http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7938330/indiana-pacers-larry-bird-named-nba-executive-year NEW YORK -- Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird was voted the NBA's Executive of the Year on Wednesday, becoming the first person to win that award, plus the MVP and Coach of the Year honors. The Pacers went 42-24 and are tied 1-1 with Miami in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Bird's moves to strengthen the team during the offseason included promoting Frank Vogel from interim to head coach and signing starting forward David West. He acquired point guard George Hill in a draft-night deal with San Antonio, and traded for Lou Amundson and Leandro Barbosa to fortify the bench for the Pacers, who earned the No. 3 seed in the East and had the fifth-best record in the league. "This is an honor for the Indiana Pacers, not an award for Larry Bird," Bird said in a statement. "Everyone in this franchise put in a lot of work and showed a lot of patience as we have tried to get this team to a level on and off the court the fans in Indiana can be proud of. You always believe, and hope, the players you get will fit into a plan and I'm very proud of what our guys and our coaches have accomplished so far this year." Bird was a three-time MVP as a Boston Celtics player, then guided his home-state Pacers to a 147-67 record in three seasons and their only finals appearance in 2000. He was the Coach of the Year in 1998 following his first season. He returned to the Pacers' front office in 2003 and became the full-time president in 2008 after Donnie Walsh left to join the New York Knicks. Bird received 88 points and 12 first-place votes from a panel of his fellow team executives Wednesday. San Antonio's R.C. Buford was second with 56 points and eight first-place votes, while the Los Angeles Clippers' Neil Olshey finished third with 55 points (six first-place votes).
the first person to win that award, plus the MVP and Coach of the Year honors. Damn, that's awesome for him big time.
Maybe I'm missing someone, but who has ever won MVP and Coach of the Year...forget about the Exec award. Has any COY been an MVP.
Thought so. So, no MVP has ever won *EITHER* the COY or the Exec of Year. No MVP has ever won either other award. And Bird has won all three. And before anyone bothers looking, no Jerry West never won the MVP award...although he has won Exec.
Congrats. Its well deserved, he's done a fantastic job! He could have an Eastern Conference Finalist on his hands if they can finish the upset (tied 1-1) of the Miami Heat.
Code: 2011-12 NBA EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR VOTING RESULTS Rookie, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Total Larry Bird, Indiana 12 8 4 88 R.C. Buford, San Antonio 8 4 4 56 Neil Olshey, L.A. Clippers 6 7 4 55 Gar Forman, Chicago 2 2 - 16 Kevin O’Connor, Utah - 2 4 10 Glen Grunwald, New York - 2 2 8 Pat Riley, Miami 1 - 2 7 Sam Presti, Oklahoma City 1 - - 5 Chris Wallace, Memphis - 1 2 5 David Kahn, Minnesota - 1 1 4 Rod Thorn, Philadelphia - 1 - 3 Dell Demps, New Orleans - 1 - 3 Rick Sund, Atlanta - 1 - 3 Danny Ainge, Boston - - 1 1 John Hammond, Milwaukee - - 1 1 Lon Babby, Phoenix - - 1 1 Mitch Kupchak, L.A. Lakers - - 1 1 Otis Smith, Orlando - - 1 1 Masai Ujiri, Denver - - 1 1
