Larry Bird vs. DeMarcus Cousins Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of DeMarcus Cousins 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 2 more than DeMarcus Cousins, who played 11. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while DeMarcus Cousins had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92
DeMarcus Cousins	11	3	2010-11 to 2021-22

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1979-80	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	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:	+1	+7.5	+7.2	+0.1	+1.8	+1.8	+2.0	+0.7	+0.2	-0.1	-0.7	+3.2	+5.4	+.044	+0.7	+1.5	+.239	+0.3	+0.6	+.149
DeMarcus Cousins	81	28.5	14.1	2.7	6.0	8.6	2.5	1.0	0.8	3.3	4.1	5.3	12.4	.430	0.0	0.2	.167	3.4	5.0	.687

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1980-81	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+18	+9.0	+3.1	+1.8	+1.8	+0.1	+3.9	+0.5	+0.4	-0.8	-1.1	+1.8	+2.7	+.030	+0.2	+0.7	+.127	+0.6	+1.8	+.161
DeMarcus Cousins	64	30.5	18.1	4.1	6.8	11.0	1.6	1.5	1.2	2.7	4.0	7.0	15.6	.448	0.0	0.2	.143	4.1	5.8	.702

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1981-82	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+7.5	+5.8	+0.4	+1.3	+1.0	+3.1	+0.5	+0.2	-0.3	-0.4	+2.8	+4.6	+.038		+0.4	+.030	+0.1	+0.7	+.125
DeMarcus Cousins	75	30.5	17.1	3.0	7.0	9.9	2.7	1.4	0.7	3.0	3.6	6.4	13.8	.465	0.1	0.3	.182	4.2	5.6	.738

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1982-83	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+8	+5.3	+0.9	+0.7		+0.7	+2.9	+0.4	+0.4	-0.5	-1.3	+1.2	+1.9	+.008	+0.3	+0.9	+.286	+1.7	+3.1	+.114
DeMarcus Cousins	71	32.4	22.7	3.1	8.6	11.7	2.9	1.5	1.3	3.5	3.8	8.3	16.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	8.4	.726

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1983-84	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+20	+4.2	+0.1	+0.8	+1.7	+2.6	+3.0	+0.3	+0.8	-1.3	-1.6	+1.2	+1.4	+.025	+0.2	+0.8	+.003	+2.5	+3.9	+.106
DeMarcus Cousins	59	34.1	24.1	3.1	9.5	12.7	3.6	1.5	1.7	4.3	4.1	8.4	18.1	.467	0.0	0.1	.250	7.2	9.2	.782

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1984-85	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	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:	+15	+4.9	+1.8	+0.3	+0.6	+1.0	+3.3		+0.2	-0.7	-1.0	+2.3	+1.5	+.071	+0.4	+1.6	+.094	+2.3	+4.5	+.164
DeMarcus Cousins	65	34.6	26.9	2.4	9.1	11.5	3.3	1.6	1.4	3.8	3.6	9.2	20.5	.451	1.1	3.2	.333	7.3	10.2	.718

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1985-86	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+10	+3.8	+1.2	+0.2	+1.4	+1.2	+2.2	+0.6	+0.7	-0.5	-1.7	+0.7	+0.3	+.044	+0.8	+2.6	+.062	+1.8	+3.3	+.124
DeMarcus Cousins	72	34.2	27.0	2.1	8.9	11.0	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.7	3.9	9.0	19.9	.452	1.8	5.0	.361	7.2	9.3	.772

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1986-87	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+26	+4.4	+2.9	+0.5	+3.2	+3.7	+2.2	+0.2	+0.7	-1.8	-1.3	+2.1	+2.2	+.055	+1.0	+3.1	+.046	+0.5	+2.1	+.164
DeMarcus Cousins	48	36.2	25.2	2.2	10.7	12.9	5.4	1.6	1.6	5.0	3.8	8.5	18.0	.470	2.2	6.1	.354	6.1	8.2	.746

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
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1987-88	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+46	+13.3	+13.6		+1.0	+1.1	+2.5	+0.3	+0.7	-0.4	-1.5	+5.7	+9.6	+.047	+0.4	+0.1	+.140	+2.0	+1.2	+.180
DeMarcus Cousins	30	25.7	16.3	1.4	6.8	8.2	3.6	1.3	1.5	2.4	3.6	5.9	12.4	.480	0.9	3.2	.274	3.5	4.8	.736

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
difference:	+9	+28.3	+16.9	+0.6	+3.3	+3.9	+4.4	+1.5		-0.5	-0.4	+6.3	+13.3	+.054	+0.3	+0.4	+.125	+3.9	+3.5	+.254
DeMarcus Cousins	8	16.6	7.6	1.1	3.8	4.9	2.4	0.6	0.8	2.4	3.0	2.6	6.6	.396	0.4	1.5	.250	2.0	3.1	.640

Note: DeMarcus Cousins didn't play in 2019-20.


Season 10
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1988-89	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Clippers Lost West Conf Finals

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10th 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	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
difference:	+35	+14.1	+10.4	+1.1	+0.9	+0.2	+2.9	+0.2	+0.2	-0.2	-0.4	+5.0	+9.9	+.045	+1.1	+3.3		+1.6	+1.2	+.219
DeMarcus Cousins	41	17.4	8.9	1.3	5.1	6.4	1.9	0.8	0.6	1.6	2.6	3.2	7.4	.426	1.1	3.3	.348	1.4	2.0	.728

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
DeMarcus Cousins	7	8.3	7.6	0.9	1.1	2.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.7	1.9	2.7	6.0	.452	0.6	1.4	.400	1.6	2.0	.786


Season 11
	Larry Bird	DeMarcus Cousins
Season	1989-90	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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11th 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	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
difference:	+27	+24.4	+15.3	+0.3	+4.2	+3.9	+6.0	+0.7	+0.4	-1.4	-0.6	+6.5	+13.4	+.013	+0.1	+0.1	+.030	+2.3	+2.0	+.170
DeMarcus Cousins	48	14.9	9.0	1.5	4.1	5.6	1.5	0.7	0.4	1.8	2.9	3.1	6.8	.460	0.8	2.5	.303	2.0	2.6	.760

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
difference:		+30.0	+13.8	+0.8	+5.0	+5.8	+7.6	+0.4	+0.8	-2.2	-0.2	+5.0	+14.0	+.211	+0.2	+2.6	+.404	+3.6	+3.4	+.173
DeMarcus Cousins	5	11.4	10.6	0.6	2.8	3.4	1.2	0.6	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.8	5.8	.655	0.8	1.2	.667	2.2	3.0	.733


Additional Years
* Larry Bird played 2 seasons more than DeMarcus Cousins in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 13, from 1991 to 1992—Larry Bird played in two Playoffs. In those 2 extra years over DeMarcus Cousins, Larry Bird got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game

Larry Bird vs. DeMarcus Cousins Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of DeMarcus Cousins 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years