"Went behind the backboard, switched hands, flipped it up from five feet and it went in" — Larry Bird breaks down his favorite play of all time

Larry Bird created a lot of memorable basketball moments. From his epic win in the 1986 3-point contest to his clutch steal on Isiah Thomas in Game 5 of the 1987 East Finals, the Boston Celtics icon has had his fair share of great plays.

However, there is one particular play that stands out in Bird’s memory: the great follow-up shot he drained in Game 1 of the 1981 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets .

Left-hand finger roll

“1981 Finals against Houston,” Bird said in 2008, per the New York Post , when asked about his favorite basket. “I shot an outside shot, I felt it going off to the right. I ran in there, got it, went behind the backboard, switched hands, flipped it up from five feet and it went in. Lucky.”

Larry converted the key play in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Celtics were trailing by three points and every single point mattered. The follow-up lay-in boosted the crowd’s energy and shifted the momentum to C's side. In the end, the Celtics won Game 1, 98-95. The Hick from French Lick finished with 18 points, 21 rebounds, and nine assists.

I have arrived

The 1981 NBA Finals was actually a mixed performance bag for Larry. In Game 2, he dropped 19 points and snagged 21 rebounds in a heartbreaking loss. Despite the win in Game 3, Bird scored just eight points amid stifling defense from Robert Reid. The struggles continued in Game 4, where the forward had eight points on 27.3% shooting.

But Bird would not be considered a legend of the sport if he choked on the NBA’s biggest stage. With a chance to close the series out in Game 6, Kodak dropped 27 points on 55.0% shooting, to go along with 13 rebounds, and five assists.

His contributions were enough to win the game and the series. According to The Great White Hope, it was at that moment he knew the time for greatness had come. He wasn’t just your ordinary baller. He was a winner.

“We won the (1981) championship in Boston. I promised a buddy I’d come to his radio station win or lose. I get out of my car – it was downtown Boston – started walking down the street and people turned and looked and stopped. People were getting out of their cars clapping as I walked across the street. I knew that day I was a real champion,” the legendary forward concluded.

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