One of the most famous basketball icons, Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956. He was first drafted into the NBA in 1978 for the Bolton Celtics. After signing up, he was able to immediately transform the Celtics into top title contenders. He helped improve the team’s winning stats, allowing them to win the Eastern Conference that season.
Afer his retirement in 1992, Larry Bird became a head coach for the Indiana Pacers. Although he didn’t have any previous coaching experience, he was able to lead the Pacers to a 58-24 record which gained him the NBA Coach of the Year award.
As a way to celebrate his career, we’re sharing with you the best Larry Bird quotes. This collection will surely inspire you to do your best in anything you do.
I knew I was as good as anybody. That’s not really bragging; it’s just that I’d put the time in.
Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.
I really don’t like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.
It doesn’t matter who scores the points, it’s who can get the ball to the scorer.
I wasn’t real quick, and I wasn’t real strong. Some guys will just take off and it’s like, whoa. So I beat them with my mind and my fundamentals.
I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.
You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you’ll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.
Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.
As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me, because it’s disrespect to my game.
Don’t let winning make you soft. Don’t let losing make you quit. Don’t let your teammates down in any situation.
A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.
I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me.
I always know what’s happening on the court. I see a situation occur, and I respond.
I’m a firm believer in that you play the way you practice.
When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.
I just shoot until I feel good.
Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing.
The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.
In the closing seconds of every game, I want the ball in my hands for the last shot – not in anybody else’s, not in anybody else’s in the world.
Remember to share these Larry Bird quotes and inspire everyone you know.
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