Kayden Bird got his 1,000th career point - but he cut it close

NorthPointe Christian’s Kayden Bird shoots a 3-pointer during a game against Hudsonville on Dec. 28, 2022. The senior finished with 83 3-pointers this season, which is second most in West Michigan history. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Kayden Bird thought getting 1,000 career points would be a nice milestone. But he was so far away to start the season, that it wasn’t even a consideration.

“I had looked forward to it all season but I never thought I’d get it because I was so far,” he said.

But he did it. Barely.

The Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian senior scored 16 points on Friday night to reach 1,000 points in his four-year career. But his team lost to Pewamo-Westphalia in a Division 3 district title game. 

“I was more worried about playing the district championship,” Bird said. “Because we hadn’t won one in a long time. It would have been a lot more fun to get 1,000 in a win.”

With two games left in the regular season, Bird needed to 101 points to reach 1,000. That mean’t he’d have to put up some huge numbers and his team would have to win a game or two in the postseason.

He scored 28 against Calvin Christian, 30 against Wellspring Prep and a career-high 39 points in a district game against Vermontville Maple Valley.

“I thought about it and talked to Coach Yoder,” Bird said of NorthPointe coach Justin Yoder. “He said keep doing what you’re doing and it will come.”

NorthPointe Christian seniors Kayden Bird, left, and Mitchell White cheer on their teammates in the final minutes of a game against Hudsonville on Dec. 28, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

Bird finished the season averaging 23.7 points per game for NorthPointe (16-8). He set the school record for points in a season with 561, which narrowly passes the 558 that Sam Vasiu scored in 2020. He also had a stunning 83 3-pointers, which is one shy of the school record of 84 by Drew Zuidema. Zuidema’s mark is the most by a West Michigan basketball player in history, according to the MHSAA record book. That means Bird is No. 2 all time.

“I was bummed I didn’t get that,” Bird said.

Bird, the son of Josh and Jamie Bird, will play at Cornerstone University next season. Kayden said the biggest influence on his basketball career has been his dad.

“My dad has given me a lot of guidance throughout my basketball career,” he said of Josh, who played at Northwestern College in Iowa. “I couldn’t do that without him.”

Bird, who played his travel ball with the Grand Rapids Storm, is the seventh player in NorthPointe/Grand Rapids Baptist history to reach the 1,000 point mark. The others are Kyle Smith, Tim VanOudheusden, Cameron Metz, Preston Huckaby, Zuidema and Vasiu. Smith holds the school record with 1,317 points.

*Ethan Erickson had 84 3-pointers in 2020, but it has not been reported to the MHSAA.

NorthPointe Christian’s Kayden Bird poses with his family after scoring his 1,000th point on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Courtesy photo of Jamie Bird).