Even though he was impoverished, from a tiny town, had dropped out of college, worked as a construction worker and garbage guy, and had witnessed his father shoot himself, he managed to make it to the NBA, where he went on to win three championships, three MVP awards, and had a free throw percentage of over 90%. He’s simply constructed differently.
Larry Birds Players really departed the NBA as a result of trashtalking, almost took their own lives, and had a general self-examination. On that court, he was a devil in every aspect. King sh*t
He spent his summers mowing his grass and sipping less expensive beer. He was among the most unremarkable NBA players ever.
Just one more amazing moment from Bird. There are moments when I think he doesn’t receive the recognition he merits on all-time lists. I first discovered this fact here, and there are further sources and a video here.
In Boston’s 110-94 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, Larry Bird led the Celtics with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 9 steals. Boston was just one theft away from achieving a quadruple-double.
However, Bird declined to return to the game after getting knocked out in the third quarter, even after being made aware of his potential. He spent 33 minutes in total.
In a 120-115 overtime victory over Atlanta on October 18, 1974, Nate Thurmond of the Chicago Bulls accomplished the only official quadruple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocked shots.
Since steals and blocked shots statistics have only been maintained since 1973, it’s possible that some occurred but were not documented.
The Celtics (44-11), led by Kevin McHale’s 29 points, defeated the Jazz 34-10 in the opening frame and never let Utah get closer than 18 points the rest of the game.
