‘Celtics City’ beyond the episode: Larry Bird ushers in new era – NBC Sports Boston

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The Boston Celtics were in a difficult place in the late 1970s.

Bill Russell had been retired for about a decade. John Havlicek retired after the 1977-78 season, which also was Tommy Heinsohn’s last year as head coach. Dave Cowens was still a very good player but no longer MVP-caliber.

For the first time in many years, the team was not a championship contender. The C’s were losing a ton of games and didn’t have a superstar player to lead them into the 1980s.

That is, until, the team drafted one of its greatest players, Larry Bird. Celtics executive Red Auerbach scouted Bird and knew he had incredible talent and the type of play style required to win championships.

More ‘Celtics City’

The Celtics took Bird with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. But the talented forward didn’t make his debut for Boston right away because he returned to Indiana State for his senior season. The delay was tough for Celtics fans, who were eager to see if the hype surrounding Bird was legit, but he was definitely worth the wait.

The 1980s Celtics, Bird’s arrival in Boston and the rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers were the focus of the fourth episode of Max’s Celtics City docuseries, titled “Great Hope. Period”. In NBC Sports Boston’s Keys to the City recapping the episode, Jackie MacMullan shared her perspective on Bird.

“He’s the most authentic superstar I’ve ever been around in my life in any sport,” MacMullan said. “He is who he is, and you can take it or leave it. He’s not going to change the way he thinks or speaks because you don’t like it, or because it’s going to get him more endorsements — because he usually wanted less of those, anyway.

“I just thought, in this episode, you just see him unvarnished — developing into the great superstar he became. There’s a scene when they’re beating the Sixers and he hits that big shot (in Game 7 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals) and Red’s talking about, ‘I like people who want the ball at the end of the game.’ He says that throughout this documentary. Bird’s got the ball and he’s like, ‘Look, I know the time I’ve put in, the work I’ve put in. I…

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Publish date : 2025-03-25 11:44:00

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