Writers’ Memories of Bird

Times staff writers remember Larry Bird, basketball player, on parquet and elsewhere:

The Hick from French Lick. Larry versus Magic. Champagne showers. Behind-the-back passes. Over-the-head passes. Too slow to be this good. The Big Three. The emergence of a personality as well as a player.

The fourth-quarter playoff shootout against Dominique and the Atlanta Hawks. Intercepting the pass by Isiah Thomas along the baseline. The Dream Team.

Said Dave Gavitt, the Boston Celtics’ senior executive vice president: “When Larry Bird retires, people aren’t going to remember him backing a guy down one-on-one. They’re going to remember the touch passes, the look-aways, the back doors, the sneaks along the baseline, the quick reversals, the open shots.”

The three-point shots. The fans moving to the front of their seats by reflex. Avoiding the dead spots in Boston Garden for the one-bounce dribble. The move to power forward. “Larry! Larry! Larry!” The bone spurs. The back.

The legend.