Larry Bird was one of six athletes honored at the Sports Museum's 10th annual The Tradition on Tuesday night at TD Garden, honoring the greatest athletes in New England sports history.
Bird, a Boston Celtics legend, was honored along with New England Patriots' cornerback Ty Law, Boston Bruins wing Willie O'Ree, Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, Lowell boxer Micky Ward and Bobbi Gibb, who was the first woman to compete in the Boston marathon.
The event drew a crowd of over 1,000, which event officials said was the biggest turnout. in the event's history. Bird received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and took time to let fans know that he always enjoyed returning to Boston.
"It's always good to come back," Bird said prior to the ceremony. "I don't get out here as often as I'd like, but it's always good to get back out here. A lot of memories here. I think (the award) just recognizes the fact that over the course of the years that I had some success and I'm grateful about it. Like I said, it's always good to get back to Boston and receiving an award is the icing on the cake." (via ESPN Boston)
Bird played his entire 13 year career in Boston, finishing with 21,791 points, 8,974 rebounds, a career 49.6 field goal percentage, and most importantly, three NBA championship banners.
"I really feel bad because we just won three championships," Bird said. "We were better than that. (1987) was probably my proudest season because the guys were really banged up and we made it to the Finals and had a chance. Kevin (McHale) had a broken foot he was playing on, Robert (Parish) had bone spurs in both ankles, Danny (Ainge) had a hip injury or a back injury. I was the healthiest one. But that was a gutsy team." (via ESPN Boston)
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