Larry Bird vs. John Mengelt Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Mengelt 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 played 13 years in the NBA, 3 more than John Mengelt, who played 10. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while John Mengelt had his rookie season in 1971-72. 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
John Mengelt	10	4	1971-72 to 1980-81

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1979-80	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Cincinnati Royals
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

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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
John Mengelt	78	18.4	10.0	-	-	1.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.1	3.7	7.8	.474	-	-	-	2.7	3.2	.825

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1980-81	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
John Mengelt	79	20.8	9.7	-	-	2.3	1.9	-	-	-	1.9	4.1	8.2	.492	-	-	-	1.6	2.0	.794

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1981-82	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis

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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
John Mengelt	77	20.2	8.8	0.5	2.2	2.7	1.9	0.9	0.1	-	2.1	3.2	7.2	.446	-	-	-	2.4	3.0	.795

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
John Mengelt	4	9.8	4.3	0.5	1.3	1.8	1.5	0.5	0.0	-	1.5	1.3	3.5	.357	-	-	-	1.8	2.0	.875


Season 4
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1982-83	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
John Mengelt	80	24.9	11.0	0.5	1.9	2.4	2.5	0.9	0.1	-	2.5	4.2	8.8	.479	-	-	-	2.6	3.1	.851

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
John Mengelt	3	21.7	8.3	0.7	2.0	2.7	3.0	0.3	0.3	-	3.0	3.0	7.7	.391	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.778


Season 5
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1983-84	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis

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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
John Mengelt	67	16.5	10.7	0.4	1.3	1.7	1.6	0.6	0.1	-	2.1	3.9	8.1	.489	-	-	-	2.9	3.5	.810

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
John Mengelt	9	13.2	9.7	0.2	1.3	1.6	1.1	0.4	0.1	-	2.4	3.8	6.2	.607	-	-	-	2.1	3.0	.704


Season 6
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1984-85	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
John Mengelt	61	19.3	8.3	0.5	1.3	1.8	1.9	0.6	0.1	-	1.7	3.4	7.5	.456	-	-	-	1.5	1.9	.788

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
John Mengelt	3	22.3	12.7	0.0	1.3	1.3	2.7	1.3	0.0	-	1.0	4.7	8.7	.538	-	-	-	3.3	3.7	.909


Season 7
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1985-86	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	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	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
John Mengelt	81	21.8	10.3	0.5	1.1	1.6	2.9	0.6	0.0	1.5	2.1	4.0	8.3	.481	-	-	-	2.3	2.9	.773

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1986-87	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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
John Mengelt	75	22.7	11.0	0.3	1.2	1.6	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.6	2.0	4.5	9.2	.491	-	-	-	2.0	2.4	.824

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1987-88	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
John Mengelt	36	10.8	6.1	0.1	0.6	0.6	1.1	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	4.6	.542	0.0	0.2	.000	1.1	1.4	.796

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1988-89	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
John Mengelt	2	5.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics 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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics 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	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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Larry Bird	John Mengelt
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics 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	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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
John Mengelt	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Larry Bird vs. John Mengelt Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Mengelt 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