In the 1980s, Larry Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson helped the NBA and the Boston Celtics become what they are today. Though Bird was one of the key figures in the Celtics for a full ten years, other Celtics icons said they would side with the man formerly known as “Hondo.”
During his 16 seasons with the Celtics, John Havlicek cemented himself as a franchise legend, acting as a link for the team between Bill Russell and the Hick from French Lick. Although Havlicek is not as well-known as Bird, coaches and former teammates have said they would much rather develop around Hondo.
Following in John Havlicek’s footsteps, Larry Bird became the next great Celtics star.
The Boston Celtics have gone through several icons in the course of nearly thirty years. John Havlicek established himself as the leading Celtics player in the 1970s before Larry Bird assumed the role in the 1980s.
When Havlicek joined the NBA in 1962, K.C. Jones, Bob Cousy, and Bill Russell were already on the team. In seven seasons, he led the Celtics to six titles. As an outstanding player in his own right, Hondo gave Boston supporters memorable moments like the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 theft of Hal Greer and the 1969 NBA Finals Game 7 victory over Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers, in which he led the Celtics with 26 points.
Russell retired after the team won the championship, but Havlicek’s brilliance maintained the Celtics at the top of the NBA. Despite failing to make the playoffs in 1970 and 1971, Boston won two championships in three seasons from 1974 to 1976.
After Havlicek retired in 1978, the Celtics went through another brief slump, winning just 29 games in the 1978–79 season. At that point, Bird joined the team and completely changed it, winning three MVP awards and three more titles in the 1980s.
Bird is regarded as a key character in the history of the NBA because of his transcendent abilities and the Celtics-Lakers rivalry in the 1980s. Havlicek was nonetheless praised as one of Boston’s greatest players ever by two other Celtics Hall of Famers.
