Larry Bird #2

The 1978-79 Boston Celtics finished the season 29-53, in fifth place in the NBA’s Atlantic Division. The league’s most storied franchise had fallen on hard times, but help was on the way via French Lick, Indiana – and Larry Joe Bird arrived to usher in a new era of Boston basketball. Bird won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, and the Celtics improved by 32 victories in his first season, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Honors are nice, but Bird was all about winning championships – he brought home three titles overall, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal as part of the “Dream Team” at Barcelona in 1992.