Billy Cunningham vs. Chris Ford Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Chris Ford and Billy Cunningham, 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.

Billy Cunningham played 9 years in the NBA, 1 less than Chris Ford, who played 10. Billy Cunningham had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, while Chris Ford had his rookie season in 1972-73. 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
Billy Cunningham 9 6 1965-66 to 1975-76
Chris Ford 10 7 1972-73 to 1981-82

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Rookie Season

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1965-661972-73
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 80 26.7 14.3 - - 7.5 2.6 - - - 3.8 5.4 12.6 .426 - - - 3.5 5.5 .634
Chris Ford 74 20.8 6.4 - - 3.6 2.6 - - - 1.8 2.8 5.9 .479 - - - 0.8 1.3 .645
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 4 17.3 5.3 - - 4.5 2.5 - - - 2.8 1.3 7.8 .161 - - - 2.8 3.3 .846
Chris Ford ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1966-671973-74
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionPistons 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 %
Billy Cunningham 81 26.8 18.5 - - 7.3 2.5 - - - 3.2 6.9 15.0 .459 - - - 4.7 6.9 .686
Chris Ford 82 25.1 7.1 1.3 2.4 3.7 3.4 1.8 0.2 - 1.9 3.2 7.3 .444 - - - 0.7 0.9 .740
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 15 22.6 15.0 - - 6.2 2.2 - - - 3.5 5.5 14.7 .376 - - - 3.9 6.0 .656
Chris Ford 5 18.8 4.0 0.8 2.2 3.0 1.4 0.4 0.4 - 2.0 1.6 3.4 .471 - - - 0.8 1.2 .667

Season 3

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1967-681974-75
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsPistons 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 %
Billy Cunningham 74 28.1 18.9 - - 7.6 2.5 - - - 3.5 7.0 15.9 .438 - - - 5.0 6.9 .723
Chris Ford 80 24.5 5.9 1.2 2.2 3.4 2.9 1.4 0.3 - 2.3 2.6 5.4 .474 - - - 0.8 1.2 .663
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 3 28.7 20.7 - - 7.3 3.3 - - - 5.3 8.0 14.3 .558 - - - 4.7 5.7 .824
Chris Ford 3 27.3 4.0 0.7 3.7 4.3 3.3 0.3 0.0 - 2.7 2.0 3.7 .545 - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 4

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1968-691975-76
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div SemisPistons 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 %
Billy Cunningham 82 40.8 24.8 - - 12.8 3.5 - - - 4.0 9.0 21.2 .426 - - - 6.8 9.2 .737
Chris Ford 82 26.8 8.4 1.0 2.6 3.5 3.3 2.2 0.3 - 2.7 3.7 8.6 .426 - - - 1.0 1.4 .722
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 5 43.4 24.4 - - 12.6 2.4 - - - 4.8 9.8 23.4 .419 - - - 4.8 7.6 .632
Chris Ford 9 30.7 8.7 0.7 3.3 4.0 4.4 1.2 0.6 - 3.7 3.7 9.0 .407 - - - 1.3 1.7 .800

Season 5

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1969-701976-77
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div SemisPistons 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 %
Billy Cunningham 81 39.4 26.1 - - 13.6 4.3 - - - 4.1 9.9 21.1 .469 - - - 6.3 8.6 .729
Chris Ford 82 31.0 12.3 1.2 2.1 3.3 4.1 2.2 0.3 - 2.3 5.3 11.2 .476 - - - 1.6 2.1 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 5 41.0 29.2 - - 10.4 4.0 - - - 3.8 12.2 24.6 .496 - - - 4.8 7.2 .667
Chris Ford 3 33.7 13.7 2.7 3.7 6.3 4.0 2.3 0.0 - 3.7 6.0 14.7 .409 - - - 1.7 3.0 .556

Season 6

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1970-711977-78
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 81 38.1 23.0 - - 11.7 4.9 - - - 4.0 8.7 18.8 .462 - - - 5.6 7.7 .734
Chris Ford 82 31.5 10.5 1.4 1.8 3.3 4.6 2.0 0.2 2.8 2.2 4.6 9.5 .481 - - - 1.4 1.9 .734
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 7 43.0 25.9 - - 15.4 5.7 - - - 4.0 9.6 20.3 .472 - - - 6.7 9.6 .701
Chris Ford ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1971-721978-79
Team Philadelphia 76ersDetroit Pistons, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 75 38.7 23.3 - - 12.2 5.9 - - - 3.9 8.8 19.0 .461 - - - 5.7 8.0 .712
Chris Ford 81 33.8 15.4 1.5 1.9 3.4 4.6 1.4 0.3 2.6 2.6 6.6 14.1 .471 - - - 2.1 2.8 .758
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham ------- --- ----------
Chris Ford ------- --- ----------

Note: Billy Cunningham didn't play in 1972-73 and 1973-74.

Season 8

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1974-751979-80
Team Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayCeltics 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 %
Billy Cunningham 80 35.7 19.5 1.6 7.5 9.1 5.5 1.1 0.4 - 3.4 7.6 17.8 .428 - - - 4.3 5.6 .777
Chris Ford 73 29.0 11.2 1.1 1.4 2.5 2.9 1.5 0.4 1.4 2.4 4.5 9.7 .465 1.0 2.2 .427 1.2 1.6 .754
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham ------- --- ----------
Chris Ford 9 31.0 9.1 1.0 1.8 2.8 2.3 1.6 0.7 1.4 3.9 3.8 8.8 .430 0.2 1.4 .154 1.3 1.7 .800

Season 9

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season 1975-761980-81
Team Philadelphia 76ersBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham 20 32.0 13.7 1.5 5.9 7.4 5.4 1.2 0.5 - 2.9 5.2 12.6 .410 - - - 3.4 4.4 .773
Chris Ford 82 33.2 8.9 0.9 1.1 2.0 3.6 1.2 0.3 1.5 2.6 3.8 8.6 .444 0.4 1.3 .330 0.8 1.1 .736
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham ------- --- ----------
Chris Ford 17 29.8 9.1 0.8 1.9 2.6 2.7 0.8 0.1 1.1 2.8 3.9 8.6 .452 0.4 1.5 .280 0.9 1.5 .600

Season 10

Billy Cunningham Chris Ford
Season -1981-82
Team -Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Celtics 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 %
Billy Cunningham ------- --- ----------
Chris Ford 76 20.9 5.7 0.7 0.7 1.4 1.9 0.6 0.1 0.7 1.9 2.5 5.9 .418 0.3 0.8 .317 0.5 0.7 .696
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Billy Cunningham ------- --- ----------
Chris Ford 12 11.5 3.9 0.5 0.8 1.3 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.3 1.3 1.7 3.5 .476 0.2 0.6 .286 0.4 0.6 .714