Butch Beard vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird and Butch Beard, 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.

Butch Beard played 9 years in the NBA, 4 less than Larry Bird, who played 13. Butch Beard had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Larry Bird had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Butch Beard	9	3	1969-70 to 1978-79
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92

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


Rookie Season
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1969-70	1979-80
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	72	13.1	7.0	-	-	1.9	1.7	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	5.4	.467	-	-	-	1.9	2.3	.828
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	9	16.2	9.0	-	-	2.9	0.9	-	-	-	2.1	3.4	7.2	.477	-	-	-	2.1	2.9	.731
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

Note: Butch Beard didn't play in 1970-71.


Season 2
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1971-72	1980-81
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	68	35.8	15.4	-	-	4.1	6.7	-	-	-	3.1	5.8	12.5	.464	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	.760
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 3
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1972-73	1981-82
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	73	19.2	6.6	-	-	2.4	3.4	-	-	-	1.9	2.6	6.0	.439	-	-	-	1.4	1.9	.714
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 4
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1973-74	1982-83
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	79	27.0	10.2	1.7	3.2	4.9	3.8	1.3	0.1	-	3.1	4.0	7.8	.512	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.739
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 5
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1974-75	1983-84
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	82	30.7	12.8	1.4	2.4	3.9	4.2	1.6	0.1	-	3.6	5.0	9.4	.528	-	-	-	2.8	3.4	.832
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	17	26.4	9.1	1.4	2.9	4.2	3.1	1.4	0.1	-	3.8	3.5	8.6	.411	-	-	-	2.0	3.1	.642
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


Season 6
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1975-76	1984-85
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics 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		%
Butch Beard	75	22.7	8.0	1.4	2.8	4.1	2.9	1.1	0.1	-	2.9	3.0	6.6	.460	-	-	-	1.9	2.6	.750
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 7
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1976-77	1985-86
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	70	15.5	5.3	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.1	0.8	0.1	-	2.0	2.1	4.2	.505	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.688
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 8
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1977-78	1986-87
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics 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		%
Butch Beard	79	25.1	9.4	1.0	2.4	3.3	4.3	1.5	0.0	1.9	2.5	3.9	7.8	.502	-	-	-	1.6	2.0	.806
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	6	26.7	9.0	1.2	2.3	3.5	4.5	1.7	0.3	1.8	3.7	4.0	8.0	.500	-	-	-	1.0	1.7	.600
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


Season 9
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	1978-79	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	7	12.1	3.1	0.1	1.3	1.4	2.7	1.0	0.0	1.4	1.9	1.6	3.7	.423	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 10
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	-	1988-89
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

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


Season 11
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	-	1989-90
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 12
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	-	1990-91
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 13
	Butch Beard	Larry Bird
Season	-	1991-92
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Butch Beard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Butch Beard vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird and Butch Beard, 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