the highest-ever television rating for a college basketball game during that era, and it had everything to do with the matchup between Bird and Johnson, a rivalry that lasted throughout their professional careers.
“I hate to lose more than I like to win,” Bird once claimed. He and Johnson would feel both emotions many times over competing against each throughout the years.
Following the tournament they would both wind up in that year’s NBA Draft and in just five short years found themselves squaring off on the biggest of stages once again, this time in the NBA Finals. Bird finally got his revenge winning his first NBA title, and the rivalry (and friendship) would continue to expand from there.
Johnson may have summed up his counterpart’s legacy best. “Larry, you only told me one lie,” he was quoted to have said at Bird’s retirement party. “You said there will be another Larry Bird. Larry, there will never, ever be another Larry Bird.“
Early on, Bird used basketball to escape the varying struggles his family was facing. Starring for Springs Valley High School (Class of 1974) the lanky jack-of-all-trades averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds and four assists per game his senior season, leading his team to the state sectional championship.
Bird wore jersey number 33 in high school because his brother Mark had worn it previously. He would keep that number through both his college and professional careers. Today, that number hangs proudly, not only at his high school gym, but also his college and professional home arenas.
Bird’s skills at the prep level earned him a scholarship in 1974 to play collegiately for the Indiana Hoosiers and head coach Bob Knight. Not long after arriving on campus, however, he struggled to adjust to his newer and bigger surroundings and returned home to work and enroll at Northwood Institute close to his hometown in West Baden. The following year he enrolled at Indiana State University in Terre Haute and began a successful three-year career there, which culminated in him helping the Sycamores to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history after posting a perfect 33–0 record.
Though he and his team came up short in that ‘79 title game, Bird locked down numerous awards for his play that year, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.
As a professional, Bird played 13 mesmerizing seasons in Boston, helping the Celtics grab three NBA titles. He was selected NBA Rookie of the Year in 1980, made the All-NBA First Team nine times and was selected as the league’s Most Valuable Player three years running from 1984 to 1986.
He was also named the NBA Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986 and near the end of his career was a proud member of the U.S. Olympic “Dream Team” that participated in the Barcelona Games in 1992.
Bird retired following the Olympics and went on to have a successful coaching career, leading the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals in 2000. He also acted as Pacers President of Basketball Operations and currently serves as a consultant for the team.
He received countless other accolades throughout his career, including being named to both the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team and one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.
“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals,” Bird once said. And accomplish his goals he did… and some.