Everything you need to know about Larry Bird's wife Dinah Mattingly
Hall of Famer Larry Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest Boston Celtics to ever play basketball. After being drafted sixth overall by the Celtics in the 1978 draft, Bird spent his entire career in Boston and won three NBA championships. During his career, Bird was a three-time NBA MVP and a 12-time All-Star.
Larry Bird is without question one of the most decorated and revered players in the history of the Celtics organization. His longtime rivalry with Magic Johnson from college throughout their storied careers has been one of the most interesting rivalries in all sports. In addition, Bird has become somewhat of a mythical figure since his retirement.
Former teammates and opponents of Bird have recalled his fierce competitiveness and love for trash talk. In one of the most iconic stories from his career, before Bird walked out to compete in his third 3-point contest, he asked his opponents, "Who's coming in second?"
The story, and his subsequent win, perfectly describes the lethal shooter and fearless competitor that was Larry Bird.
With his accolades on the court being well known, we thought we would change things up and take a look at the personal life of Larry Bird. Specifically, his longtime wife Dinah Mattingly.
Intriguing facts about Dinah Mattingly
Larry Bird has done a spectacular job of keeping his personal life and his family out of the spotlight. While some athletes prefer to keep a very public persona, Bird and his wife have done just the opposite.
The pair were reportedly high school sweethearts who both studied at Indiana State University. Although Bird was married once before, he and Mattingly started dating in the 1980s, shortly after Bird began his career as a Boston Celtic.
The pair have been married since 1989, and have since adopted two children: Conner and Mariah. Although Bird has managed to keep his personal life private, that doesn't mean things have always been easy for the couple.
How Dinah Mattingly stood by Larry Bird through adversities
Over the course of his career, Bird had little contact with Corrie Bird, his daughter from his first marriage. The situation became public in the early 1990s when a teenage Corrie reportedly wrote a letter to her father asking to attend his retirement ceremony in Boston. According to reports, Bird ignored the letter.
Several years later, Corrie appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and revealed that her father wasn't a part of her life. Fortunately, after Larry Bird took a coaching job with the Indiana Pacers after his playing career, he and Corrie seemed to reconnect somewhat.
It was his wife Dinah who reportedly gave Corrie tickets to a game, sparking a conversation with her dad afterward.
She recalled that Bird and her spoke before the Hall of Famer hugged her goodbye and walked her to her car. Although the Celtics legend has remained tight-lipped in the media on the situation, he credits his turbulent relationship with his ex-wife as the reason for being uninvolved.
Despite that, he praised his daughter for being the woman she had become, while writing that he would be there for her in the future.
Considering the somewhat public situation with his estranged daughter, it says a lot about Bird's longtime wife that she stuck by him throughout the years.