Tag: Larry Bird

Jayson Tatum on meeting Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird

“He’s a lot taller than I thought he was,” said Tatum.

You would think that the best player to suit up for the Boston Celtics in modern history would have met the player most likely to overtake his many records. But the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game turned out to be the first-ever meeting between Boston icon Larry Bird and All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.

“I got a chance to go meet him and tell him how much of an honor it was to meet him,” said Tatum via The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “He told me he was looking forward to meeting me. So that was crazy to hear him say that.”

“He’s a lot taller than I thought he was,” added the St. Louis native, who is no short man himself at 6-foot-8 officially.

“But obviously what he means to the game, what he means to the city of Boston and the Celtics, he’s the ultimate Celtic,” said Tatum of meeting Larry Legend.

And certainly not a bad role model if you happen to start breaking his records before you even hit your prime.

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Jayson Tatum finally met Larry Bird at the NBA All-Star Game despite years of playing for the Celtics

How is this the first time that Jayson Tatum and Larry Bird ever met?!

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game was an especially special night for Jayson Tatum because he got a chance to meet Larry Bird for the first time.

Even though Tatum has played for the Celtics since he was drafted by the team back in 2017, the five-time All-Star forward apparently had never had a chance to meet perhaps the greatest player in franchise history.

Tatum was drafted by the Celtics nearly seven years ago. But on Saturday in Indiana, where Bird was born and raised, this was the first time that the two forwards ever crossed paths.

During a conversation with TNT’s Jamal Crawford, the NBA’s reigning All-Star Game MVP reflected on his interaction with Bird.

“I ain’t gonna lie. I met Larry Bird tonight for the first time. I never met Larry Bird in my life. So I got to meet him. I was anxious.”

Tatum added that he had “some juices flowing” for the game after that conversation.

Bird and Tatum are the only Boston players to ever record more than 25 games with at least 40 points, per StatMuse.

Tatum was, fittingly, the first player to ever win the Larry Bird Trophy awarded to the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Larry Bird wins Legend of the Year Award at NBA All-Star Weekend

Larry Bird was named the 2024 Legend of the Year at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.

Boston Celtics legend and Indiana native Larry Bird was named the 2024 Legend of the Year by the NBA’s Retired Players Association. Bird won three titles with the Celtics before joining the Indiana Pacers as a coach and executive. He is regarded as one of the best to ever play basketball at both the college and professional level.

The award was given to Bird during the Legend’s Brunch as part of 2024 All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. Affectionately known as the “Hick from French Lick,” winning the award in his home state is a special feat for a player who has brought tremendous pride to the region. Bird spoke about what winning the award meant to him after the event.

“It’s always good to get recognized,” Bird said. “It’s just an honor.”

Every Boston Celtics All-Star for each season the game was played

Every single Boston Celtics All-Star in franchise history.

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game is set to kick off in Indianapolis, Indiana. A pair of Boston Celtics will be part of the action for the third year in a row as Jayson Tatum plays as a starter and Jaylen Brown a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Tatum and Brown join a long list of Celtics stars who have participated in the event, now entering its 73rd year of existence, which actually got its start in the old Boston Garden. Initially created to improve the image of professional basketball after a point-shaving scandal in NCAA ball besmirched the sport in the eyes of the public, the event has taken on a life of its own as one of the league’s most anticipated events.

Let’s take a look at all the Celtics who have taken part.

Why Celtics icon Larry Bird would be a monster in today’s NBA

Not everyone believes he’d struggle in today’s game.

In the Boston Celtics’ recent 118-110 road win against the Brooklyn Nets, star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum passed Hall of Fame Boston legend Larry Bird with his 128th 30+ point games in his first seven seasons in the league. Another feat in the record books for Tatum has been logged on a storied ball club’s roster that holds many of the NBA’s biggest records.

CLNS Media’s John Zannis felt compelled to discuss just how good Larry Legend would be if he played in today’s NBA. Kind of an overdone take, but it’s rare that Zannis, the lead host of the “Garden Report Celtics post game show on CLNS” podcast, ventures into boomer territory when it comes to the Hick From French Lick, so we thought we’d take advantage of it.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear his take on Bird vs. Tatum.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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All the Boston Celtics’ All-Star Week contest wins in NBA history

The Celtics are among the league’s leading teams when it comes to the Skills Challenge, Dunk Contest, and 3-point shootout.

In the spirit of the 2024 NBA All-Star Week festivities currently underway in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, we lean on an account by our sister site HoopsHype of which team’s players have won the most All-Star Week contests over the years.

The Dunk Contest, Skills Challenge, and 3-Point Contest may not be the focal point of the annual gathering of NBA stars and rising prospects held by the NBA each winter. But they are an integral part of All-Star Week festivities just the same, and over the course of the league’s history of having such competitions, the Celtics rank quite high in winning them.

Let’s take a look at those won by Boston Celtics over the years.

Q&A: Tyrese Haliburton on entering All-Star Weekend in an Indy car, the 3-point contest and more

“All of these people are here for All-Star Weekend, and I’m the Hoosier representative,” Tyrese Haliburton told For The Win.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is one of the busiest individuals at the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Weekend.

Haliburton, who led Eastern Conference guards in All-Star votes from fans as well as media and players, earned an appearance as the starting point guard in the East for the All-Star Game.

The 23-year-old represents the Pacers, the hosts of NBA All-Star Weekend for the first time since 1985. He is just the fourth player in franchise history to ever make an appearance in the starting lineup of the All-Star Game. For the second year in a row, Haliburton will also participate in the Starry 3-point Contest.

Haliburton took some time to catch up with For The Win to discuss showing up to All-Star Weekend in an Indy car, the love he received from Larry Bird and Reggie Miller and more.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird’s All-Star weekend 3-point contest wins

Watch Larry Legend’s relentless accuracy from deep in this clip of the very first 3-point contest on All-Star weekend, as well as his other 2 wins.

It probably should come as no surprise that a player who was on the court — making his NBA debut, no less — for the very first official 3-pointer in league history was particularly good at hitting treys.

But legendary Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird was a stone-cold assassin from beyond the arc, as he demonstrated more than once in the NBA’s 3-point shooting contest during the annual All-Star weekend proceedings. The Hick From French Lick would drain one after another, never lacking confidence in his shot and accuracy. While the dunk contest might have been the sexier contest in that year of the very first 3-point shootout in 1986, Bird had his eyes on the $10,000 prize — and, of course, won it.

To catch some of that historic event as well his other two wins in that event, check out the video short from the “NBA Highlights” YouTube channel embedded below.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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On this day: Russell gets 14 points, 23 boards, 7 assists vs. Lakers; Bird logs 22 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists vs. LA

This was not a great day to be a Laker fan in Celtics history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Celtics beat their historic rivals in a squeaker on the road, the Celtics defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 92-90 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, L.A.’s home arena in those years.

The win was secured by Hall of Fame Boston big man Bill Russell, who put up an astounding 14 points, 23 rebounds, and 7 assists he managed while playing for all 48 minutes of the game. Legendary Celtics win John Havlicek added 21 points, forward Sam Jones chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds, and legendary Celtic Tommy Heinsohn another 13 points and 6 boards.

The Lakers were led by Elgin Baylor’s 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 assists.

On this day: Bird triple doubles vs. Lakers; Pierce for 35 vs. Clippers; IT ties 20-point game record

On this day in Celtics history, Larry Bird triple-doubled vs. the Lakers, Paul Pierce scored 35 points on the Clippers, and Isaiah Thomas tied John Havlicek for the most regular-season 20-point games.

On this day in Boston Celtics history in 1991, Hall of Fame Boston Celtics small forward Larry Bird scored a triple-double against the Celtics’ longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers on the road at the Los Angeles Forum in Inglewood, California as Boston won 98-85.

The Hick from French Lick (as Bird is called affectionately as a nickname) put on a show, scoring 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in 40 minutes of game time. It wasn’t Bird’s most efficient night from the floor, with the Celtics great hitting just 4-of-16 of his field goal attempts and only a single make out of a trio of attempts from beyond the arc. But the Indiana native found other ways to help his team win.

Teammate Robert Parish led the team in scoring with 29 points and 10 boards, and forward Reggie Lewis chipped in 26 points as well.