[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-808":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444375,1896,"Chapter 808 - 26 Bird out_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-808",808,"\u003Cp>When Gavitt became the CEO of the team, I was incredibly excited. I was sure he would be the man to lead us to our next championship—our operations in 1990 were indeed excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just after the end of the 91 season, two months before the surgery, I walked into Dave’s office and told him: \"Dave, I can’t go on like this. I am no longer my old self. I can’t play as I wish anymore, I think I should retire.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dave is a very persuasive person; he can really fire you up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke passionately, recalling the glorious history of the Celtics and hoping to win another championship next year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I was somewhat tempted; our team was indeed strong, Parrish and McHale still had fuel in their tanks, Hornacek and Divac were still developing, and we had great backups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I were still the player I was from 1984 to 1986, I would certainly lead the team to 60 wins and continue the pursuit of the championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as there was a slight chance, I would not give up. Never. I hadn’t tasted the championship for too long, and I was so thirsty for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The closest I got to the third championship was in 1986 when we had an almost perfect season but fell short in the finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Boston Garden, we witnessed Ah Gan ascend to greatness, and I knew then that the entire League might be dominated by this number 11.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turned out I was right, but I never expected that we would never make it back to the finals again; we were always a little short, always just a bit more to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1991 I was exhausted; deep down I no longer believed we could work miracles, especially since we kept losing to the Trail Blazers and Bulls during the regular season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing these top teams, I could no longer decide the outcome of the game at critical moments; injuries and age were limiting me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told Dave, \"I’m afraid I’m not up to it anymore, I can’t score over Ah Gan in one-on-one battles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dave said, \"Almost no one can score on Ah Gan in one-on-one, is everyone supposed to retire?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But to win the championship, one must have that ability... Sorry, Dave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this conversation, I resolved to leave the beloved NBA court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t inform my teammates or talk to most of my friends, but went directly to hold a press conference, announcing the news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, my wife Diana had returned to Indiana; there was some family matter, so she didn’t join me at the press conference. I think she really didn’t want to see it all come to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remember after the press conference that night she called me and said she was at a beauty salon getting her hair done, and they broadcasted the news on the radio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said she wept, it’s a huge change for both of us, we’ve been through all the pain and sweat, and now suddenly everything has ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were many reporters at the press conference, even though we hadn’t informed them in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wanted to know how I spent the night before preparing to announce my retirement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told them, I sat alone at home in Brookline, watching old game videos, watching myself cry uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that was pure nonsense, I lied to them, I didn’t cry at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I did sit at home, not watching videos, but telling myself: \"My god, it’s really over. I’m really leaving here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I began to recall when I first came here, how much I loved this house, and the many happy years I spent here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I reviewed everything that had happened in the past decade in my mind, feeling grateful that I spent my entire professional career in one place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I once told people, \"If you haven’t played for the Boston Celtics, you haven’t played professional basketball.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, I know that’s an exaggeration; the Celtics are no different essentially from any other team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that’s how I feel, I never thought of wearing another jersey; if so, I would retire first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of my friends think it’s a pity that fans didn’t know that one game was my last because they didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, but they did say goodbye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Celtics held a retirement night for me, one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Dave Gavitt’s idea, initially I didn’t want to participate, as the Celtics usually retire jerseys during halftime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Dave said, it was nearly impossible to conduct the ceremony in such a short time without disrupting the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His idea was to sell tickets for \"Larry Bird Night\" and donate all proceeds to charity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His vision was for me to stand on the stage in uniform, and various people important to my career would come up and talk to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to invite Magic Johnson from Los Angeles; I thought it was a great idea, because throughout our careers, our relationship was very close—so close that I didn’t expect he would retire just two months after I did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once I agreed to \"Larry Bird Night\", I started to worry, who would come? There wasn’t a game to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once the news was announced, tickets sold out in minutes, everyone was incredibly excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mark Leaf from the Boston marketing department came up with an idea: to sell 1033 signed, limited edition Leroy Neiman artworks, priced at 1033 US dollars each, proceeds also going to charity (33 was my jersey number).\u003C\u002Fp>",937,"2026-06-06T01:41:38.369Z",1,"novelbin.me","28649af39451bc675e083912ab2296b8a19b00d485b934a834fca351d7fcdb54","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-809","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-807",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]