Larry Bird vs. Dale Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dale Ellis 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, 4 less than Dale Ellis, who played 17. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Dale Ellis had his rookie season in 1983-84. 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
Dale Ellis	17	10	1983-84 to 1999-00

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1979-80	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks 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	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
Dale Ellis	67	15.8	8.2	1.6	2.1	3.7	0.8	0.6	0.1	1.2	1.8	3.4	7.4	.456	0.2	0.4	.414	1.3	1.8	.719

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
Dale Ellis	8	22.3	7.4	2.4	2.9	5.3	0.5	1.3	0.3	0.6	2.1	3.3	10.0	.325	0.1	1.5	.083	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1980-81	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks 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	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
Dale Ellis	72	18.3	9.3	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.8	0.6	0.1	0.8	1.8	3.8	8.4	.454	0.6	1.5	.385	1.1	1.4	.740

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
Dale Ellis	4	17.0	5.8	1.0	0.8	1.8	0.8	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	.435	0.5	1.3	.400	0.3	0.5	.500


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1981-82	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks 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
Dale Ellis	72	15.1	7.1	1.2	1.1	2.3	0.5	0.6	0.1	0.5	1.1	2.7	6.5	.411	0.9	2.4	.364	0.8	1.1	.720

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
Dale Ellis	7	9.6	4.3	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.9	1.3	3.1	.409	1.0	1.7	.583	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1982-83	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Most Improved Player
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Supersonics 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	37.5	24.9	2.3	3.2	5.5	2.9	1.3	0.4	2.9	3.3	9.6	18.5	.516	1.0	2.9	.358	4.7	6.0	.787

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
Dale Ellis	14	37.9	25.2	2.6	3.8	6.4	2.6	0.7	0.4	2.4	3.9	10.6	21.7	.487	0.9	2.6	.361	3.1	3.9	.815


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1983-84	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics 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	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
Dale Ellis	75	37.2	25.8	2.2	2.3	4.5	2.6	1.0	0.1	2.3	2.9	10.2	20.3	.503	1.4	3.5	.413	4.0	5.3	.767

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
Dale Ellis	5	34.4	20.8	2.2	2.4	4.6	3.0	0.6	0.4	2.4	3.4	8.0	16.6	.482	0.6	2.4	.250	4.2	5.8	.724


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1984-85	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Supersonics 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	38.9	27.5	1.9	2.3	4.2	2.0	1.3	0.3	2.7	2.4	10.5	20.9	.501	2.0	4.1	.478	4.6	5.6	.816

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
Dale Ellis	8	38.0	22.9	1.8	2.3	4.0	1.3	1.4	0.1	2.6	2.4	9.0	20.0	.450	1.9	4.6	.405	3.0	4.1	.727


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1985-86	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	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	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
Dale Ellis	55	37.0	23.5	1.6	2.7	4.3	2.0	1.1	0.1	2.2	2.3	9.1	18.4	.497	1.7	4.7	.375	3.5	4.3	.818

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
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1986-87	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks
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
Dale Ellis	51	27.9	16.8	1.3	2.1	3.4	1.9	1.0	0.2	1.6	2.2	6.7	14.1	.474	1.1	3.1	.363	2.4	3.3	.723

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
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1987-88	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
Dale Ellis	81	27.0	15.7	1.1	2.0	3.1	1.3	0.7	0.2	1.5	1.9	6.0	12.8	.469	1.7	4.1	.419	2.0	2.6	.774

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
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1988-89	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	33.3	16.7	1.0	2.8	3.8	1.3	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.2	6.6	13.3	.499	1.5	3.6	.401	1.9	2.4	.797

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	10	30.5	12.5	0.9	2.6	3.5	1.1	0.4	0.0	1.0	2.5	5.1	11.3	.451	1.0	3.2	.313	1.3	1.6	.813


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1989-90	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Spurs 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
Dale Ellis	77	33.6	15.2	0.9	2.4	3.3	1.0	0.9	0.1	1.0	1.8	6.2	12.6	.494	1.7	4.3	.395	1.1	1.4	.776

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
Dale Ellis	4	28.5	10.5	0.8	1.8	2.5	0.3	0.8	0.0	1.0	1.5	4.3	10.8	.395	1.3	4.3	.294	0.8	1.3	.600


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1990-91	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets 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	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
Dale Ellis	81	24.6	11.3	0.7	2.0	2.7	0.7	0.5	0.1	1.0	1.8	4.3	9.6	.453	1.3	3.2	.403	1.4	1.6	.866

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
Dale Ellis	3	24.3	12.0	2.0	2.7	4.7	1.0	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.0	3.3	9.3	.357	1.3	4.3	.308	4.0	4.3	.923


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	1991-92	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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	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
Dale Ellis	81	32.4	14.9	1.1	2.8	3.9	1.7	0.7	0.1	1.2	2.4	5.7	11.8	.479	1.9	4.5	.412	1.7	2.2	.760

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
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1996-97
Team	-	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	82	35.9	16.6	1.2	2.4	3.6	2.0	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	5.8	14.0	.414	2.3	6.4	.364	2.6	3.2	.817

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


Season 15
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1997-98
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Supersonics 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	79	24.5	11.8	0.6	1.7	2.3	1.1	0.8	0.1	0.9	1.6	4.4	8.9	.497	1.6	3.5	.464	1.4	1.8	.782

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	10	17.2	5.6	0.4	0.9	1.3	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.2	1.0	2.0	5.3	.377	1.1	2.6	.423	0.5	0.6	.833


Season 16
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1998-99
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	48	25.7	10.3	0.5	1.9	2.4	0.8	0.5	0.1	0.9	1.6	3.6	8.2	.441	2.0	4.5	.433	1.1	1.5	.757

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


Season 17
	Larry Bird	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1999-00
Team	-	Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets
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		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	42	13.4	4.2	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.5	1.1	1.6	3.8	.415	0.9	2.4	.370	0.2	0.3	.692

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

Larry Bird vs. Dale Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dale Ellis 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

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17