Score meant very little, but a lot of talking going on, a lot of fun." The influence was fairly simple — Bird had fun when he was playing with men well older than he was. Estimated PSA 10 Value: $90. MVP Karl Malone may have led the West to a 143-134 victory over the East during the 1989 All-Star Game in Houston, but, not surprisingly, Jordan's All-Star card is the most desirable in the set. Had the East won, Jordan would've undoubtedly won MVP honors as he led the East in scoring with 28 points while tallying As magical a season as 1984-85 was for Larry Bird and the Celtics, they fell short in the 1985 NBA Finals. Following their NBA championship in 1984, the Celtics couldn’t defend their title and lost the ’85 series to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Bird played well in the series scoring 23.8 points, per game 8.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games): Individual scoring. Larry Bird, Indiana State (5) — 27.2; Individual rebounding. Larry Bird, Indiana State (5 Springs Valley went 19-2 and young Larry became a local celebrity. Fans always seemed to be willing to give a ride to Bird’s parents, who couldn’t afford a car of their own. As a senior, Bird became the school’s all-time scoring champion and about 4,000 people attended his final home game. Bird found the transition to college life difficult. The following season, injuries to both knees forced him to miss 32 games during the 1977–78 season. Despite being robbed of some quickness and athleticism, he still managed to score 27.0 points per game, and he also added 6.7 assists per contest, his highest average as a member of the Jazz. Larry Bird was so good that he often got bored during games and set himself challengesto spice it up, like shooting everything but jumpshots left-handed for a game (and still scoring 47). Bill Simmons (who, it must be noted, is a world-class Boston homer) mentions in his Book of Basketball an anecdote about Bird and Bill Walton in one game February 6, 1988 - Surely, Larry Bird had more important rounds—say, his 22-point final round performance in 1986 in which he intentionally banked home a mon Larry Bird* 24.29: 22. Adrian Dantley* 24.27: 23. Pete Maravich* 24.24: 24. Put your basketball knowledge to the test with our daily basketball trivia games. Can With his scoring prowess, Bird frequently forced the outcome of games, and he never seemed to back down, no matter who the opposition was. Beyond scoring, Bird was exceptional at passing the ball (career average 6.3 APG) and also crashing the boards (10.0 RPG) better than almost every other small forward ever. aq6qY.