When Larry Bird was a high school student, his father took his own life:

When Larry Bird was a high school student, his father took his own life:

Note from the editor: August 18, 1992 marked the NBA retirement of legendary Celtics player Larry Bird. On the 23rd anniversary of Larry Legend’s retirement, SI.com reflects on an article that explores Bird during his peak. This article first appeared in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED on March 3, 1986. Click this link to subscribe.

Never has a basketball player been quite like Larry Joe Bird of the Celtics, whose skill and perseverance wage a daily wire-to-wire struggle for supremacy. It is probably hard to say that, in his seventh season, the 6’9″, 220-pound forward Bird—a forward better than Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—is the greatest player of all time due to the enormous importance of the gigantic pivotman in the game.

Bird is an athlete at the peak of his abilities, based on his play in the last several weeks. Upon Kevin McHale’s injury to his heel, Bird just clenched his jaw, bent over, and lifted McHale’s weight onto his shoulders. After the All-Star break, Bird has averaged 30.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in the eight games the Celtics have played. However, those are only figures, and figures don’t always paint a true picture when contrasting athletes from various historical periods. Red Auerbach asserts, “The one thing you have to avoid when you talk about Bird is statistics.” “It’s his presence, the total way he commands attention on the court, that counts.” In fact, Bird sets aside a space in his own hell—a location devoid of basketball courts—for.

Given that the Celtics, who now own the best record in the league at 43-11, have hardly missed a beat in McHale’s absence, Bird should be the front-runner for his third consecutive MVP award—an achievement shared by only Russell and Chamberlain in the NBA. I think Bird can count on Jack Ramsay to vote for him. Bird’s 47 points (including the game-winning basket in overtime) and 11 assists along with 14 rebounds and 11 assists on February 14 at Portland inspired the Trail Blazers coach, who was never one to sugarcoat things, to refer to him as “the greatest clutch player of all time.” After Bird destroyed Golden State with 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists five nights later, Warriors head coach John Bach quickly grabbed his dictionary. He declared, “Bird is a hermaphrodite.” A bird could perhaps raise .