The Indiana Pacers held their first pre-draft workout on Friday, and the organization had a familiar face on hand to catch the festivities: Hall of Famer Larry Bird.
Of course, Bird coached the Pacers from 1997-2000 and served as the president of basketball operations in two separate stints, 2003-2012 and 2013-2017. He was an advisor to the team until last July when it was announced he was no longer active in that role.
Bird hasn’t been seen much since leaving his role with the team, but is certainly always welcomed to stop by and catch up with those within the organization.
He was captured by Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files Substack.
Larry Bird is back pic.twitter.com/zdxSjuqx9x
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 12, 2023
Bird was on hand as the Pacers hosted six prospects for workouts: Kobe Brown (Missouri), Andre Jackson Jr. (UConn), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA), Arthur Kaluma (Creighton), Liutauras Lelevicius (Zalgiris, Lithuania) and Grant Nelson (North Dakota State).
He caught the prospects off guard by being there.
“It was just incredible,” Jaquez said. “There are no words.”
The Pacers enter the draft lottery on Tuesday slotted seventh after finishing with a 35-47 record this season. They also have pick Nos. 26 and 29 in the first round and Nos. 50 and 55 in the second round, respectively.
The NBA draft will take place on June 22.
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