Bird Credits Coaches, Teammates

STEVE HERMAN AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Larry Bird passes the credit as deftly as he passed the
basketball during his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Celtics.

Basketball fundamentals? He got them from his coaches, all the way back to
grade school.

NBA championships and most valuable player awards? His teammates did that
for him.

Even being named NBA coach of the year with the Indiana Pacers this past
season wasn't entirely his own doing.

``I had two great assistants and a great ball club that follows
leadership,'' Bird said Tuesday.

Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame a day earlier, Bird said his own
success was never the motivation.

``I never really thought about the Hall of Fame. I never played basketball
to get in the Hall of Fame,'' Bird said in Market Square Arena, his first
public comments since his selection to the Hall. ``I played basketball to
be the best player on my high school team and the best player on my college
team and then, on the pro level, I just wanted our team to succeed.

``It seems like an individual award, but it's not. It's not just me. It's
everybody. I just used my abilities to take it to the next level.''

His abilities were questioned at every stage along the way, he said.

``I was always told at a young age I wan't big enough, wasn't strong
enough, wasn't quick enough and couldn't jump. I fooled 'em, didn't I?'' he
said.

What made Bird great was his hard work, his dedication, his unselfishness
and an uncanny ability to make everyone around him play better.

``I think the eye-hand coordination is probably the greatest thing you can
have, plus a lot of practice shooting the ball at the basket and being in
the right place at the right time,'' he said. ``I dedicated myself to the
game and at the age of 13 fell in love with it. I played a lot of
basketball, but I always had a unique sense of feel and touch and able to
see people around me. It was a blessing. Plus, I remember growing from 6-2
to 6-7 in one summer. So that didn't hurt me, either.''

Bird was regarded as a good, but not great player at Springs Valley High
School in southern Indiana. He dropped out of Indiana even before the start
of practice as a freshman in 1974, but was lured back to college at Indiana
State in 1976.

By his junior year, he was an All-America and caught the eye of Red
Auerbach, who drafted him as an underclassman and waited a year to sign him
with the Celtics. In the meantime, Bird took Indiana State to the No. 1
ranking and an undefeated season - until a loss to Michigan State and Magic
Johnson in the 1979 NCAA championship game.

Bird was the college player of the year in 1979 and the NBA rookie of the
year in 1980, the first of his 13 seasons with the Celtics. By the time he
retired with a bad back in 1992, he was a three-time NBA most valuable
player and twice an NBA Finals MVP.

When he became eligible for the Hall of Fame, his selection was a foregone
conclusion.

``It's a very exciting day for me,'' Bird said. ``It's probably one of the
greatest things that can ever happen to a sports figure. I played a lot of
years and always felt I played as hard as I possibly could. I dedicated
myself to the game. This is the ultimate. This is unbelievable.''

But, he kept repeating, he didn't do it alone.

``I know all the hard work I've done over the years, all the people that
helped me along the way. So it's not just me.''