Shooting was Larry Bird’s first passion in basketball, and he worked tirelessly to become an expert at it.
Larry Bird has always had a deep passion for basketball. Nothing could stop young Larry Legend from perfecting his craft as a child. Without fail, Bird would seize the chance to practice whenever it presented itself. Larry, for example, used to hoop in the park across from the Laundromat while he waited for the clothing of the Bird family to dry.
In Wish It Lasted Forever: Life With the Larry Bird Celtics, written by Dan Shaughnessy, Bird stated, “I practiced a lot by myself.” “My mom would go to the laundromat and I would go with her to carry laundry because we didn’t have a washer or dryer at home. I would frequently go across the street to the park and take pictures while the garments were still on.
Larry desired to swoop in.
Bird’s enthusiasm for basketball was not sparked by a lot of basketball-related sights and experiences, unlike other children. For as long as he can remember, Larry’s goal has been to hit just the net, just like his elder brother Mark. The way the ball swooshed into the rim’s soft net swept him off his feet, as “The Hick from French Lick” put it
.
Larry was excited to shoot hoops like Mark, and he discovered then that consistent practice was all it took. That’s exactly what he did.
In the book, Bird said, “The thing about basketball that I liked at first was just the shooting.” observing the ball enter. I used to rebound for my three-year-old brother Mark at the courts around town. I wouldn’t even need to move when he was fifteen to sixteen feet away because the ball would just glide past the net. That drew my attention. “How do you do that?” I would ask, and he would respond, “Because I shoot all the time.”
The outcomes were astounding.
The well-known proverb goes, “Practice makes perfect,” and Bird quickly attained that goal. Larry Legend was a skilled marksman when he enrolled in Spring Valley High School. Additionally, Gary Holland, one of Bird’s high school coaches, recalls that the player never had any weak points because he consistently hit the ball from all angles.
“Had there been a three-point line… Larry’s place on the court would be anywhere. I mean, anywhere!” Holland exclaimed of Bird’s shooting at one point.
Bird never turned back after he had perfected his shooting technique. His skillful hands continued into the NBA, and the rest is history as they say.
