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Larry Bird: basketball quiz

5 October 2026 · From small-town kid to three straight MVPs and beyond: ten questions about Larry Legend.

Quiz questions

  1. Larry Bird's best-known nickname rhymes with the small town where he grew up: 'The Hick from French Lick'. In which state is French Lick?

    • Kentucky
    • Indiana
    • Ohio
    • Illinois
    Answer

    Bird was born in nearby West Baden Springs and grew up in French Lick, Indiana. He stayed in the state for college at Indiana State, and later coached and ran the Indiana Pacers.

  2. In 1974 Bird enrolled at one of America's most famous basketball schools, whose fiery coach would go on to win three national titles. The huge campus overwhelmed him. In less than a month he was back home, working for the town, partly on a garbage truck. Which university did he walk away from?

    • Kentucky
    • Purdue
    • Notre Dame
    • Indiana
    Answer

    Bob Knight's Indiana went unbeaten to the 1976 national title, two years after Bird left. Bird started again at Indiana State in 1975 and took them to the 1979 NCAA final.

  3. Bird and Magic Johnson both arrived in the NBA in the autumn of 1979. Which of these four Hall of Famers is the oldest?

    • Larry Bird
    • Magic Johnson
    • Kevin McHale
    • Dominique Wilkins
    Answer

    Larry Bird. Bird was born on 7 December 1956, almost three years before Magic (14 August 1959). His winding road through college meant he was already 22 as an NBA rookie.

  4. Boston took Bird sixth in the 1978 draft, yet he played one more full college season before signing with the Celtics. How was that allowed?

    • Teams could hold the rights to any drafted college player for three years
    • Indiana State were allowed to keep him on loan for one more season
    • His original college class had graduated, so he could be drafted as a 'junior eligible'
    • The Celtics won a special lottery that let them pick one college junior
    Answer

    Bird had first enrolled in 1974, so his class graduated in 1978. Boston had to sign him before the 1979 draft, and did so on 8 June, weeks after the NCAA final.

  5. NBA front offices still talk about 'Bird rights'. They are named after Larry Bird, who is seen as the first player to benefit from the rule. What do they let a team do?

    • Trade a player straight after signing him as a free agent
    • Go over the salary cap to re-sign its own free agents
    • Keep a drafted player's rights while he stays in college
    • Offer its stars contracts longer than five years
    Answer

    Go over the salary cap to re-sign its own free agents. The official name is the Veteran Free Agent Exception. Boston re-signed Bird in 1983, just as the first salary cap was agreed, and the rule has carried his name ever since.

  6. In 1985-86 Bird won his third straight MVP, and the Celtics went 40-1 at home in the regular season. The only visiting team to win in Boston that season did it on 6 December 1985. Which team was it?

    • Los Angeles Lakers
    • Philadelphia 76ers
    • Milwaukee Bucks
    • Portland Trail Blazers
    Answer

    Portland won 121-103. Boston then went 10-0 at home in the playoffs and beat Houston in the Finals, so the Celtics lost only once at home all season.

  7. Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference finals. Detroit lead 107-106 with five seconds left and only need to inbound the ball. Bird steals Isiah Thomas's pass and, just staying in bounds on the baseline, finds a teammate cutting to the basket. Who scored the winning layup?

    • Dennis Johnson
    • Danny Ainge
    • Kevin McHale
    • Robert Parish
    Answer

    Dennis Johnson laid it in with about a second left, 108-107. Boston won the series in seven games, then lost the Finals to Magic's Lakers.

  8. In June 1980 Red Auerbach handed Golden State the first overall pick. That trade built the frontcourt that went on to win three titles with Bird. What did Boston get back?

    • Kevin McHale and Cedric Maxwell
    • Dennis Johnson and the pick used on Danny Ainge
    • Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick, used on Kevin McHale
    • Robert Parish and Bill Walton
    Answer

    Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick, used on Kevin McHale. Boston sent picks No. 1 and No. 13 for Parish and No. 3. Golden State took Joe Barry Carroll first, while Parish and McHale played 13 seasons together in Boston and are both in the Hall of Fame.

  9. Plenty of greats have won MVP, and a few went on to coach. Bird's set of awards, though, is unique in NBA history. Which combination does only he have?

    • MVP, Finals MVP and an NBA title as head coach
    • MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Olympic gold as a coach
    • MVP, Sixth Man of the Year and Coach of the Year
    • MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year
    Answer

    Bird was MVP in 1984, 1985 and 1986, Coach of the Year with Indiana in 1998 and Executive of the Year with the Pacers in 2012. As coach he took Indiana to the 2000 Finals.

  10. This coach won NBA titles with Bird in 1984 and 1986. As a player, he had won eight straight titles in Boston alongside Bill Russell. Who is he?

    • Bill Fitch
    • K.C. Jones
    • Tom Heinsohn
    • Chris Ford
    Answer

    K.C. Jones won every title from 1959 to 1966 as a player. Tom Heinsohn also won eight with Russell, but not in a row, and coached Boston to the 1974 and 1976 titles. Bill Fitch was the coach for Bird's first title in 1981.

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