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Former Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird recently reunited with the Indiana Pacers as a consultant. Bird has stayed close to the NBA even after his retirement in 1992. Soon after he stopped playing, Bird found himself in a front-office role until 1997. He was a special assistant to the Celtics' front office.
After the five-year gig in an executive role, Bird took over his hometown team, the Indiana Pacers' head coaching job. He committed to it for three years and stuck to it. Bird had no coaching experience, but he led them to a successful run under his tenure.
The Pacers had a 58-24 record in his first season as head coach in 1997-98. They made the conference finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Bird won the Coach of the Year title.
The following year during the lockout season (1998-99), the Pacers registered a 33-17 record and faced the same fate in the playoffs as 1998, but against the No. 8 seeded New York Knicks.
Indiana's best season under Bird came in the third and final year as head coach when they made the finals after a 56-26 season. Indiana lost to the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-led LA Lakers in the championship round. Bird finished his coaching stint with a 68.7% winning percentage in the regular season and 61.5% in the playoffs.
Larry Bird retained a role with the Pacers in 2003 as their president of basketball operations. He was in that capacity until 2012. Bird claimed the Executive of the Year Award that year. Bird returned to the role in 2013 and served in that capacity for four more years until 2017.
He was an advisor until 2022. Bird left the team for a year and is currently back as a consultant.
Larry Bird has had a storied tenure in every capacity in the NBA
Nobody comes close to the kind of success Larry Bird has found in various roles during his time in the NBA, now spanned 44 years, dating back to his debut in 1979. As a player, Bird won three championships, three MVPs, two finals MVPs, earned numerous All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive selections.
Bird didn't take too long to thrive as a coach, hitting his stride in his rookie season as the Pacers' HC without any past experience. Bird pushed MJ's Bulls to seven games in the conference finals in his first year. That was followed by another conference finals and a finals appearance.
In 2012, Larry Bird became the only individual to win the MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards. Under his tenure as an executive, Indiana was a perennial playoff contender and one of the biggest threats to LeBron James' Miami Heat championship teams.
