The Forgotten Larry Bird Punch That Almost Changed Everything
Mar 3
1 min read
How a remarkable, rarely discussed game sets the course of Bird's career—and gave rise to March Madness itself
The Ringer
March 3, 2026
By Keith O'Brien
Amid the chaos of the moment and the madness of the sold-out crowd—the largest to ever watch a basketball game in Las Cruces, New Mexico—the television cameras missed the incident in the stands. They were following the action on the floor, and the action was moving in the other direction, up the court, as the New Mexico State Aggies tried to score in transition. But Jose Lopez, a student photographer assigned to work the game that night, didn’t care about the action. As he sat courtside, Lopez reminded himself again and again that he was there to shoot only one person: Larry Bird...
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