The narrative of how NBA legend Larry Bird oversaw the league’s most remarkable comeback season.

The narrative of how NBA legend Larry Bird oversaw the league’s most remarkable comeback season.

Super-rookie Bird led Boston from 29 wins to 61 wins in 1979-80, reviving the Celtic dynasty – and a struggling league.

With the sixth choice of the 1978 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected Larry Bird, an obscure Indiana State junior eligible player, in the first round.

Though it would ultimately turn out to be the savior of a highly troubled league and team, the decision didn’t garner much attention at the time.

Since his initial class was graduating in 1978, Bird was eligible to be selected under the regulations of the time, even though he still had one more year of playing time left in college. In the fall of 1974, Larry enrolled at Indiana University, but he left before the semester began. After that, he attended the tiny Northwood Institute in southern Indiana before enrolling at ISU, where he excelled.

The Indiana Pacers, who were interested in choosing the hometown hero as the first pick in the 1978 draft, were owned by Bird’s native state. Coach/GM of the Pacers, formerly of Indiana University.