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Larry Bird was a versatile wing man who played the power forward and
small forward positions. He is considered as one of the greatest wing
players of all time, to which his twelve All-Star team nominations is a
testament. The versatile, sharpshooting Bird made his name stepping up
his performance in critical situations, and is credited with a long
list of dominating games, buzzer beaters
and clutch defensive plays. He won two NBA Finals MVP and three
regular-season MVP awards, something only five other players in the
history of the NBA have accomplished.

Bird possessed an uncanny and unparalleled ability to anticipate and
react to the strategies of his opponents. His talent for recognizing
the moves of opponents and teammates prompted his first coach with the
Celtics, Bill Fitch, to nickname him "Kodak", because he seemed to formulate mental pictures of every play that took place on the court.</p>

Bird scored 24.3 points per game in his career on a high .496 field
goal average, a stellar .886 free throw average (9th best all-time) and
a .376 percentage on 3-point shots. Bird was also a good rebounder
(10.0 rebound career average) and an excellent playmaker (6.3 assist
career average). His multidimensional game made him a consistent triple-double threat; Bird currently ranks fifth all-time in triple-doubles
with 59, not including the 10 he recorded in the playoffs. Bird's
lifetime player efficiency rating (PER) is 23.5, 16th all-time, a
further testament to his all around game.[2]
Larry's high free throw percentage is due in no small part to the fact
that when he was a boy, he used to shoot 200 free throws before school,
every day, according to a late 1990s Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance commercial with Larry himself.</p>

Bird is also remembered as an excellent defender. While he was
neither fast or quick-footed, and could not always shut down an
individual player one-on-one, he consistently displayed a knack for
anticipating the moves of his opponent, allowing him to intercept
passes and create turnovers. His 1,556 career steals ranks 27th
all-time. [3].
Unspectacular but effective defensive moves, such as jumping into a
passing lane to make a steal or allowing his man to step past and drive
to the hoop, then blocking the opponent's shot from behind, were
staples of Bird's defensive game. As a testament to his defensive
abilities, Bird was named to three All-Defensive Second Teams.</p>

Statistics aside, Bird was perhaps best known as a fierce competitor
and outstanding team leader. His former teammates frequently said that
he elevated their level of play through his selflessness and leadership.<sup id="_ref-3" class="reference">[5]</sup></p>
Bird's competitive nature often emerged in nearly constant trash-talking on the court. Some notable examples:
<ul>[*]During one game on Christmas Day against the Indiana Pacers, before the game Bird told Chuck Person
that he would give him a Christmas present. During the game, when
Person was on the bench, Bird shot a three-pointer on the baseline
right in front of Person. Immediately after the shot, Bird said to
Person, "Merry f***in' Christmas!", and then the shot went in.[/list]
<ul>[*]During the three-point shooting contest on All-Star Weekend 1986,
Bird entered the locker room, looked around without saying a word, then
finally said, "I'm just looking around to see who's gonna finish up
second." He indeed won the shooting contest.[/list]
<ul>[*]Late in a tied game against the Seattle SuperSonics, Bird told Supersonics forward Xavier McDaniel,
who was guarding him, exactly where he would hit the game winning shot.
After a timeout, Bird made two baseline cuts, then posted in the exact
spot he had indicated to McDaniel, paused, turned, and hit the shot in
his face.[/list]
<ul>[*]On November 9, 1984,
Bird was ejected along with Julius Erving in the third quarter after an
on court scuffle. At the point of both ejections, Bird had outscored
Erving 42 to 6. During the game, Bird had continuously informed Erving
of their tallies with every chance he got to score. Eventually ensued a
shoving match, then swings taken by both players, and finally a
bench-clearing brawl.[/list]