This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/30/2016
Considered by basketball experts an all-time legend, Larry Bird helped save the NBA, along with Magic Johnson, from tape delayed Finals to prime time must-see-TV! Bird's career high 29.9 points per game average during the 1987-88 season set the stage for one of the greatest moments in NBA history!
After being down 3-2 to the Dominique Wilkins led Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics narrowly won game 6 in Atlanta to force a game 7 back in Boston Garden. Here is where the Larry Bird Legend takes shape. Bird ratcheted the intensity up a notch, guarantying a victory in game 7 saying,
"They might as well forget it, they've got no chance."
Entering the fourth quarter, the Celtics led by two, 84-82. Wilkins had a game-high 31 points, while Bird had a relatively quiet 14. That was all about to change.
Wilkins scored a game-high 47 points, with 16 in the fourth quarter. Bird finished with 34 overall, unloading 20 critical points in the fourth quarter to lead the Celtics to the series clinching victory. After the game, Bird was quoted referring to this game as the best game he had every played.
Bird: "I played in a lot of great games, and it’s hard to rank them. They’re all different you know. I know I felt one thing, after that game: It was the best one I ever played. I said, whoa I can play."
Wilkins: "I remember walking off the floor and Bird said we both deserved to win but unfortunately somebody has to go home. It was a series that you could hold your head up and say, you know what? We went hard and gave it everything we had. Both teams did."
Subsequently, the NBA and the Boston Celtics agreed with Bird and deemed it as one of the greatest games in NBA history. This game has been featured on the DVDs:
Larry Bird - A Basketball Legend including Larry Bird's top 3 greatest game performances in their entirety, and
NBA Boston Celtics: The Essentials: The Boston Celtics bring you five of the team's most thrilling playoff victories.
This size 46+3 Sand Knit jersey, which originated from the collection of a Boston Celtics executive from the 1980s, has been VIDEO-MATCHED to both of the above DVDs. Coming with a VIDEO-MATCH certification by NBA authenticators, THE MEIGRAY GROUP, and according to Bird being the best game he has every played, this historic performance jersey can be considered one of, if not THE, finest Larry Bird jerseys extant.
To see a complete account of this historic game and commentary by players involved, refer to the superb accounting the NBA conducted at: Click Here