Larry Bird vs. Julius Erving Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Julius Erving 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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, 2 more than Julius Erving, who played 11. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Julius Erving had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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
Julius Erving	11	11	1976-77 to 1986-87

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1979-80	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	76ers Lost NBA Finals

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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:		+0.1	+0.3	+0.3	+1.7	+1.9	+0.8	+0.2	+0.8		-0.3	+0.1	+1.1	+.025				+1.2	+1.9	+.059
Julius Erving	82	35.9	21.6	2.3	6.1	8.5	3.7	1.9	1.4	-	3.1	8.4	16.7	.499	-	-	-	4.9	6.3	.777

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:	+10	+1.4	+6.0	+0.2	+4.5	+4.8	+0.2	+0.6	+0.3		-0.9	+1.5	+0.8	+.054				+3.4	+4.3	+.059
Julius Erving	19	39.9	27.3	2.2	4.3	6.4	4.5	2.2	1.2	-	2.4	10.7	20.5	.523	-	-	-	5.8	7.1	.821


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1980-81	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf Finals

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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	+6.7	+0.6	+0.1	+4.5	+4.4	+1.7	+0.2	+0.5	-0.3	-0.1	+0.5	+1.9	+.024				+0.6	+0.9	+.018
Julius Erving	74	32.8	20.6	2.4	4.1	6.5	3.8	1.8	1.3	3.2	2.8	8.3	16.4	.502	-	-	-	4.1	4.9	.845

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:	+7	+8.3	+0.1	+1.1	+5.4	+4.3	+2.1	+0.8	+0.8	-0.1	-0.1	+0.2	+0.4	+.019				+0.3	+0.6	+.144
Julius Erving	10	35.8	21.8	4.0	5.7	9.7	4.0	1.5	1.8	3.5	3.0	8.8	18.0	.489	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1981-82	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+1	+2.1	+0.2	+0.1	+3.6	+3.7	+1.2	+0.2	+0.4	-0.7	-0.5		+0.3	+.012				+0.5	+1.5	+.118
Julius Erving	78	35.9	23.1	2.5	4.7	7.2	4.6	1.7	1.3	4.0	2.7	9.2	18.7	.491	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.745

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:	+3	+0.5	+7.6	+0.4	+5.2	+4.7	+0.3	+0.1	+0.5	-1.0	-1.2	+2.6	+1.9	+.090				+2.6	+3.6	+.061
Julius Erving	9	41.3	25.4	3.2	4.6	7.8	5.9	2.0	1.9	4.2	2.4	9.9	19.1	.517	-	-	-	5.7	7.4	.761


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1982-83	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	76ers Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+1	+1.6	+3.3	+0.4	+4.0	+3.6	+1.2	+0.3	+0.9	-0.6	-0.2	+1.2	+2.0	+.015	+0.2	+0.7	+.086	+1.0	+1.5	+.053
Julius Erving	78	36.1	26.9	2.8	4.6	7.4	4.6	2.2	1.8	3.6	2.7	10.7	20.7	.519	0.1	0.3	.200	5.4	6.8	.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
difference:	+12	+1.4	+3.9	+1.6	+3.4	+4.9	+2.4	+0.2	+1.6	-0.1	-0.6	+1.0	+0.5	+.066	+0.1	+0.2	+.028	+2.0	+2.8	+.034
Julius Erving	18	38.6	24.4	1.7	5.8	7.6	4.4	2.0	2.1	3.1	3.1	9.2	18.8	.488	0.1	0.5	.222	6.0	7.6	.794


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1983-84	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+3	+3.3	+0.4	+0.7	+2.8	+2.1	+2.2	+0.3	+0.9	-0.2	-0.3	+0.1	+0.9	+.029	+0.2	+0.7	+.025	+0.4	+1.2	+.101
Julius Erving	82	35.0	24.6	3.0	5.0	8.0	4.4	2.1	1.8	3.2	2.8	9.7	18.6	.521	0.0	0.2	.222	5.1	6.5	.787

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:	+7	+4.8	+4.6	+0.6	+4.4	+3.9	+2.5	+0.9	+1.4	-0.4	-0.3	+1.1	+0.2	+.049	+0.3	+0.6	+.412	+2.2	+1.6	+.122
Julius Erving	16	37.0	22.9	3.3	3.9	7.1	3.4	1.4	2.6	3.4	3.4	8.9	18.8	.475	0.0	0.1	.000	5.1	6.7	.757


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1984-85	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	76ers Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+1	+5.1	+4.3	+0.6	+4.3	+3.6	+2.7	+0.4	+0.5	-0.5	-0.2	+1.9	+4.4	+.024	+0.7	+1.5	+.154	+0.1	+1.0	+.119
Julius Erving	81	34.4	24.4	2.7	4.2	6.9	3.9	2.0	1.7	2.6	2.8	9.6	17.6	.546	0.0	0.1	.273	5.1	6.7	.763

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
difference:	+1	+3.7	+4.0		+1.8	+1.7	+1.1	+0.1	+0.8	-0.3	-0.1	+1.8	+5.9	+.058	+0.4	+1.0	+.113	+0.2	+1.1	+.138
Julius Erving	21	37.1	22.0	2.7	4.7	7.4	4.7	1.8	1.8	3.2	2.6	8.0	15.4	.519	0.0	0.3	.167	5.9	7.9	.752


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1985-86	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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	+4.4	+4.4	+0.1	+3.1	+3.0	+3.1	+0.4	+1.2	-0.5	-0.6	+1.3	+3.3	+.021	+1.0	+2.3	+.137	+0.8		+.137
Julius Erving	72	33.6	21.4	2.4	4.4	6.8	3.7	1.6	1.8	2.7	2.8	8.4	16.3	.517	0.0	0.1	.286	4.6	6.0	.759

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:	+5	+4.9	+7.5	+0.6	+2.2	+1.7	+4.8	+0.9	+1.5	-0.4	-0.1	+2.2	+2.2	+.067	+1.3	+3.0	+.411	+1.8	+0.9	+.206
Julius Erving	13	37.9	18.4	2.5	5.2	7.6	3.4	1.2	2.1	3.0	3.2	7.3	16.2	.450	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	5.2	.721


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1986-87	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+5.8	+5.7	+0.8	+3.1	+2.3	+3.6		+0.9	-0.2	-0.3	+1.8	+3.0	+.013	+1.1	+2.7	+.067	+0.9	+0.2	+.156
Julius Erving	77	34.8	22.4	2.5	4.4	6.9	4.0	1.8	1.8	3.0	2.8	8.8	17.2	.512	0.1	0.3	.333	4.7	6.3	.754

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:	+18	+5.3	+8.8		+3.7	+3.6	+2.2	+0.4	+0.4	-1.1	-0.4	+2.2	+4.5	+.002	+0.6	+1.6	+.341	+3.9	+4.0	+.048
Julius Erving	5	38.8	18.2	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.0	1.6	1.2	4.2	2.8	7.2	15.2	.474	0.0	0.2	.000	3.8	4.4	.864


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1987-88	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	76ers Lost East Conf 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:	+2	+6.5	+9.9	+0.8	+4.7	+4.0	+3.1	+0.1	+0.6	-0.1	-0.5	+3.8	+6.2	+.033	+1.3	+2.9	+.200	+1.2	+0.3	+.151
Julius Erving	78	32.5	20.0	2.2	3.1	5.3	3.0	1.7	1.4	2.7	2.6	7.8	15.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.214	4.3	5.7	.765

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:	+4	+11.5	+7.4	+0.5	+3.7	+3.2	+3.1	+0.2		-0.1		+2.4	+5.5	+.001	+0.7	+1.8	+.375	+1.7	+1.8	+.037
Julius Erving	13	33.4	17.1	2.2	3.4	5.6	3.7	1.9	0.8	2.8	2.6	6.5	14.4	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	4.2	4.8	.857


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1988-89	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+68	+1.9	+1.2	+2.1	+3.3	+1.2	+1.4	+0.5	+0.3	-1.1	-0.4	+1.2	+2.6	+.009	+0.1	+0.4		+0.9	+1.8	+.162
Julius Erving	74	33.4	18.1	2.3	2.7	5.0	3.4	1.5	1.1	2.9	2.6	7.0	14.7	.480	0.1	0.4	.281	3.9	5.0	.785

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Julius Erving	12	36.1	17.7	2.2	3.7	5.8	4.2	0.9	1.3	3.3	2.7	6.8	15.0	.450	0.2	0.9	.182	4.0	5.4	.738


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Julius Erving
Season	1989-90	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	76ers Lost East 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:	+15	+7.3	+7.5	+0.7	+5.8	+5.1	+4.3	+0.1	+0.8	-0.6		+2.9	+6.0	+.002	+0.7	+1.7	+.069	+1.1	+0.7	+.117
Julius Erving	60	32.0	16.8	1.9	2.5	4.4	3.2	1.3	1.6	2.6	2.3	6.7	14.2	.471	0.2	0.9	.264	3.2	3.9	.813

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:		+5.4	+6.2	+1.4	+5.6	+4.2	+5.4	+0.4	+0.2	-1.8	-1.8	+2.0	+3.4	+.029	+0.6	+2.6	+.070	+1.6	+1.4	+.066
Julius Erving	5	36.0	18.2	2.8	2.2	5.0	3.4	1.4	1.2	1.8	3.8	6.8	16.4	.415	0.4	1.2	.333	4.2	5.0	.840


Additional Years
* Larry Bird played 2 seasons more than Julius Erving 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 Julius Erving, Larry Bird got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game

Larry Bird vs. Julius Erving Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Julius Erving 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