On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise debuted their highly-regarded new prospect drafted the summer prior out of Indiana State, a Hick from French Lick, Indiana — Larry Bird. Larry Legend’s first game in the NBA came against the Houston Rockets, and fittingly happened to also be the night of the first-ever recorded 3-point field goal in league history as Celtics shooting guard Chris Ford connected from deep in Bird’s debut.
Bird, a native of West Baden Springs, Indiana, grew up in nearby French Lick (thus the nickname), and played collegiately briefly at Indiana University before transferring to Indiana State. This wrinkle made him draft-eligible in what was his junior season at Indiana State. In turn, this prompted Celtics team president Red Auerbach to exploit the loophole to take Bird with the sixth overall pick of the 1978 NBA draft.
