“Between Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain, Who Deserves the Title of NBA’s Greatest of All Time?”
In a first-round playoff game against the Indiana Pacers on April 26, 1991, Larry Bird missed fourteen field goals. The Boston Celtics star’s shooting was unusual, but so wasn’t his performance. In a 127-120 Celtics victory, he completed with a triple-double while diving all over the court. Shortly following his post-match press conference, Bird was admitted to a nearby hospital with traction. For Larry Bird, the 1990–91 season marked the beginning of the end.
Bird suffered a compressed nerve root in his back during the 1990–91 season, which caused him to miss 22 games. Before he missed time, Bird had spearheaded the early-season surge that saw the Celtics start the season with a 29-5 record. With Bird in the starting lineup, the Celtics started the season 26-5. Without him, they won the following three games to improve to 29-5. Without their star, they went on to lose four games in a row and five of the following six. Despite this setback, Boston finished with a 56-26 record and won the Atlantic Division. With Bird in his eleventh season and still dealing with lingering back ailments, the Celtics were growing old and jaded. Robert Parish had played in the NBA for 14 years, while Kevin McHale was in his tenth season.
The Celtics defeated the considerably younger Pacers 3-2 after a difficult best-of-five series. This set them up for a first-round playoff rematch. The Detroit Pistons then eliminated Boston from the Eastern Conference Semifinals in six games. Bird underwent back surgery to remove a disc following the season. The next season, he was sidelined for 37 games during the regular season and missed even more in the postseason due to his back issues. Bird’s back problems forced him to retire during the 1991–92 campaign. In the first game versus the Indiana Pacers, Larry Bird gave it his all.
Before Game 1 of the 1991 playoffs against the Pacers, Bird missed the first four practices and seven of the final eight regular season games. Nobody saw more action in that first game than Bird, who put up a 21-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist effort to lead Boston to a seven-point victory. Bird said he would take it given the situation he was in, despite the fact that he only made six of his twenty shots. According to The Los Angeles Times, he stated following the game, “I’m pretty happy with six of 20.” “I would have been upset if that had been my action during the regular season.
