The full story behind the richest rookie contract in NBA history. 1979. The Boston Celtics held Larry Bird’s draft rights on a clock. No signature by draft night and he goes back into the pool — where the Los Angeles Lakers held the number one pick.
This is the press conference that ended it: five years, $3.25 million, $650,000 a year. The richest rookie contract in the history of American sports. Red Auerbach and agent Bob Woolf had spent months going at each
other in the Boston papers. Bird hadn’t played an NBA minute.
Then Bird stepped to the microphone and said he’d have played for nothing.
The NBA changed the rule right after. It’s still called the Larry Bird collegiate rule.
Full video — three RARE tapes recorded before Bird’s first NBA minute, including Dave Cowens admitting he’d never seen him play: https://youtu.be/F0gk_COfa1Y
Another entry from the CLNS archive vault — Larry Bird Rookie Press Conference, June 8, 1979
🍀 Related: Larry Bird Admits He Was in a Slump — “Max Pulled Us Through”
🍀 Related: Dave Cowens Had No Idea Who LARRY BIRD Was 😳 The 1979 Tapes
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