When it comes to clinching an NBA Finals, Larry Bird is an experienced player.

The Boston Celtics of 2024 won the franchise’s 18th championship banner on Monday night after sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and his teammates were outstanding; all they had to do was follow Larry Legend’s lead to know precisely what to do in a crucial closing game.

In the NBA Finals of 1986, Bird and the Celtics faced up against the Houston Rockets and a youthful Hakeem Olajuwon.

During the height of Bird and the Celtics’ dominance, Olajuwon had not yet developed into the dominant center he would eventually become.

Bird had defeated the Rockets in the 1981 Finals and led Boston to victory against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984.

He was also the league MVP from 1984 to 1986 and was looking to bounce back from a Finals defeat to the Lakers in ’85.

Bird and Boston returned with a vengeance in ’86 after picking up former Clippers big man Bill Walton who was named Sixth Man of the Year in his first season in green and white.

The Celtics’ ‘Big Three’ frontcourt of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish – frequently ranked among the best frontcourts in NBA history – dominated the league en route to 67 regular season wins.

Bird was a beast, trash-talking Olajuwon at the All-Star Game, winning the inaugural Three-Point Shootout and averaging 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game to became just the third player in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP Awards.

The Celtics’ juggernaut continued into the postseason and lost just one game in three rounds as they advanced to face the Rockets in the Finals.

Olajuwon, a Nigerian native born in Lagos, claimed before to Game 1 that he was unaware of the Celtics’ rich past, which included 15 championship banners.

“I have no knowledge of this custom. “I’m not from this area,” he declared.

Bird said, “We’d like to give him a two-week history lesson.”

In the series, Bird accomplished exactly that, recording two triple-doubles, the most notable of which was a 29-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist, and three-steal effort in a decisive Game 6.

The starting five for the C’s outscored the Rockets squad 98-97 to win 114-97 and secure the ultimate title at Boston Garden.

Bird was named Finals MVP for the second and final time of his career after averaging 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game in the championship round.

“I’ve never seen anyone who could demoralize a whole team like he can. It’s like he doesn’t even need his teammates. It’s just him, one on five, and he almost beats you singlehanded. It’s the way he does it. Offensive rebound, go right to the corner, three-point shot, nothing but net. He gets you down and then breaks your back,” Rockets forward Jim Peterson said.

Bird had many stunning performances during his Hall of Fame career, but perhaps none were more complete – and important – than Game 6 against the Rockets in ’86.

“That was the only game I was totally prepared for. As far as focus was concerned, none better. Never,” he said.

“I should have quit right there.”

Fast forward 36 years and the Celtics are NBA champions once again.

Their brilliantly-constructed roster were way too much for the Mavericks and overpowered them in a lopsided Finals series.