The Boston Celtics made it to the NBA Finals at the expense of the Indiana Pacers, whom they swept in the Eastern Conference Finals, which, according to Magic Johnson, upset Celtics icon Larry Bird. The forward spent his entire career as a player in Boston, but per the Los Angeles Lakers icon, his allegiances now lay with the Pacers and not the Celtics.
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During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host asked Johnson whether Bird still cared about the Celtics. He replied,
“[Larry Bird is] all Pacers now. He don’t care about the Celtics. He lives in Indiana. He works for the Pacers. So he probably was upset when Pacers lost [to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals].”
Kimmel enquired whether the Celtics icon disliked the franchise he spent his entire playing career with and Johnson responded that he probably didn’t. The host, a Los Angeles Lakers fan, quipped, “Let’s say he does,” and drew a big laugh from the Hall of Famer and the audience.
Bird still probably roots for the Celtics, but as Johnson claimed, the Pacers rank above them for the legendary forward. He was born and brought up in Indiana and attended Indiana State before declaring for the 1979 NBA draft. After spending 13 seasons as a player and five years as a special assistant in Boston, Bird returned to Indiana in 1997 as head coach of the Pacers.
He spent three seasons in the role before taking a hiatus from basketball and returning as the Pacers’ president of basketball operations in 2003. After spending nine years as the franchise’s top executive health issues prompted him to give up the role, but reprised his role a year later and stayed on until 2017. Bird handed over the reins to Kevin Pritchard and retreated to an advisory role and apart from a brief 11-month hiatus from June 2022 to July 2023, he has actively been a part of the Pacers’ think tank.
While he’s best remembered for his incredible stint as a Celtics player, he has spent more seasons as a Pacers employee than with Boston. As Johnson noted, Bird is Indiana through and through and will root for them over anyone, even the Celtics. But that doesn’t diminish his accomplishments in Boston nor his love for the city.
Larry Bird’s time in Indiana hasn’t shrunk his love for Boston
Larry Bird now has the Pacers’ best interests as his priority, but he still reveres Celtics and Boston. In an interview with CBS Sports in 2011, the Hall of Famer spoke of his love for the city and claimed there was no sports town on the planet better than Beantown,
“You go around the country and people always ask me about Boston sports. What I tell them is they expect you to play hard; they expect you to play together. They’ll support you if you show them that you care. There is nothing like being a sports fan in Boston. New York always talks the talk, but they don’t have the championships to back it. Boston is the greatest sports town in America, maybe the world.”
Larry Legend may not be a Celtics faithful anymore, but the city will cherish him forever and sing his praises for carrying the team until his back gave out, ending his illustrious career.
