Bird was raised in French Lick, Indiana, and attended Indiana State University,

where he helped revive the basketball program and led the team to a 33–1 record in his senior season.

That season ended with a loss to Michigan State University in the NCAA championship game (1979), which was the first meeting of Bird and Magic Johnson, a rivalry that would become the centerpiece of the NBA’s popularization during the 1980s.

Bird was drafted by the Celtics after his junior year at Indiana State (1978) but did not play professionally until the 1979–80 season, when he won the Rookie of the Year award after contributing to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in NBA history (a 32-win improvement).