Larry Bird demonstrated how little he cared about winning the MVP as he got closer to winning the first of three consecutive MVPs.

Larry Bird demonstrated how little he cared about winning the MVP as he got closer to winning the first of three consecutive MVPs.

Not that he won three MVP awards in a row was the best thing about Larry Bird. It wasn’t how he led the Boston Celtics to three titles in the 1980s after winning Rookie of the Year. Not even that he’s ranked among the top five NBA players of all time by some people.

The best thing about Bird is that he hasn’t altered. He was the same player he was at Indiana State and Springs Valley High School in French Lick, Indiana, and he was the same player with the Celtics. Glory was never important to Bird. Not even wealth or fame could change him. Success on his own didn’t inspire him. His entire focus was on triumphing.

The following season, Bird and the Celtics won the first of their three NBA titles after Bird was named Rookie of the Year in the 1979–80 campaign. The Celtics augmented Bird’s roster with future Hall of Famers Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, thanks to one of the greatest moves in the team’s history. They won the 1981 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets in their first season together.

But it was between 1984 and 1986 that Bird truly excelled. He averaged 24.2 points and 10.1 rebounds in the 1983–84 season, a 62–20 campaign for the Celtics. Dennis Johnson was acquired by the Celtics from the Phoenix Suns in a deal, which helped them win 62 games and the 1984 NBA Finals against the rival Los Angeles Lakers. Bird was declared the MVP of the group.

Bird achieved even more success the next season, averaging 28.7 points and 10.5 rebounds. Despite winning sixty-three games in that season, Boston was defeated in the final round by the Lakers as they exacted revenge on the Celtics. Bird claimed yet another MVP award even though the team lost in the Finals.

Boston’s finest season to date may have been in 1985–86. The Celtics finished 67-15 and advanced to the Finals for the third time in a row. Bill Walton, an experienced and frequently injured center, was acquired by the Celtics prior to the season in order to replace Parish and McHale. Walton ultimately participated in 80 games and won the Sixth Man of the Year title. In the championship round, the Celtics defeated the Rockets in six games, and Bird won his third MVP award.

Winning an MVP was never Bird’s intention. Team objectives were far more crucial. He and New York Knicks player Bernard King were the front-runners for MVP in 1984. When questioned in May 1984 about the MVP race, Bird responded in a way that was characteristic of him.

According to United Press International, he stated, “I worry about my next opponent, not about that.” “I have an MVP trophy from college, but it’s just sitting at home and doesn’t do anything for me right now.”

Bird’s sole experience with basketball was team play. He carried it with him throughout his playing and coaching careers, having been ingrained in it at a young age.

“I have always believed in a team-oriented concept, but everyone wants the ball and wants to score 20 points,” he said at the time. “I wouldn’t be very effective if I started playing one-on-one.”

Throughout his career, Bird was productive, making 12 All-Star selections in 13 seasons. The 1988–89 season was the only one without an All-Star selection. Despite undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from both heels, he participated in six games that year. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1998.