![]() ![]() Originally from Charlotte, Tenn., Oscar Robertson moved to Indianapolis with his family when he was about 4. He attended Crispus Attucks High, then a segregated school for Black students, and starred in the high-paced offense of Ray Crowe. He currently works with the Pacers in an advisory role. He was named NBA Coach of the Year during the 1997-98 season, and earned Executive of the Year honors for the 2011-12 season, the only man in NBA history to win the highest honors for work as a player, coach and front office member. Upon his retirement from the league in 1992, Bird eventually returned to the Hoosier State, coaching the Indiana Pacers from 1997-2000 and serving two stints as the team’s president of basketball operations. ![]() Bird also starred internationally as a member of the 1992 USA Men’s Basketball Team, also dubbed the Dream Team, winning a gold medal for his efforts. ![]() He averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.3 assists throughout his 11 year career.īird also won three NBA Championships in 1980-81, 1982-86 with the Celtics, and was named Finals MVP in the latter two, one half of the legendary rivalry between Boston and Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers. 6 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1978 NBA Draft - he deferred a year to play his final season in Terre Haute - Bird’s accolades go on forever: 12 All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA First Team honors, three NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1998. However, Indiana State was just the springboard for one of the greatest careers the NBA has ever seen.ĭrafted No. In three years as a Sycamore, Bird helped take the team to its first ever NCAA Tournament, and carried them all the way to the 1979 Championship Game, though Indiana State lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. In Terre Haute, Ind., he became a national phenomenon. A star at Springs Valley High School, he earned a scholarship to Indiana University but left after a year, eventually winding up at Indiana State. and raised in nearby French Lick, Ind., Larry Bird’s legend is well documented and often told. Larry Bird - (1979-1982)īorn in West Baden Springs, Ind. Three of these players were named to the 50th anniversary team, while two, including Miller, are making their first appearance. A tie in the voting meant 26 new members were added for a grand total of 76 names. Selected by a panel of media members, current and former players, coaches, general managers and team executives, the group features all the players who made up the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team in 1996, and 25 new additions. And just as it did 25 years ago, the Hoosier state has a very respectable amount of representation. With the NBA celebrating its diamond anniversary, the league concluded its announcement of the 75th Anniversary Team Thursday. “I wasn’t expecting to be on that list truthfully,” Miller said. Whether because of technical delay or pure shock, it took Miller a few seconds to respond. INDIANAPOLIS - Sitting courtside in San Francisco, preparing to commentate the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers, Reggie Miller was caught by surprise.Ĭalled in under the guise of talking about Stephen Curry, another member of the 75th Anniversary Team, Miller was informed he had also made the team by TNT’s Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. ![]()
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