The Boston Celtics drafted Indiana State superstar Larry Bird with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. Bird, seeking a higher salary than Red Auerbach and the Celtics were offering, played his final season with the Sycamores instead of jumping to the professional ranks. When Bird did make his debut, in the 1979-80 season, he immediately rejuvenated a struggling Celtics team. Starting with his first NBA game, a 114-106 victory over the Houston Rockets that saw Bird finish with 14 points, 10 boards, and five assists, the Celtics were a totally different team than the previous season. The presence of the 6’9” sharpshooter from French Lick transformed the Celtics into a force to be reckoned with, improving the team’s record from 29-53 in 1978-79 to 61-21 in 1979-80.

Bird ran away with the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1979-80, receiving 63 first place votes compared to Magic Johnson’s three. Bird also got 15 first place votes in the MVP race, foreshadowing his three future conquests of the Association’s most prestigious award. For the 1979-80 season, Bird averaged a double-double of 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while adding 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the newly unbeatable C’s.  Bird made the first of nine consecutive All-Star appearances in 1979-80, scoring seven points with six boards and seven dimes for the victorious Eastern Conference team at the Capital Centre. The Celtics, led by a new coach in Bill Fitch, advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were dispatched by Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins’ Sixers. Bird was one of the NBA's greatest stars for the next decade, winning three consecutive NBA MVP Awards from 1984 to 1986. Bird made 12 All-Star teams in his career, and led the Celtics to NBA titles in 1981, 1984, and 1986. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. 

Offered here is a pair of green and white Converse All-Star sneakers worn by Bird circa 1979-85. The sneakers are made of a Celtics-colored green fabric-like material, with white Converse stars and chevrons sewn on each side of the shoes. The soles of the shoes are off-white gum rubber.  The laces are white, and a Converse logo is printed on the heel of each shoe. A Converse All-Star tag is sewn on each tongue, while a “Made in the USA” size 13.5 flag is attached to the inside of each sneaker. Bird has signed the outside of the right shoe in silver marker. These shoes come with a LOA from JSA for the signature and a LOA from MEARS (316050) for the game use. 

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