Most Influential NBA Players

The excitement that the NBA brings to basketball has no rival. The great plays, games, dunks, players and passion for basketball are reasons why the fans keep watching. Some people watch because they enjoy seeing their favorite players. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James are some of the most influential players in the NBA. Larry Bird was an influential player in his high school and in the NBA from the 1970-1980s. He was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana on December 7,1956. He had a rough childhood because of his dad's drinking addiction his father's suicide in the mid 1970s. He would travel back and forth to school in a town called French Lick, where he excelled at basketball at an early age. Bird was a key component in his high school's basketball team, where he was the leading all-time scorer by the time he graduated in 1974. Larry Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 draft. The Celtics gave Bird a contract worth $3.25 million over five years. Bird's new contract made him the highest paid rookie in the history of team sports at that time. Bird averaged 21.3 points per game, and averaged 143 steals and 2,955 minutes per season played. He led the Celtics to 3 championships and was also awarded MVP (most valuable player) 3 times. After helping the Dream Team to Olympic glory, Bird announced his retirement from the game of basketball in 1992. Bird ended his career with 21,791 points, 8,974 rebounds, and 5,695 assists; he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. Shortly after his announcement, he became an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. At the end of his career Bird was making $23 million a year (Larry Bird Biography 1,2). Michael Jordan was an influential player in high school and in the NBA in the 1980s-1990s. He was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. In 1975 Jordan enjoyed playing baseball and was on the little league team, leading them to the Little league World Series. Jordan