Larry Bird vs. Domantas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Domantas Sabonis 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, 3 more than Domantas Sabonis, who played 10. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Domantas Sabonis had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Domantas Sabonis	10	4	2016-17 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1979-80	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+15.9	+15.4	+2.0	+4.8	+6.8	+3.5	+1.2	+0.2	-2.2	-0.9	+6.1	+11.9	+.075	+0.1	+0.3	+.085	+3.2	+3.6	+.179
Domantas Sabonis	81	20.1	5.9	0.6	3.0	3.6	1.0	0.5	0.4	1.0	2.5	2.4	5.9	.399	0.6	2.0	.321	0.5	0.8	.657

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
difference:	+7	+38.3	+19.3	+2.4	+7.8	+10.2	+4.7	+1.1	+0.4	-3.7	-1.3	+9.2	+18.2	+.469	+0.4	+1.2	+.267	+0.4	+0.8	+.120
Domantas Sabonis	2	3.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	2.0	1.000


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1980-81	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+8	+15.0	+9.6	+0.1	+3.1	+3.2	+3.5	+1.5	+0.4	-1.6	-0.1	+4.2	+9.4	+.036		+0.4	+.081	+1.2	+1.0	+.113
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.5	11.6	2.2	5.5	7.7	2.0	0.5	0.4	1.9	3.0	4.6	8.9	.514	0.2	0.5	.351	2.3	3.0	.750

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
difference:	+10	+20.4	+9.5	+0.9	+8.5	+9.4	+5.4	+2.2	+0.7	-2.6		+3.5	+9.5	+.111	+0.1	+0.5	+.232	+2.5	+2.4	+.116
Domantas Sabonis	7	23.7	12.4	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.7	0.1	0.3	1.0	3.1	5.1	8.9	.581	0.1	1.0	.143	2.0	2.6	.778


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1981-82	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+13.2	+8.8	+0.1	+1.5	+1.6	+2.9	+1.3	+0.5	-1.1		+3.6	+8.9	+.087		+0.5	+.317	+1.5	+1.0	+.148
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.8	14.1	2.5	6.8	9.3	2.9	0.6	0.4	2.2	3.2	5.6	9.5	.590	0.1	0.2	.529	2.8	3.9	.715

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:	+8	+16.8	+9.3	+1.0	+4.3	+5.2	+1.6	+1.1	+1.1	-1.9	-0.6	+4.3	+9.9	+.013	+0.2	+0.5	+.083	+0.8	+0.3	+.179
Domantas Sabonis	4	24.0	8.5	1.8	5.5	7.3	4.0	0.8	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	7.3	.414	0.3	1.0	.250	2.3	3.5	.643


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1982-83	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+17	+2.9	+5.1	+0.6	+0.8	+1.4	+0.8	+1.1	+0.4	-0.3	-0.6	+2.1	+5.0	+.036		+0.1	+.032	+0.9	+0.5	+.117
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.8	18.5	3.0	9.4	12.4	5.0	0.8	0.5	2.7	3.1	7.4	13.7	.540	0.3	1.1	.254	3.5	4.8	.723

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1983-84	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First 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:	+17	+2.3	+3.9	+0.1	+1.7	+1.9	+0.1	+0.6	+0.4	-0.4	-0.8	+1.8	+4.9	+.043	+0.6	+1.7	+.074	+0.8		+.156
Domantas Sabonis	62	36.0	20.3	2.4	9.5	12.0	6.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	3.3	7.8	14.6	.535	0.8	2.6	.321	3.9	5.3	.732

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1984-85	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA 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:	+18	+5.0	+9.8	+1.1	+0.4	+1.6	+1.4	+0.6	+0.8		-0.7	+4.4	+9.5	+.051	+0.1	+0.4	+.115	+1.0	+0.3	+.141
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.5	18.9	3.2	8.9	12.1	5.2	1.0	0.4	3.1	3.3	7.1	12.5	.573	0.6	2.0	.312	4.0	5.4	.741

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1985-86	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+3.4	+6.7	+0.9	+1.6	+2.5	+0.5	+1.2	+0.1	-0.3	-1.3	+2.4	+7.7	+.119	+0.6	+1.3	+.050	+1.3	+0.5	+.154
Domantas Sabonis	79	34.6	19.1	3.2	9.1	12.3	7.3	0.8	0.5	2.9	3.5	7.3	11.9	.615	0.4	1.1	.373	4.1	5.5	.742

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
difference:	+11	+8.1	+9.5	+2.5	+0.8	+1.7	+3.5	+0.7	+0.3	-1.1	-0.9	+2.5	+4.3	+.022	+1.2	+2.4	+.211	+3.3	+2.1	+.356
Domantas Sabonis	7	34.7	16.4	4.4	6.6	11.0	4.7	1.4	0.9	3.7	4.0	7.0	14.1	.495	0.1	0.7	.200	2.3	4.0	.571


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1986-87	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	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:	+8	+4.9	+8.7	+1.9	+2.6	+4.5	+0.6	+0.9	+0.3	-0.1	-0.5	+2.9	+7.2	+.069	+0.8	+1.9	+.021	+2.0	+1.0	+.206
Domantas Sabonis	82	35.7	19.4	3.6	10.1	13.7	8.2	0.9	0.6	3.3	3.0	7.7	13.0	.594	0.4	1.1	.379	3.6	5.1	.704

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1987-88	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	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:	+6	+4.3	+10.8	+2.4	+2.3	+4.6	+0.1	+0.9	+0.4	-0.1	-1.2	+4.1	+9.2	+.063	+0.4	+0.9	+.003	+2.4	+1.9	+.162
Domantas Sabonis	70	34.7	19.1	3.8	10.1	13.9	6.0	0.7	0.4	2.9	3.3	7.5	12.8	.590	0.9	2.2	.417	3.1	4.1	.754

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1988-89	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+5	+1.7	+2.1	+3.2	+2.9	+6.1	+1.1	+0.2	+0.6	-0.7	-1.0	+1.5	+4.1	+.039	+0.4	+1.8		+0.4	+1.4	+.222
Domantas Sabonis	11	33.2	17.2	3.4	8.9	12.3	3.7	1.2	0.2	2.5	4.0	6.7	13.2	.510	0.4	1.8	.200	3.4	4.6	.725

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Larry Bird nor Domantas Sabonis played in the postseason in their season 10


Additional Years
* Larry Bird played 3 seasons more than Domantas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 1990 to 1992—Larry Bird played in 3 Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over Domantas Sabonis, Larry Bird got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 3 All-Star Game

Larry Bird vs. Domantas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Domantas Sabonis 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

Additional Years