Larry Bird is one of the most legendary players in NBA history. Alongside Magic Johnson, he is credited with being one of the main factors in rescuing the league and saving it from failing. Bird played for the Boston Celtics, and he is an icon for the franchise and the city, a legacy that is strongly etched in the proud sporting heritage of that town. But despite being one of the biggest superstars in the league’s history, the trappings of fame and fortune never appealed to Larry Legend.
Larry Bird was from French Lick, Indiana, a small town that to this date doesn’t have a population of over 2,000 people. Being from a place like this meant he grew up without almost any luxuries. This can manifest itself in two ways: one is when the person in question seeks out the luxuries they never had and the other is when those same luxuries simply hold no pleasure for them. Bird was likelier in the latter category, humble as they come off the court, even though he was ruthless on it.
Larry Bird Once Spoke About How He Never Developed Any Major Spending Habits Despite Being A Superstar
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe revealed something Bird had told him in 1985. The Boston legend was talking about his upbringing and what made him the way he was. The excerpt from the interview gives great insight into who Larry Bird was as a person.
“In 1985, Bird would open up to me during an interview at the Richfield Holiday Inn — the scene of my ham-handed attempt to buy him a beer. He was about to win another MVP and my boss wanted a 3,000-word profile to set up the playoffs and the inevitable finals rematch with the Lakers. I brought a bucket of ice and a couple of Cokes from the hotel’s first floor vending machine and pulled up a chair in Bird’s hotel room while he stretched across his bed, looked at the ceiling, and talked about his humble roots and rise to stardom.
“’I really don’t need anyone to build my ego,’ Bird said. ‘When I’m home in Boston, I want to go out and eat, pay my bill, and get the hell out. Back in French Lick, I don’t have those problems, and that’s why I go back there. It’s the same with nice cars, Mercedes and all that. I can’t see putting $50,000 or $60,000 into a car when our house growing up was worth $10,000. I just can’t buy that.
“‘And clothes never did catch my eye. I never really enjoyed ‘em. I always wore what I felt comfortable in. I’ll wear pretty much anything if I get it for free. When I was at [Indiana] State, finishing to get my degree, they had me teaching special needs kids in a high school. That was tough. It gave me a lot of respect for people who do that.
“’I thought I’d wind up being a construction worker, pouring concrete. I wasn’t very good at shop in school, but I’d been around construction. As far as basketball goes, I just wanted to be the best player on my high school team.’”
There is a lot of strength in humility and there is a lot the young stars of today can learn from Bird’s perspective on life. There is certainly nothing wrong with living a life of luxury after having worked hard to afford it. But understanding the way the world works and how little some people have compared to others can go a long way in keeping even the biggest stars grounded, as Bird proved.
