Indiana Pacers Larry Bird wins NBA Executive of the Year accolade - NBA Update
Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird has been named as the NBA’s Executive of the Year. The former Boston Celtics legend received the award before Indiana’s game-3 victory over the Miami Heat at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Bird was given the award after years at the rein of Indiana, where he built up a team almost from scratch. The Pacers, who are now up 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semi final matchup with the mighty Miami Heat, have a roster filled with talented, hardworking
players, but lack any genuine stars.
The Pacers have never been down in the doldrums under Bird’s watchful eye, which means he never received any top picks in the NBA Draft, but Larry’s foresight and hard work have enabled him to put together a side that looks set to be a dominant force in
the NBA for years.
"It was a long journey; it was a painful journey," Bird told reporters in Indianapolis. "But now we think it's going to pay dividends."
One of Larry’s findings, Danny Granger, who is now holding his own against super star Heat forward LeBron James, lavished praise on the basketball legend.
"I think it's an award well deserved," Pacers forward Danny Granger said. "Larry probably has more accolades than anybody right now."
Bird also coached the Indiana Pacers before moving to the front office. In his time as coach, he led the Pacers to the NBA Finals and won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award. With his latest win, Larry has become the only person in NBA history to win Coach
of the Year, Executive of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.
Pleased with the honour, Bird spoke of how he had to work and bring massive changes to the franchise which finally enabled it to come to the position it is in now.
"We had to change the culture," Bird said. "I thought Jimmy O'Brien really helped us in that aspect. He came in here and knew exactly what we had to do. We had to not only change the culture, but we had to take it slow and get some players we thought we
could build around."
Although revered at Indiana and honoured with the Executive of the Year award, Larry’s future remains uncertain.
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