Larry Bird vs. Kevin Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kevin Johnson 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, 1 more than Kevin Johnson, who played 12. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Kevin Johnson had his rookie season in 1987-88. 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
Kevin Johnson	12	11	1987-88 to 1999-00

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1979-80	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns
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
Kevin Johnson	80	24.0	9.2	0.5	1.9	2.4	5.5	1.3	0.3	1.8	1.9	3.4	7.5	.461	0.1	0.3	.208	2.2	2.6	.839

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
Kevin Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1980-81	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Most Improved Player
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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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
Kevin Johnson	81	39.2	20.4	0.6	3.6	4.2	12.2	1.7	0.3	4.0	2.8	7.0	13.9	.505	0.0	0.3	.091	6.3	7.1	.882

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
Kevin Johnson	12	41.2	23.8	1.0	3.3	4.3	12.3	1.6	0.4	4.6	2.3	7.5	15.2	.495	0.3	0.8	.300	8.5	9.2	.927


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1981-82	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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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
Kevin Johnson	74	37.6	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.6	11.4	1.3	0.2	3.6	1.9	7.8	15.7	.499	0.1	0.6	.195	6.8	8.1	.838

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
Kevin Johnson	16	36.4	21.3	0.6	2.8	3.3	10.6	1.6	0.0	3.9	1.8	7.7	16.1	.479	0.1	0.7	.182	5.8	7.0	.821


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1982-83	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Suns 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
Kevin Johnson	77	36.0	22.2	0.7	2.8	3.5	10.1	2.1	0.1	3.5	2.3	7.7	14.9	.516	0.1	0.6	.205	6.7	8.0	.843

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
Kevin Johnson	4	36.5	12.8	0.5	2.8	3.3	9.8	0.5	0.3	3.0	2.3	4.0	13.3	.302	0.3	1.8	.143	4.5	7.5	.600


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1983-84	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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
Kevin Johnson	78	37.2	19.7	0.8	3.0	3.7	10.7	1.5	0.3	3.5	2.3	6.9	14.4	.479	0.1	0.6	.217	5.7	7.1	.807

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
Kevin Johnson	8	41.9	23.6	1.0	3.1	4.1	11.6	1.5	0.3	3.1	3.0	7.8	16.0	.484	0.4	0.8	.500	7.8	9.0	.861


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1984-85	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost NBA Finals

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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
Kevin Johnson	49	33.5	16.1	0.6	1.5	2.1	7.8	1.7	0.4	3.1	2.0	5.8	11.5	.499	0.0	0.2	.125	4.6	5.6	.819

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
Kevin Johnson	23	39.7	17.8	0.4	2.3	2.7	7.9	1.5	0.6	3.7	2.5	6.2	13.0	.480	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	6.8	.795


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1985-86	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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	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
Kevin Johnson	67	36.6	20.0	0.8	1.7	2.5	9.5	1.9	0.1	3.5	1.9	7.1	14.6	.487	0.1	0.4	.222	5.7	6.9	.819

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
Kevin Johnson	10	42.7	26.6	1.0	2.5	3.5	9.6	1.0	0.1	3.4	2.3	9.7	21.2	.458	0.3	1.0	.300	6.9	8.1	.852


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1986-87	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost West 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	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
Kevin Johnson	47	28.8	15.5	0.7	1.8	2.4	7.7	1.0	0.4	2.2	1.9	5.2	11.1	.470	0.1	0.6	.154	5.0	6.1	.810

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
Kevin Johnson	10	37.1	24.8	0.7	3.4	4.1	9.3	0.9	0.4	3.4	2.5	8.6	15.0	.573	0.5	1.0	.500	7.1	8.4	.845


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1987-88	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Suns Lost West 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	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
Kevin Johnson	56	35.8	18.7	0.8	3.2	3.9	9.2	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.6	6.1	12.0	.507	0.4	1.0	.368	6.1	7.1	.859

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
Kevin Johnson	4	37.8	17.3	0.5	3.8	4.3	10.8	0.5	0.5	2.8	2.0	6.8	14.3	.474	0.3	1.0	.250	3.5	4.3	.824


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1988-89	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Suns 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	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
Kevin Johnson	70	38.0	20.1	0.8	2.8	3.6	9.3	1.5	0.2	3.1	2.0	6.3	12.7	.496	1.3	2.9	.441	6.3	7.4	.852

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kevin Johnson	5	41.6	16.8	1.6	2.8	4.4	6.0	2.6	0.0	3.6	3.0	5.2	17.6	.295	0.6	4.4	.136	5.8	6.6	.879


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1989-90	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Suns Lost West 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
Kevin Johnson	50	25.8	9.5	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.9	0.5	0.2	2.0	1.1	3.1	6.9	.447	0.1	0.5	.154	3.2	3.7	.871

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
Kevin Johnson	4	30.5	13.8	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.8	0.5	0.3	1.5	1.5	5.8	10.5	.548	0.3	1.0	.250	2.0	3.0	.667

Note: Kevin Johnson didn't play in 1998-99.


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
Season	1990-91	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West 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
Kevin Johnson	6	18.8	6.7	0.0	2.7	2.7	4.0	0.3	0.0	1.2	1.0	2.7	4.7	.571	0.2	0.2	1.000	1.2	1.2	1.000

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
Kevin Johnson	9	14.3	3.2	0.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	0.3	0.1	1.4	1.1	1.3	4.1	.324	0.0	0.3	.000	0.6	0.7	.833


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Kevin Johnson
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
Kevin Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Kevin Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Larry Bird vs. Kevin Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kevin Johnson 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