Despite Noble Intentions, Here?s How an NBA Legend?s Mother Put an End to Son?s 13 Year Stellar Career

When analyzing the reasons due to which NBA players opt for retirement, many different hypothesis have come out. While some retire just because they feel it?s time to hang up those basketball shoes, others have to drop out of the sport after having sustained injuries. NBA Legend Shaquille O?Neal had to famously retire after having spoiled his foot and toes due to several years of gameplay.

A Twitter user has recently shared a tale over how a kind gesture for his mother must have drove one of the greatest NBA players to drop out of professional basketball.

Larry Bird and his back problems

Larry Bird devoted 13 years of his life to the NBA, playing solely for the Boston Celtics. The 12x NBA All Star has had several accolades to his name, including being selected amongst the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and being selected amongst the League?s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

During the 1990?91 season, Bird developed a compressed nerve root in his back. The severity of the condition caused him to miss 22 games. Even though he had a surgery during the off-season to rectify the situation, his back problems continued to grow, causing him to miss 37 games in the next season.

After the player missed 4 out of 7 games during the Eastern Conference semi-finals of 1992, he announced his retirement from the NBA.

Twitter user shares a story

Frank Michael Smith, a sports enthusiast with over 8500+ Twitter followers, recently took to the social media site to write a long thread consisting of multiple tweets. He used them to narrate a story over how shoveling a driveway drove Larry Bird into retirement.

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Smith emphasized how during the last 7 years of his career, Larry Bird dealt with constant back pain. While he did not go into detail about what initially caused the pain, Smith diverted the reader?s attention to story that showed how Bird always made time for his family.Larry?s mother needed a new driveway to be build for their house in French Lick, Indiana. Bird chose to build the driveway himself, when instead he could have just paid someone to do the same.

According to Smith, Larry ?had committed irreparable damage to his spine? by the time he turned 28. He played through the pain ?in truly legendary fashion? and won the 1986 title along with his 3rd straight MVP.

Smith shared a picture of Bird lying alongside 76ers Legend Charles Barkley, describing how ?the Hick from French Lick? had to lie flat on plane surfaces.

Smith concluded the story with a question directed towards the readers: ?How great would Larry have been if he never shoveled that driveway??

What do you think about Frank Smith’s story regarding the player? Let us know in the comments.

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