Did Larry Bird have another brother who played in the NBA?
Did Larry Bird have another brother who played in the NBA?
By Edcel Panganiban November 19, 2024 14:37
Having a brother who immediately reached all-time great status after a few years in the NBA is more of a curse than a blessing at times. No one knows this more than Eddie Bird, the brother of the famed Boston Celtics legend. Larry Bird was already a household name in the sport. This meant that expectations regarding his brother at Indiana State were also high. How did this pan out and did he make the NBA?
Well, the short is no. Eddie Bird was the only other sibling of Larry Bird that dabbled in basketball. He was able to play for Indiana State but the pressure of living up to his older brother's name eventually got to him.
Despite the huge shoes to be filled, he still balled out for Indiana State. Eddie notched 14 points per game. Their automatic shots from outside also seem to be genetic because he knocked down his three-pointers 37.1% of the time. His game largely resembled that of the Celtics legend but he did not like being compared to Larry at all.
He even outlined his dismay after hearing so much comparisons: “After the first few games here, Coach told me I was going to have to face up to the pressure, ignore it, go out and play my game. I'm trying to get away from Larry, trying to be my own self. They say I act a lot like Larry. Maybe that`s why we don`t get along too good."
Eddie may not have made it to the NBA but he should still be very proud of himself. After all, not a lot of athletes get the honor of playing college basketball nor even score more than 14 points a night due to their on-court acumen.