Larry Bird explains why he played through injuries during his NBA career: "I didn't want some little injury messing up my season"

Larry Bird was one of the greatest to ever play in the NBA. Bird won three straight MVP awards from 1984-86 and led the Boston Celtics to three championships during the 80s decade.

As a player, Larry was known for his feathery shooting touch and remarkable all-around skills. But perhaps more than his basketball skills, what made Bird a legend was his incredible toughness and willingness to play through pain to emerge victorious.

According to Bird, people tolerate pain differently. But for him, it wasn't about pain tolerance. It was about playing the game he loved.

"People's pain thresholds are different," said Bird in an interview during his final NBA season. "Some guys dislocate a finger and go ahead and play with it. Some guys can dislocate a finger and be out for six weeks. I think it's just something within your body that some guys have a good pain threshold, and some don't. But to me, I was just so glad I got to the NBA and made it; I didn't want some little injury messing up my season, a lot of them."

Larry played through severe pain

Despite the physical nature of the NBA during the 1980s, Larry Legend began his career as a very durable player. In his first nine in the NBA, Bird sat out only 21 out of a possible 738 regular season games. That's when the wear and tear of playing through those 'little' injuries snowballed.

The Hick from French Lick was diagnosed with painful bone spurs on both heels. He underwent surgery to remove them, and his 1988-89 season ended after only six games. Bird came back to play three more seasons, but after overcoming his Achilles problems, his back started to bother him.

Larry went under the knife again after the 1990-91 season to remove a disc from his back. But his back problems wouldn't go away. Bird played through pain one more season before he finally called it a career.

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Joe Kleine says Bird sacrificed a lot of pain.

Former NBA bruiser Joe Kleine, who played in Boston from 1989 to 1993, witnessed the final four seasons of Larry's legendary career. As Kleine saw, Bird had to endure a great amount of pain just to keep the Celtics competitive in their post-championship years.

"I remember we were playing Detroit in the playoffs, and they brought a bike, and I remember sitting there, it was my first year, and I was like, 'Why the hell are they bringing a bike into the locker room?' He rode the bike for an hour before the game to get his back loose so he could play the game," Kleine recalled .

Despite playing with a severe back injury, Bird willed the Celtics to victories when he was on the court. Ultimately, Larry's toughness finally caught up with him, as his back forced him to retire in 1992 at the age of 35 and after playing just 13 NBA seasons.

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