The Indiana Pacers never won a championship under Larry Bird, but Indiana came close three different times. Right now, Bird’s time in Indianapolis might be a failure, but in hindsight it could have been worse.
Given the bad luck and limited resources Bird came as close as any Coach or President has come to winning a championship without winning it. Bird’s run with Indiana started in 1997 when he took the head coaching job from Larry Brown.
2000 Indiana Pacers: Larry Bird’s Final Year as Coach
Just five years before Bird took the job with Indiana he had retired from the Boston Celtics because of a back injury.