Our first player profile belongs to none other than Larry Legend himself. Since the Rewritten Rings timeline begins with the 1983-84 season, everything that happened before then remains unchanged.
Bird entered the NBA in 1979, won Rookie of the Year, captured his first championship over the Rockets in 1981, and earned four All-Star selections before our alternate history began.
Bird's first season in the Rewritten Rings universe looked familiar at first. He led the Celtics to the 1984 NBA Championship over the Lakers and was once again named Finals MVP. Unlike the six-game battle from reality, however, Boston completed a stunning four-game sweep.
The biggest change to Bird's legacy came in the MVP race. While he won three consecutive league MVPs from 1984-86 in real life, he never captured a single MVP award in this universe. Instead, Magic Johnson dominated the decade, claiming four straight MVPs, including the seasons Bird had won in reality.
Boston repeated as champions in 1985, defeating Adrian Dantley and the Utah Jazz, giving Bird his third career title and second in the Rewritten Rings era.
Their long-awaited rematch with the Lakers didn't come until 1986, when Magic and Los Angeles earned revenge with a Finals sweep. In real life that revenge came in the 85 Finals, here it was a year later.
The Celtics changed dramatically over the next several years. Dennis Johnson had already been traded away before the 1986 Finals, with Darwin Cook taking over at point guard and Vinnie Johnson joining the starting lineup via a trade.
Robert Parish was later dealt away in the 86 off-season, while Kevin McHale was eventually traded for the first overall pick in 1989, which Boston used to draft Shawn Kemp.
Bird returned to the Finals one last time in 1990, facing Magic and the Lakers for the third and final meeting of their legendary rivalry. Terry Cummings earned Finals MVP as Los Angeles claimed the championship, while Bird's former teammate Robert Parish celebrated his fourth career title as he signed with the Purple and Gold.
Although Bird never reached another NBA Finals after 1990, his career lasted far longer than it did in reality. Instead of retiring after the 1992 season, he played through 1997, earning 14 All-Star selections from 1980-93. Along the way, he shared the court with future Celtics stars Shawn Kemp, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, and rookie Ray Allen.
Bird finished his Rewritten Rings career with three championships, two Finals MVPs, 14 All-Star appearances, and one remarkable distinction: despite never winning another title after 1985, he never missed the playoffs, and extending one of the NBA's greatest careers for five unforgettable extra seasons.
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