Larry Bird vs. Anthony Mason Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Anthony Mason and Larry Bird, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Larry Bird and Anthony Mason both played 13 years in the NBA. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Anthony Mason had his rookie season in 1989-90. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92
Anthony Mason	13	10	1989-90 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1979-80	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	36.0	21.3	2.6	7.8	10.4	4.5	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.4	8.5	17.8	.474	0.7	1.7	.406	3.7	4.4	.836
Anthony Mason	21	5.1	1.8	0.5	1.1	1.6	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.5	1.0	0.7	1.9	.350	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.7	.600

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	9	41.3	21.3	2.4	8.8	11.2	4.7	1.6	0.9	3.7	3.3	9.2	19.7	.469	0.4	1.7	.267	2.4	2.8	.880
Anthony Mason	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1980-81	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	39.5	21.2	2.3	8.6	10.9	5.5	2.0	0.8	3.5	2.9	8.8	18.3	.478	0.2	0.9	.270	3.5	4.0	.863
Anthony Mason	3	7.0	3.3	1.0	0.7	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.7	1.3	.500	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.7	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.1	21.9	2.9	11.1	14.0	6.1	2.3	1.0	3.6	3.1	8.6	18.4	.470	0.2	0.5	.375	4.5	5.0	.894
Anthony Mason	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1981-82	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	77	38.0	22.9	2.6	8.3	10.9	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.3	3.2	9.2	18.4	.503	0.1	0.7	.212	4.3	4.9	.863
Anthony Mason	82	26.8	7.0	2.6	4.4	7.0	1.3	0.6	0.2	1.2	2.8	2.5	4.9	.509	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.2	.642

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	12	40.8	17.8	2.8	9.8	12.5	5.6	1.9	1.4	3.2	3.6	7.3	17.2	.427	0.1	0.5	.167	3.1	3.8	.822
Anthony Mason	12	24.0	5.0	2.3	4.0	6.3	0.8	0.2	0.7	0.9	2.8	1.6	3.6	.442	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.786


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1982-83	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	79	37.7	23.6	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.5	18.7	.504	0.3	1.0	.286	4.4	5.3	.840
Anthony Mason	81	30.6	10.3	2.9	5.0	7.9	2.1	0.5	0.2	1.7	3.0	3.9	7.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.6	.682

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	6	40.0	20.5	3.3	9.2	12.5	6.8	2.2	0.5	3.2	2.5	8.2	19.3	.422	0.2	0.7	.250	4.0	4.8	.828
Anthony Mason	15	34.0	12.5	3.7	3.6	7.3	2.7	0.7	0.4	1.5	3.3	4.8	8.1	.590	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.5	.632


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1983-84	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	79	38.3	24.2	2.3	7.8	10.1	6.6	1.8	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.6	19.5	.492	0.2	0.9	.247	4.7	5.3	.888
Anthony Mason	73	26.1	7.2	2.2	3.7	5.8	2.1	0.4	0.1	1.5	2.6	2.8	5.9	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	1.6	2.2	.720

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	41.8	27.5	2.7	8.3	11.0	5.9	2.3	1.2	3.8	3.1	10.0	19.0	.524	0.3	0.7	.412	7.3	8.3	.879
Anthony Mason	25	26.4	7.6	2.1	3.7	5.8	1.8	0.6	0.2	1.4	2.6	2.7	5.5	.489	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.1	.714


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1984-85	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	80	39.5	28.7	2.1	8.5	10.5	6.6	1.6	1.2	3.1	2.6	11.5	22.0	.522	0.7	1.6	.427	5.0	5.7	.882
Anthony Mason	77	32.4	9.9	2.4	6.1	8.4	3.1	0.9	0.3	1.6	3.3	3.7	6.6	.566	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.9	.641

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	20	40.8	26.0	2.7	6.5	9.1	5.8	1.7	1.0	2.9	2.7	9.8	21.3	.461	0.4	1.3	.280	6.1	6.8	.890
Anthony Mason	11	32.0	9.5	2.1	4.1	6.2	2.2	0.5	0.5	2.4	2.5	2.8	4.6	.608	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	6.3	.623


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1985-86	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	38.0	25.8	2.3	7.5	9.8	6.8	2.0	0.6	3.2	2.2	9.7	19.6	.496	1.0	2.4	.423	5.4	6.0	.896
Anthony Mason	82	42.2	14.6	2.7	6.6	9.3	4.4	0.8	0.4	2.6	3.0	5.5	9.7	.563	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	5.0	.720

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	18	42.8	25.9	1.9	7.4	9.3	8.2	2.1	0.6	2.6	3.1	9.5	18.4	.517	1.3	3.1	.411	5.6	6.1	.927
Anthony Mason	8	43.8	12.6	2.1	5.6	7.8	3.3	0.5	0.1	2.5	2.5	5.1	9.8	.526	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.5	.679


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1986-87	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	74	40.6	28.1	1.7	7.5	9.2	7.6	1.8	0.9	3.2	2.5	10.6	20.2	.525	1.2	3.0	.400	5.6	6.1	.910
Anthony Mason	73	43.1	16.2	2.5	8.8	11.4	5.7	1.0	0.5	2.3	2.8	5.9	11.3	.525	0.0	0.0	.333	4.4	5.9	.745

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	44.1	27.0	1.8	8.3	10.0	7.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.4	9.4	19.7	.476	0.6	1.8	.341	7.7	8.4	.912
Anthony Mason	3	44.0	13.0	2.7	9.3	12.0	3.0	0.3	0.3	3.0	2.0	5.3	12.7	.421	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	4.3	.538


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1987-88	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Hornets Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	76	39.0	29.9	1.4	7.8	9.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	2.8	2.1	11.6	22.0	.527	1.3	3.1	.414	5.5	6.0	.916
Anthony Mason	81	38.9	12.8	2.2	8.0	10.2	4.2	0.8	0.2	1.8	2.2	4.8	9.4	.509	0.0	0.0	.000	3.2	5.0	.649

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.9	24.5	1.7	7.1	8.8	6.8	2.1	0.8	2.9	2.6	8.9	19.9	.450	0.7	1.9	.375	5.9	6.6	.894
Anthony Mason	9	40.8	15.4	1.9	6.0	7.9	3.4	0.9	0.0	2.4	1.9	6.3	11.0	.576	0.0	0.1	.000	2.8	4.7	.595

Note: Anthony Mason didn't play in 1998-99.


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1988-89	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	6	31.5	19.3	0.2	6.0	6.2	4.8	1.0	0.8	1.8	3.0	8.2	17.3	.471	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.947
Anthony Mason	82	38.2	11.6	1.8	6.8	8.5	4.5	0.9	0.4	2.0	2.7	3.9	8.1	.480	0.0	0.0	.000	3.8	5.1	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Anthony Mason	4	44.8	12.5	4.0	5.8	9.8	5.5	1.0	0.0	3.3	3.3	4.5	9.5	.474	0.0	0.3	.000	3.5	5.0	.700


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1989-90	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	75	39.3	24.3	1.2	8.3	9.5	7.5	1.4	0.8	3.2	2.3	9.6	20.2	.473	0.9	2.6	.333	4.3	4.6	.930
Anthony Mason	80	40.7	16.1	2.1	7.5	9.6	3.1	1.0	0.3	2.2	2.9	5.8	11.9	.482	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	5.9	.781

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	5	41.4	24.4	1.4	7.8	9.2	8.8	1.0	1.0	3.6	2.0	8.8	19.8	.444	1.0	3.8	.263	5.8	6.4	.906
Anthony Mason	3	33.0	5.3	0.3	2.7	3.0	1.3	0.3	0.0	2.3	2.0	1.7	4.3	.385	0.0	0.3	.000	2.0	2.0	1.000


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1990-91	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	60	38.0	19.4	0.9	7.6	8.5	7.2	1.8	1.0	3.1	2.0	7.7	17.0	.454	1.3	3.3	.389	2.7	3.1	.891
Anthony Mason	82	38.3	9.6	1.5	6.4	7.9	4.2	0.7	0.3	1.6	2.3	3.9	7.6	.505	0.0	0.0	1.000	1.9	2.7	.697

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	10	39.6	17.1	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.5	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.8	6.2	15.2	.408	0.3	2.1	.143	4.4	5.1	.863
Anthony Mason	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Anthony Mason
Season	1991-92	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	45	36.9	20.2	1.0	8.6	9.6	6.8	0.9	0.7	2.8	1.8	7.8	16.8	.466	1.2	2.8	.406	3.3	3.6	.926
Anthony Mason	65	32.6	7.2	1.4	5.0	6.4	3.2	0.5	0.2	1.2	2.3	2.9	6.0	.486	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	1.8	.718

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	4	26.8	11.3	0.5	4.0	4.5	5.3	0.3	0.5	1.5	1.8	5.3	10.5	.500	0.0	1.3	.000	0.8	1.0	.750
Anthony Mason	6	26.2	3.8	0.7	2.7	3.3	0.2	0.5	0.2	1.3	2.8	1.2	2.8	.412	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.2	.692

Larry Bird vs. Anthony Mason Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Anthony Mason and Larry Bird, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13