Current NBA players are on a different level when it comes to securing generational wealth throughout their playing careers. The contracts players have been getting in the last few seasons are ridiculous, and with a new deal on the horizon, are only set to get bigger. And while legends from eras that have passed didn’t end up making the same amounts, the best of the best were always paid a handsome amount.
Larry Bird is one of the greatest to ever do it, but the Boston Celtics legend has never been one to care too much about the frills. Still, he made $24 million throughout his career, a heavy sum at the time. He has developed his fortune to a reported $75 million, and while that is a lot of money, Bird has never cared much about monetary gain in his life.
Speaking to The Boston Globe at one point in his life, Bird spoke about his proclivities and why he never spent money on a lot of the things that NBA stars are known for (via Sportscasting).
“I really don’t need anyone to build my ego. 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.”
The NBA has become quite intertwined with both the entertainment and the fashion industry in recent years. While an attitude like Bird’s is quite admirable, it’s also interesting to see how the sport intersects with culture thanks to the wealth involved. For Larry, though, it seems all of that was and is quite irrelevant. He’s happy living a nice and straightforward life.
