Larry Bird is an American basketball coach, former basketball player, and an executive at the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bird was born on December 7, 1956, in West Baden Springs, Indiana, to Georgia Kerns and Vietnam veteran Joseph Bird. He began playing during his university days at Indiana State University and immediately garnered much attention. In his final season at the university in 1978-79, he went up against Michigan State, which began a career-long rivalry with Magic Johnson.
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Bird was drafted to the NBA for the 1979-80 season and began playing for the Boston Celtics as a power forward. He made an immediate impact early on, leading the team to a 32-win improvement over the previous season. He played for the Celtics for the entirety of his 13-season career, leading them to multiple significant wins. The Celtics appeared in five NBA finals and three NBA championships. Bird received 12 NBA All-Star awards, two NBA Finals MVP awards, and was NBA Most Valuable Player three consecutive times for the 1984-86 seasons. He’s the only forward to receive these awards in the league’s history.
After retiring from playing, Bird became a coach. Despite having no prior coaching experience, he led the Indiana Pacers to the finals and was awarded Coach of the Year for the 1997-98 season. Bird retired from coaching in 2000, keeping his promise of only coaching for three years. In 2003, Bird was hired as the Indiana Pacer’s president of basketball operations. After the 2011-12 season, he received the NBA Executive of the Year award. This made Bird the only person in NBA history to win an MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year award. Later in his career, he only took up an advisory and consultancy role within the company. In 2023, the Pacers re-hired Bird as a consultant.
With an extensive NBA playing and coaching career, Bird quickly became one of the sport’s greats. Many consider Bird as one of the greatest players of all time. Bird has garnered tens of thousands of fans throughout his career, and with fame comes a few questions about his personal life. Many became curious about Larry Bird’s dating history and his sexuality. Is Larry Bird married? Who is he dating? Does he have kids? Is Larry Bird gay? We’ll take a brief look into his personal life to answer these questions.
VOTE: What is Larry Bird’s Sexuality?
Larry Bird’s Dating History
Surprisingly, the actor is pretty tight-lipped when it comes to the details of his relationships. This comes as a total surprise considering that Miller would be involved in high-profile scandals later in his career. Over the years, he had dated plenty of models and actresses with some notable names. Here’s a quick look at Miller’s interesting love interests.
Larry Bird and Janet Condra (1975-1976)
Bird was married for a brief period in the mid-70s. He married Janet Condra and had a child with her. Condra has remained a private citizen and stayed out of the public eye with their child. Bird and Condra’s relationship was short and didn’t garner any attention. Condra is reportedly still single as of writing.
Larry Bird and Dinah Mattingly (1989-Present)
Dinah Mattingly and Bird began dating in 1989 and have been married for almost 35 years. The couple has two children, Connor and Mariah, and is keeping their family life private. Unfortunately, there is limited information about Mattingly available. She is considered a private citizen and has not been subject to the limelight even while having a famous athlete for a husband. The couple has lived their married life peacefully, away from media attention.
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Larry Bird VS. Magic Johnson
Bird’s career is marked by his decade-long rivalry with Lakers superstar Magic Johnson. Their rivalry is considered one of the greatest rivalries in the history of any sport. Their rivalry began in college when Johnson, playing for Michigan State, defeated Bird and his team. Bird and Johnson faced each other thrice in the 80’s in championships. Bird beat Magic in the 1984 season, while Johnson got the upper hand over Bird in 1985 and 1987.
Many considered the men two halves of a whole. It was reported that watching Johnson play was like watching Bird, and vice versa. Each had exceptional talent and skill that were never seen before. They were both charismatic, great shooters, had outstanding passing skills, and possessed a team-oriented mindset that motivated the teams and the crowds.
Their rivalry also ignited an ideological contest: east vs. west, Celtics vs. Lakers, with some even going as far as involving the color of the two athletes’ skins. The NBA also profited from the rivalry as a noticeable increase in ratings and sales correlated with Bird and Johnson’s games. Many people realized that the emergence of these two players and their rivalry resulted in an overall popularity increase for the league as a whole.
Larry Bird and the “Dream Team”
In 1992, Bird and several other prominent NBA superstars joined forces to represent the United States in Brazil’s Olympic games. Bird teamed up with the greats then, including Johnson and Jordan. It was the first time in the US Olympic history that a team was sent to represent the nation. The Dream Team, as they were called, won the Olympic gold for Men’s Basketball. Bird averaged a score of 8.4 points in eight games. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame dubbed it “the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet”.
Is Larry Bird Gay?
No, Larry Bird is not gay. Bird has had a long and fruitful career as a player and an executive in the NBA. He has not made any remarks about his sexuality publicly. He has also not made any public remarks about the LGBTQ community, nor has he made any comments on homosexuality.
Featured Image: “Larry Bird”, by Kip-koech, licensed under CC BY 2.0 DEED