If there is one thing we've learned from observing the history of the NBA, it's that greatness doesn't always trickle down the family tree. Just because mum or dad were great players, doesn't necessarily mean their sons will be. Just because someone has a cousin in the NBA doesn't automatically grant the wider family an easier path to the pros.
Of course, there are a vast number of exceptions to this notion, with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, the Holiday family, and the Gasol brothers as just a few of many examples where elite basketball had family ties, but the inverse always has to exist too.
You'd be surprised at how many Hall of Famers had family members who attempted to carve out a professional career of their own, only to be unable to live up to the family name. Larry Bird's brother, Eddie, is a great example. He showed promise in high school but was never able to make his mark at the NBA level.
Eddie Bird's career
Eddie first made national headlines in 1987, at a time when Larry had already established himself as an NBA superstar. When you're as talented as Larry Bird, naturally the comparisons followed, but it wasn't purely because of his last name.
Eddie was already making an impact in high school, and his performance on the court led people to wonder if his potential resembled that of his older brother. Notably, Eddie broke Larry's high-school scoring record, surpassing Larry's 1,125 points with his own total of 1,172 points. This achievement generated excitement about his future potential and earned him the opportunity to play college basketball at Indiana State University—the same college attended by his brother.
Eddie breaking the scoring record didn't guarantee that he would become a pro. Still, there were signs he could potentially follow in his brother's footsteps. However, college was going to present a far sterner test for him as a prospect. To his credit, while he didn't set the world on fire, he did manage to have a reasonably fruitful college career.
He led Indiana State in scoring in all four of his college seasons, averaging 14 points per game, and built a reputation as a solid shooter after connecting on over 44% of his three-point attempts during his junior year.
It ultimately wasn't enough for him to get drafted in the NBA. Still, the Suncoast Sunblasters selected him in the second round of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 1991. At that time, the USBL became known for its development in helping players move up to the NBA or forge professional careers in Europe.
He averaged 6.6 points per game for the Sunblasters in eight appearances before attending an 11-day free agent camp with the Sacramento Kings in July of that same year. Eddie used that opportunity to make the Kings' Summer League roster, where he underwhelmed in five appearances, averaging just 4.4 points per contest.
The end of his summer league campaign with the Kings would be the last time Eddie was notably involved in a professional setup, and he eventually walked away from the game without pursuing other opportunities.
He knew his limits
Throughout his sporting life, Eddie was understandably under enormous pressure by carrying the same last name as arguably the greatest basketball player ever at that time.
He could have easily let that weight crush him, or even worse, allowed his ego to swell to the point where he felt entitled to make it to the NBA based on his brother's success. He did neither and remained humble throughout everything.
He was so humble that even after breaking Larry's scoring record in high school, he wanted to let the world know that he was nowhere near as good as his brother.
People might think I'm going to be as good as him or something, and I hope they won't do that. If they look at it that way, I just hope they don't look at it as they see myself and not Larry. Right now, I don't think I will be a pro basketball player. he said .
Being that down-to-earth at such a young age with the national media knocking at your door is no easy feat, and it speaks to the humble foundations that the Bird brothers were raised with.
Lessons in replication
Larry and Eddie's basketball paths were connected, all the way from high school to college and nearly to the NBA level. Ultimately, however, their journeys ended up in completely different places, and it's a great example of how close, but far, careers can be, even for brothers.
Perhaps there was a Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan, perhaps there was a player as talented as LeBron James who never got the right opportunity or found themselves in the right circumstances.
Even Larry and Eddie, who grew up in the same household, under the same conditions, and empowered with the same support, couldn't reach the same destination.
There are humble lessons in knowing and understanding that sporting careers are so fragile, so delicate, so reliant on a perfect combination of talent, timing, opportunity, and the determination to keep searching for answers that may never come.
Larry ended up in the Hall of Fame, while Eddie sat in the crowd and watched his speech. The intricate details of one's journey to stardom remains one of the more underappreciated realities of sport, and who knows, maybe in an alternate universe their roles would have been reversed and history would have told a different story.
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