Larry Bird's will to win helped him become the legend he is today. But on one night in a Boston bar, his competitiveness got the better of him, eventually costing the Celtics a championship.
In the 1984-1985 season, Bird and the Celtics were set to defend their title after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game series. And it was clear from the beginning both teams were due for a rematch. The Celtics (63-19) finished only a win ahead of the Lakers (62-20) to end the season and secured the top seed in their respective conferences. But before their rematch could transpire, the Celtics had to go through the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference finals.
The Celtics won the first two games easily, causing Larry Bird and some of his teammates to celebrate at a local bar in Quincy Market. Little did he know that the events that would transpire that night would have major implications for the rest of the Celtics' season.
While the Celtics took care of business dispatching the Sixers in five games, Bird struggled mightily the last two games. He went from averaging 28.33 PPG on 48.8% from the field to averaging only 15.5 PPG on 30% shooting. At the time, no reports were made from the Celtics of Bird's hand injury. Reporters present during their morning shootaround did claim his hand was swollen nearly double the size of his first knuckle.
Once the Finals came, Bird continued to struggle. The Lakers would avenge their finals loss last season and win the title in six games. Bird averaged 23.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in those six games. The overall numbers aren't terrible. However, after game two of the eastern conference finals, Bird's scoring and field goal numbers dropped by six.
The truth wouldn't be revealed until November when Larry Bird admitted to the LA Times of being involved in a bar fight last May.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The one good thing about all this is that maybe people finally understand that I’m human. I make mistakes; I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I like to drink beer and go out and have a good time,” said Larry Bird of his bar fight incident with bartender-bouncer Michael Harlow.
Let's get one thing straight; Bird wasn't the sole reason the Celtics lost in the 1985 finals. But if he hit a few more of his shots, it would've been enough to give the Celtics back-two-back titles.
When Larry Bird Helped Lakers WIN Championship 👀 I Clutch #Shorts – YouTube
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