“Back in the building”: Larry Bird is once again serving as a consultant with the Indiana Pacers

“Back in the building”: Larry Bird is once again serving as a consultant with the Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS: Larry Bird seems to be back with the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers tweeted a picture of the Indiana basketball hero back inside team facilities the day after Bird’s previous team, the Boston Celtics, lost to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

It is unknown whether the image was taken at Gainbridge Fieldhouse or another team location, but it appears to show Bird sitting in a chair with the Pacers emblem while watching a practice.

The 66-year-old Bird can be seen in it sporting a gray baseball cap, a white shirt with a long sleeve and a collar, blue jeans, white socks, and gray and blue Nike running shoes.

However, the caption of the image, which is displayed below, is far more significant.

Indiana Pacers on Twitter, with a photo
The Pacers tweeted, “Larry Bird is back in the building serving as a consultant.”

Bird appears to be back with the Pacers after resigning as team president in May of 2017, despite the team having not made an official announcement on his rehire.

The Pacers front office acknowledged on Tuesday night that Bird has served as a consultant to the front office by attending pre-draft workouts.

After his brilliant playing career ended, Bird worked for the Pacers in a variety of capacities. He was head coach from 1997 to 2000 and president of basketball operations from 2003 to 2012 and again from 2013 to 2017.

Before the Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in 2000, Bird, who was the 1997–1998 NBA Coach of the Year, led the team to the NBA Finals.

Kevin Pritchard replaces Larry Bird as president of the Indiana Pacers.
Kevin Pritchard has been the Pacers’ president of basketball operations since Bird departed in 2017. It appears that Bird will now work with Pritchard once more as a team consultant.

This offseason, the Pacers could use a little assistance. With some youthful talent emerging and the NBA draft approaching, Indiana, which just finished its third consecutive losing season and a three-year playoff drought, has a chance to turn things around.

The Pacers won the lottery in Chicago earlier this month to acquire the seventh overall choice in the 2018 NBA draft. It’s probable that Bird is assisting the squad in identifying players who could be able to join them the following season.

Furthermore, with young talent like All-NBA Rookie Team member Bennedict Mathurin and 2023 All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton on the bench, Bird may utilize his NBA experience to aid in the development of players already on the team.