When you think of Larry Bird, you think of a Boston Celtics legend and an iconic scorer in NBA history. He was a winner and a star of the league. Even now, 31 years after his retirement, Bird is still spoken about as a barometer of what a Celtics player needs to achieve to be considered among the all-time greats.
However, Bird wasn’t always the consummate professional we often remember him as. In a passage from his book “Unfinished Business” Bird told Jackie MacMullan that he once ate 10 gallons of Ice Cream and seven wedding cakes while recovering from an injury.
“I was so bored, I’d sit around the house, drive my wife crazy, and eat and eat,” Bird told McCallum. “In two and a half weeks, I was off. I ate ten gallons of ice cream and seven weddin’ cakes. Why them? I ate weddin’ cakes ’cause you knew they was gonna be good. I mean, who would (expletive) up a weddin’ cake?”
The injury in question occurred during the 1990-91 season. Bird still ended up playing in 75 games for the Celtics, averaging 19.4 points, 7.3 assists, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks.
Celtics Lab 229: Assessing the East at the 2023-24 NBA season's quarter-mark with Ky Carlin https://t.co/GhCtpFeorG pic.twitter.com/lUkQPBlOCG
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 29, 2023
Yet, his admission to having some bad eating habits through boredom makes Bird more relatable and his incredible talent even more impressive. After all, you don’t become a Celtics legend for nothing.
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