"I would hate to sell my house and see somebody go in there and not knowing the ups and downs" - Larry Bird on why he refuses to sell his old Boston home
One of the big decisions Larry Bird had to wrestle with when retiring was the thought of staying away from Boston. It was practically his second home. Not just because of the championships, the MVP awards or the banners he helped raise at the old Garden, but because Boston represented a phase of his life that shaped him more than any arena could.
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For more than a decade, Bird's fingerprints were all over the hardwood floors of the Boston Celtics, but off the court, his roots ran just as deep in the quiet streets of Brookline, Massachusetts.
Not for sale
Bird's home had memories packed into its walls that any championship ring could hold. It was a sanctuary of solitude between brutal practices and even more brutal playoff runs. It was a backdrop to a chapter of greatness.
And for Bird, letting it go would be like boxing up an entire identity.
"I was thinking about selling my house; I said if I retire, I'm going to sell my house," Bird said. "I cannot sell that house, that house has got more memories than anything or any car or anything I've ever had. I would hate to sell my house and see somebody go in there and not knowing the ups and downs I had in that one place."
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During his playing years, Bird lived in Brookline, a suburb just southwest of Boston proper. It wasn't far from the action, but it was far enough for peace. A practical place, not flashy, just like him. There were no press conferences in that house, no limelight, no green jerseys on the walls. But that was exactly why it mattered so much.
He bought the house in the early '80s, just as the Celtics were climbing back into contention. While Boston fans saw the legend in full bloom on the parquet, the man behind the curtain would return to Brookline each night to recharge. Through back injuries, bitter Finals losses and championship parades, that home stayed the same. It carried him through the lowest valleys and the highest peaks.
That was the house he owned when he was in rivalry with Magic Johnson and all the Finals series he played. That was also the house where he processed the pain and the exhaustion of pushing through spinal disc issues that ultimately cut his playing years short. It was the one consistent place in a career filled with shifting pieces and rising stakes.
Even when he left the franchise in a formal sense, first as a player in 1992, then later as a special assistant in the front office, the house never lost its pull.
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Related: Tracy McGrady believes he was never put in the situation to win a ring: "Replace me with Kobe with Shaq... You don't think I can carry the Lakers to a championship?"
Bird staying close to home
In 1997, Bird returned to his home state of Indiana to take on a new challenge as the head coach of the Pacers. He led the team to the NBA Finals in 2000 and was named Coach of the Year in his first season.
It was a natural full-circle moment; Indiana raised him, and he was back giving back. But Boston was never erased with the house standing as proof.
"If I leave Boston, that house is going to stay there," Larry Legend said. "I don't care if I live in it or not. But to me, that's a very special place."
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Even today, Bird remains more of a private man than a public figure. He's declined most offers to reenter the basketball spotlight full-time, choosing instead to live life with less attention. But when he talks about that Brookline house, the words come out clear, firm and grounded in something more than nostalgia.
Many athletes often sell their homes as assets, but Bird's attachment stands out. He's not interested in flipping the page just to keep moving. There's dignity in holding onto what helped build a person, and he's always been someone who puts weight on things that mattered over time.
That house isn't just a piece of property. It's the place where a young man became a Celtic, and a Celtic became a legend.
Related: "Yeah, they'll probably have to do something" - Bird says the NBA will be forced to move the 3-point line back if high volume continues
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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