Larry Bird vs. Dolph Schayes Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dolph Schayes 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

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 played 13 years in the NBA, 2 less than Dolph Schayes, who played 15. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Dolph Schayes had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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
Dolph Schayes 15 14 1949-50 to 1963-64

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15

Rookie Season

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1979-801949-50
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNationals 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 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
Dolph Schayes 64 - 16.8 - - - 4.0 - - - 3.5 5.4 14.1 .385 - - - 5.9 7.6 .774
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
Dolph Schayes 11 - 17.1 - - - 2.5 - - - 3.9 5.2 13.5 .385 - - - 6.7 9.2 .733

Season 2

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1980-811950-51
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 66 - 17.0 - - 16.4 3.8 - - - 4.1 5.0 14.1 .357 - - - 6.9 9.2 .752
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
Dolph Schayes 7 - 20.4 - - 14.6 2.9 - - - 4.0 6.7 15.0 .448 - - - 7.0 9.1 .766

Season 3

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1981-821951-52
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 63 31.8 13.8 - - 12.3 2.9 - - - 3.4 4.2 11.7 .355 - - - 5.4 6.7 .807
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
Dolph Schayes 7 35.4 20.3 - - 12.9 2.1 - - - 4.9 5.9 13.0 .451 - - - 8.6 11.1 .769

Season 4

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1982-831952-53
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisNationals Lost East Div Semis
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
Dolph Schayes 71 37.6 17.8 - - 13.0 3.2 - - - 3.8 5.3 14.4 .367 - - - 7.2 8.7 .827
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
Dolph Schayes 2 29.0 9.0 - - 8.5 0.5 - - - 3.5 2.0 8.0 .250 - - - 5.0 6.5 .769

Season 5

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1983-841953-54
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNationals 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
Dolph Schayes 72 36.9 17.1 - - 12.1 3.0 - - - 3.2 5.1 13.5 .380 - - - 6.8 8.2 .827
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
Dolph Schayes 13 28.8 16.0 - - 10.5 1.8 - - - 3.1 4.9 10.8 .457 - - - 6.2 8.3 .741

Season 6

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1984-851954-55
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
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
Dolph Schayes 72 35.1 18.5 - - 12.3 3.0 - - - 3.4 5.9 15.3 .383 - - - 6.8 8.2 .833
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
Dolph Schayes 11 33.0 19.0 - - 12.8 3.6 - - - 4.4 5.5 15.2 .359 - - - 8.1 9.6 .840

Season 7

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1985-861955-56
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 72 35.0 20.4 - - 12.4 2.8 - - - 3.5 6.5 16.7 .387 - - - 7.5 8.8 .858
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
Dolph Schayes 8 38.8 22.1 - - 13.9 3.4 - - - 3.4 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 9.1 10.4 .880

Season 8

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1986-871956-57
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 72 39.6 22.5 - - 14.0 3.2 - - - 3.0 6.9 18.2 .379 - - - 8.7 9.6 .904
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
Dolph Schayes 5 43.0 21.4 - - 18.0 2.8 - - - 3.6 5.8 19.0 .305 - - - 9.8 11.0 .891

Season 9

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1987-881957-58
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNationals Lost East Div 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
Dolph Schayes 72 40.5 24.9 - - 14.2 3.1 - - - 3.4 8.1 20.3 .398 - - - 8.7 9.7 .904
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
Dolph Schayes 3 43.7 26.7 - - 15.0 2.0 - - - 3.3 8.3 21.3 .391 - - - 10.0 12.0 .833

Season 10

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1988-891958-59
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 72 36.7 21.3 - - 13.4 2.5 - - - 3.9 7.0 18.1 .387 - - - 7.3 8.5 .864
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dolph Schayes 9 39.0 28.2 - - 13.0 4.6 - - - 4.0 8.7 21.7 .400 - - - 10.9 11.9 .916

Season 11

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1989-901959-60
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second TeamAchievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st RdNationals Lost East Div Semis
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
Dolph Schayes 75 36.5 22.5 - - 12.8 3.4 - - - 3.5 7.7 19.2 .401 - - - 7.1 8.0 .893
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
Dolph Schayes 3 42.0 29.3 - - 16.0 2.7 - - - 3.3 10.0 22.0 .455 - - - 9.3 10.0 .933

Season 12

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1990-911960-61
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisNationals Lost East Div Finals
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
Dolph Schayes 79 38.1 23.6 - - 12.2 3.7 - - - 3.7 7.5 20.2 .372 - - - 8.6 9.9 .868
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
Dolph Schayes 8 38.5 20.6 - - 11.4 2.6 - - - 4.0 6.4 19.0 .336 - - - 7.9 8.8 .900

Season 13

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season 1991-921961-62
Team Boston CelticsSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisNationals Lost East Div Semis
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
Dolph Schayes 56 26.4 14.7 - - 7.8 2.1 - - - 3.0 4.8 13.4 .357 - - - 5.1 5.7 .897
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
Dolph Schayes 5 19.0 11.4 - - 7.0 1.0 - - - 4.2 4.8 13.2 .364 - - - 1.8 2.6 .692

Season 14

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season -1962-63
Team -Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Nationals Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dolph Schayes 66 21.8 9.5 - - 5.7 2.7 - - - 2.7 3.4 8.7 .388 - - - 2.7 3.1 .879
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dolph Schayes 5 21.6 10.2 - - 5.6 1.4 - - - 3.4 4.0 8.8 .455 - - - 2.2 2.4 .917

Season 15

Larry Bird Dolph Schayes
Season -1963-64
Team -Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -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 ------- --- ----------
Dolph Schayes 24 14.6 5.6 - - 4.6 2.0 - - - 3.2 1.8 6.0 .308 - - - 1.9 2.4 .807
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dolph Schayes ------- --- ----------