Larry Bird, the NBA great, was able to play almost every position for the Boston Celtics. For points, assists, steals, and total rebounds, he is in the top 50 in league history, and he is among the top 65. The Hall of Famer, meanwhile, had bigger goals in mind than to go out and post a triple-double every night, as several players have done throughout the years.
Following an amazing time as an Indiana State University student-athlete, Bird joined the Boston Celtics in 1979. After that, he rose to prominence as one of the best players in basketball, being selected for the All-Star team in every NBA season save the one in which he didn’t play in all but six games. Additionally, Bird regularly filled up the stat sheet.
In his first six seasons in the NBA, Bird averaged over 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds and recorded at least 1.8 steals per game in four of those seasons. The 1979–80 NBA Rookie of the Year went on to become a reliable passer for the Celtics, averaging over 6.0 assists in all but one of the seasons between 1983–84 and 1991–92.
Bird’s versatility allowed him to record several triple-doubles over his career. With 59, he is presently ranked seventh all-time, but James Harden and Nikola Jokic, who have 58 and 57, respectively, will probably pass him shortly.
But if Bird had wanted to slightly inflate his stats, he might have had quite a few more. But instead, he set his sights on a higher objective.
Bob Ryan, a former reporter and columnist for the Boston Globe, covered Larry Bird’s whole basketball career with the Celtics. He witnessed Boston win three NBA titles under Larry Legend’s leadership and three league MVP honors.
Ryan talked on Twitter earlier this year about the NBA fans’ obsession with triple-doubles.
Barry Horn, a colleague writer, initiated the conversation by tweeting, “Luka Doncic is an excellent player, but the hype surrounding his triple-doubles is just a convenient cover.” Ws should be the only statistic that matters.
“I often think if you tell people today that on (March 2, 1962) Wilt Chamberlain had 100 points, 25 rebounds, and 2 assists, their response would be: ‘So..not a triple double,'” said Dallas Morning News reporter Tim Cowlishaw, who is also well-known for his work on ESPN’s Around the Horn.
Ryan, who is also well-known for his appearances on Around the Horn, concurred with Horn and Cowlishaw and mentioned something that Bird had said to him in the past.
“Exactly on. I used to get informed by Larry Bird that he could definitely get a triple-double every night. Doesn’t mean the game would be won by us,” Ryan tweeted.
Although obtaining a triple-double does not always equate to a defeat, it seems that Bird believed that it could and that winning was more important to him than getting a triple-double.
He was also correct.
