Larry Bird vs. Alex Caruso Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Alex Caruso 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.

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, 4 more than Alex Caruso, who played 9. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Alex Caruso had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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 achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1979-80	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
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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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+45	+20.8	+17.7	+2.2	+6.4	+8.6	+2.5	+1.1	+0.3	-2.1	-2.0	+7.1	+14.7	+.043	+0.3	+0.5	+.104	+3.1	+3.6	+.136
Alex Caruso	37	15.2	3.6	0.4	1.4	1.8	2.0	0.6	0.3	1.1	1.4	1.4	3.1	.431	0.4	1.2	.302	0.6	0.8	.700
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
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1980-81	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+57	+18.3	+12.0	+1.5	+6.7	+8.2	+2.4	+1.0	+0.4	-1.8	-0.7	+5.7	+11.4	+.033	+0.8	+1.1	+.210	+1.5	+1.4	+.066
Alex Caruso	25	21.2	9.2	0.8	1.9	2.7	3.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	2.2	3.1	6.9	.445	1.0	2.0	.480	2.0	2.6	.797
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
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1981-82	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+13	+19.6	+17.4	+2.3	+6.6	+9.0	+3.9	+0.8	+0.6	-2.5	-1.7	+7.3	+13.9	+.091	+0.5	+1.2	+.121	+3.2	+3.4	+.129
Alex Caruso	64	18.4	5.5	0.3	1.7	1.9	1.9	1.1	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.9	4.5	.412	0.6	1.9	.333	1.1	1.5	.734
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
difference:	+9	+16.5	+11.3	+2.1	+8.2	+10.2	+2.8	+0.8	+0.8	-1.7	-1.0	+5.0	+11.8	+.002	+0.7	+2.4	+.112	+2.0	+2.4	+.022
Alex Caruso	21	24.3	6.5	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.8	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.6	2.3	5.4	.425	0.8	2.9	.279	1.1	1.4	.800

Season 4
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1982-83	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+21	+16.7	+17.2	+1.9	+6.2	+8.1	+3.0	+0.8	+0.6	-1.7	-0.6	+7.2	+13.4	+.068	+0.6	+1.4	+.115	+3.6	+4.0	+.195
Alex Caruso	58	21.0	6.4	0.5	2.4	2.9	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.3	1.9	2.3	5.3	.436	0.9	2.4	.401	0.8	1.3	.645
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
difference:		+19.8	+14.7	+3.0	+8.2	+11.2	+6.3	+2.0	+0.2	-2.0	-0.5	+5.9	+13.0	+.054	+0.6	+2.1	+.044	+3.7	+4.5	+.172
Alex Caruso	6	20.2	5.8	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.2	2.0	2.3	6.3	.368	0.8	2.8	.294	0.3	0.3	1.000

Season 5
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1983-84	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+38	+10.3	+16.8	+1.5	+5.0	+6.5	+2.6	+0.1	+0.5	-1.6	-0.1	+7.1	+13.3	+.094	+0.8	+2.2	+.086	+3.3	+3.5	+.093
Alex Caruso	41	28.0	7.4	0.8	2.8	3.6	4.0	1.7	0.4	1.4	2.6	2.5	6.2	.398	1.0	3.1	.333	1.4	1.8	.795
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
difference:	+19	+13.5	+21.2	+2.2	+6.0	+8.2	+1.6	+1.0	+0.2	-3.5	-0.3	+7.7	+13.2	+.133	+1.5	+3.8	+.023	+7.3	+8.3
Alex Caruso	4	28.3	6.3	0.5	2.3	2.8	4.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.3	5.8	.391	1.8	4.5	.389	0.0	0.0	-

Season 6
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1984-85	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+13	+16.0	+23.1	+1.5	+6.2	+7.6	+3.7	+0.1	+0.5	-2.0	-0.2	+9.6	+17.7	+.067	+0.1	+0.7	+.063	+4.1	+4.6	+.074
Alex Caruso	67	23.5	5.6	0.6	2.3	2.9	2.9	1.5	0.7	1.1	2.4	1.9	4.3	.455	0.8	2.3	.364	0.9	1.1	.808
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
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1985-86	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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7th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+11	+9.3	+15.7	+1.4	+4.5	+6.0	+3.3	+0.3	+0.4	-1.8	-0.3	+6.1	+12.0	+.028	+0.9	+2.3	+.015	+4.4	+4.6	+.136
Alex Caruso	71	28.7	10.1	0.9	3.0	3.8	3.5	1.7	1.0	1.4	2.5	3.6	7.6	.468	1.9	4.7	.408	1.0	1.4	.760
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
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1986-87	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+20	+21.3	+21.0	+1.0	+5.3	+6.3	+5.1	+0.2	+0.3	-2.5	-0.6	+8.0	+14.4	+.079	+0.1	+0.1	+.047	+4.8	+5.2	+.086
Alex Caruso	54	19.3	7.1	0.7	2.2	2.9	2.5	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.9	2.6	5.8	.446	1.1	3.1	.353	0.8	0.9	.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
difference:		+19.7	+17.8	+1.1	+6.3	+7.3	+5.0	+0.8	+0.2	-2.3	-0.3	+6.3	+12.7	+.026	+1.0	+2.1	+.070	+6.4	+6.7	+.117
Alex Caruso	23	24.4	9.2	0.7	2.0	2.7	2.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	2.7	3.1	7.0	.450	1.6	3.9	.411	1.3	1.7	.795

Season 9
	Larry Bird	Alex Caruso
Season	1987-88	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+74	+12.0	+21.9	+0.9	+6.3	+7.3	+3.1	+0.4	+0.2	-2.3	-0.6	+9.1	+15.0	+.170	+0.7	+2.4	+.050	+4.5	+5.0	+.084
Alex Caruso	2	27.0	8.0	0.5	1.5	2.0	3.0	2.0	1.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	7.0	.357	2.0	5.5	.364	1.0	1.0	1.000
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
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Larry Bird played 4 seasons more than Alex Caruso in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1989 to 1992—Larry Bird played in 3 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Alex Caruso, Larry Bird got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 3 All-Star Game