The basketball world was delighted in 1997 when Larry Bird was named head coach of the Indiana Pacers. After all, the forward is regarded as one of the best basketball minds of all time.
People were excited to see him back in action, even if he remained on the sidelines.
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Why the Pacers?
But when the overzealousness finally withered, the delight transformed into a curiosity: why the Pacers and not the Boston Celtics? After all, Bird was a special assistant in the team’s front office following his retirement in 1992.
It made a lot of sense for him to try out a different position within the Celtics organization. However, Larry had a very good reason for leaving Boston for Indiana.
“I played in Boston and have so many great memories running up and down the Boston Garden, hitting shots, winning championships, I didn’t want to tarnish that,” Larry said in 1997, via the Chicago Tribune. “I want to get them (Pacers) to that level, and I think I can do that.”
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Bird won three NBA Championships with the C’s, three league MVPs, countless game-winners, and a slew of great memories. Larry wanted Boston fans to remember him as a champion who gave it his all whenever he took the parquet floors.
He knew that winning is never easy in the NBA, which meant his coaching stint could fail. Larry Legend didn’t want to ruin his Celtic legacy.
Coach Larry
Bird looked to history in his transition from player to head coach. He found that, like Lenny Wilkens, the great former players who became great coaches were truly committed to the job. Larry believed he had the same quality.
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“I think with some guys, their hearts weren’t into it. My heart is in it,” Bird said. “Everyone asks me why I want to do this. I asked a lot of people, and after running it by all of them, whether I should get into it or stay away, it was probably 50-50. But I made the decision like I always do, myself.”
“Whether I’ll be a great coach or not, I don’t know,” he added. “But I feel I have the knowledge of the game. I feel I’ve got the right mix of guys to get the job done.”
Bird’s humility may have been his secret weapon to his success as the Pacers’ head coach. In his first year as coach, he guided the Reggie Miller-led squad to the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals to face the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
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The series had to be decided in seven games. And though the Pacers succumbed to the mighty Bulls, Jordan admitted that they were one of the toughest teams they faced, outside of the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boys.
The Pacers booked another ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals the following year. Still, they were eliminated by the New York Knicks in six games. And in the 1999-00 season, Larry’s contract year as coach, the Pacers made it all the way to the NBA Finals to face the Los Angeles Lakers.
It seemed that momentum and fate were on their side that year. Analysts felt those losses gave Bird the blueprint for succeeding as a coach in the NBA. But alas, the Pacers lost in six games to Kobe and Shaq. Bird, who promised to try out coaching for just three years, stuck to his word and walked off into the sunset.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.