Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love [Hardcover]

Larry Bird (Author), Jackie MacMullan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Larry Bird captured the imagination and admiration of basketball fans throughout his thirteen-year career with the Boston Celtics with his trademark style of creative, intelligent, exciting, and hard-nosed play. And then, last year in his rookie season as head coach of the Indiana Pacers, he infused the team with these same qualities -- and the results were remarkable. He turned around a slumping franchise and led the Pacers to the conference finals. To finish off a great season, Bird was named the NBA's "Coach of the Year" -- quite an accolade for Bird, who had never coached before and surprised many fans with his unusual and unorthodox coaching methods.

This book is a look into one of the greatest minds to have ever stepped on a hardwood court. Larry Bird shares his inner thoughts on basketball that to date only his Celtic teammates and Pacers players have been privy. From dissecting offensive and defensive strategies to assessing the talent of NBA players; from sharing the genesis of his coaching philosophies to how he deals with today's overpriced and temperamental players, it's all there. This book is Larry Bird's basketball playbook, and it's the one book every basketball fan will want to read.

Cover design by Tom Tafuri
Cover photograph by Glenn James/NBA Photos

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first sentence of Larry Bird's candid post-player memoir begins blandly enough: "On August 18, 1992, I announced my retirement from the Boston Celtics." It's the one that follows--"It was one of the happiest days of my life"--that sets the tone for the book. Most stars have to be pulled off center stage, but as Bird Watching makes clear, the former Celtic legend who returned home to eventually coach the Indiana Pacers is certainly a rare bird. He's not afraid to ruffle feathers. And he's not afraid to tell his truth.

Perhaps the most striking revelations concern his heart. On top of the back pain that plagued him through much of his career, from time to time Bird experienced the feeling--and disorienting flush--of an irregular heartbeat, which he kept hidden from the Celtics. Even now, in the stress-filled world of coaching, Bird has almost passed out on the bench a couple of times--but he remains a fierce competitor. "I'm not going to be stupid about this heart condition, but I'm not going to live my whole life in fear of this thing either. If it goes, it goes."

Bird Watchingspends virtually no time with Bird the player; he's not one for looking back. He's more interested in explaining his evolution and thinking as a coach, examining the current state of the NBA, and picking apart the Pacer's disastrous 1999 playoff loss to the Knicks. He does, however, reminisce about his amazing connection to Magic Johnson, comparing it to the bond between Ali and Frazier. "I knew it was going to be like that forever after I played him in college for the national championship," Bird writes. "I never came up against anyone, other than Magic, who could challenge me mentally. Magic always took me to the limit." From Bird, it's hard to imagine a more heartfelt compliment. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly

Fans expecting the literary highlight reel of the NBA legend's championship years with the Boston Celtics may be initially put off by this loosely organized collection of opinions and reminiscences. They should stick with it, however, because ultimately the book is an endearingly honest self-portrait of a humble man who has made the most of his opportunities. Celtic fans will be titillated by the frank reports of just how Larry Legend wound up leaving Boston. Being a give-it-to-me-straight kind of guy, he was disgusted with the disingenuous ways of the Celtic front office, where he briefly worked after his playing days. Bird, now the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, also explains, quite briskly, how his relationship with fellow Celtic Kevin McHale went sour: as their careers wound down, McHale and another teammate went behind Bird's back to reporters with complaints that his play had become selfish. But Bird's refusal to pull punches doesn't hit only his adversaries: he admits that he was lucky that his good friend Rick Robey was traded away from the Celtics, because the good times they had together got in the way of Bird's career. He also writes that not he, but Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz should have been named Coach of the Year in 1998. The Hick from French Lick solidifies his reputation as a straight-talker unimpressed with his own legend. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Printing edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446524646
• ISBN-13: 978-0446524643
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bird, Larry
  • #37 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > Professional

More About the Author

Larry Bird played thirteen seasons with the Boston Celtics and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. He was head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000 and currently serves as their President of Basketball Operations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for Bird fans and sports fans!, January 13, 2000

By 

Rachel M. Stenberg (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love (Hardcover)

I have read what I thought all there was to know about the greatest baskeball player of all-time. But through this book, I have learned more about the legendary Bird. The book takes you through the later years of Bird's injured-plagued career and through his first years coaching the Pacers. He walks us through his struggles and joys of coaching a team he plans will make the NBA Finals. The book shows me what I truly love about Larry Bird. A book not to be missed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must buy for Bird fans; a quick but very interesting read, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love (Hardcover)

This book is virtually required reading for any fan of the Celtics, Pacers, or Larry Bird. If you ever wondered what Bird's thoughts were regarding his late-career injuries, his role with the Dream Team, his days in the Celtic front office, or his becoming a first-time NBA head coach, you're in luck. Larry Legend lays it all out in straightforward, no-bull fashion. While the book could hardly be labeled a "tell-all expose," it does contain a number of surprising revelations: his previously unknown heart condition, the machinations in the Celtic organization which wound up with the hiring of Rick Pitino, what Bird thought of certain former teammates and opponents, and so on. The book is a relatively quick read, even at approx. 320 pages, but I found it highly entertaining. I confess to being a big Bird fan before I ever read this book, but even if you're not, I suspect you'll come away duly impressed by the man's humility, honesty, and intelligence. As for the book's co-writer, Jackie MacMullan, it's impossible to know how much of the wording, tone, and style is hers vs. Larry's, but my impression is that she was true to her subject. In addition, I suspect her considerable writing skills were instrumental in creating such a smooth, concise work. Who'd have guessed that Larry Bird, painfully shy and inarticulate as a young man, would ever produce a candid and interesting book like this? The Hick from French Lick surprises us all again!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Valuable Book, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love (Hardcover)

Bird Watching is one of those rare books that captures both the man, his courage, yet his simplicity. This book is chock full of surprises and funny stories. Jackie MacMullan, who writes so well for Sports Illustrates, has really slam dunked her first book