Lonzo Ball vs. Otis Birdsong Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Otis Birdsong and Lonzo Ball, 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

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.

Lonzo Ball played 5 years in the NBA, 7 less than Otis Birdsong, who played 12. Lonzo Ball had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Otis Birdsong had his rookie season in 1977-78. 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
Lonzo Ball	5	0	2017-18 to 2021-22
Otis Birdsong	12	7	1977-78 to 1988-89

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


Rookie Season
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	2017-18	1977-78
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Kansas City Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Lonzo Ball	52	34.2	10.2	1.3	5.6	6.9	7.2	1.7	0.8	2.6	2.3	3.9	10.8	.360	1.7	5.7	.305	0.6	1.4	.451
Otis Birdsong	73	25.7	15.8	1.0	1.4	2.4	2.4	1.0	0.2	2.0	2.5	6.4	13.1	.492	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	.697

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	2018-19	1978-79
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Kansas City Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Kings 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		%
Lonzo Ball	47	30.3	9.9	1.1	4.2	5.3	5.4	1.5	0.4	2.2	2.4	3.9	9.7	.406	1.6	4.9	.329	0.4	1.0	.417
Otis Birdsong	82	34.6	21.7	2.1	2.2	4.3	3.4	1.5	0.2	2.4	3.1	9.0	17.8	.509	-	-	-	3.6	5.0	.725

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	5	33.6	21.0	1.6	2.0	3.6	1.8	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.6	7.8	15.2	.513	-	-	-	5.4	7.6	.711


Season 3
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	2019-20	1979-80
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Kansas City Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Kings 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		%
Lonzo Ball	63	32.1	11.8	1.1	5.0	6.1	7.0	1.4	0.6	3.1	2.0	4.4	10.9	.403	2.3	6.3	.375	0.7	1.2	.566
Otis Birdsong	82	35.2	22.7	2.1	2.0	4.0	2.5	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.8	9.5	18.9	.505	0.1	0.4	.278	3.5	5.0	.694

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	3	37.3	22.0	3.7	4.0	7.7	2.3	1.3	0.0	2.0	1.7	10.0	20.7	.484	0.0	1.0	.000	2.0	4.7	.429


Season 4
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	2020-21	1980-81
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Kansas City Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Kings 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		%
Lonzo Ball	55	31.8	14.6	0.6	4.2	4.8	5.7	1.5	0.6	2.2	1.9	5.3	12.7	.414	3.1	8.3	.378	0.9	1.2	.781
Otis Birdsong	71	36.5	24.6	1.7	2.0	3.6	3.3	1.3	0.3	2.4	2.4	10.0	18.4	.544	0.1	0.5	.286	4.5	6.4	.697

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	8	29.3	15.5	1.0	1.6	2.6	3.4	1.5	0.0	2.5	1.6	7.0	12.3	.571	0.1	0.1	1.000	1.4	2.3	.611


Season 5
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	2021-22	1981-82
Team	Chicago Bulls	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Lonzo Ball	35	34.6	13.0	1.0	4.4	5.4	5.1	1.8	0.9	2.3	2.4	4.6	10.9	.423	3.1	7.4	.423	0.6	0.8	.750
Otis Birdsong	37	27.7	14.2	0.8	1.8	2.6	3.4	0.8	0.1	1.7	2.0	6.1	13.0	.469	0.0	0.3	.000	2.0	3.4	.583

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1982-83
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Nets Lost East 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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	62	30.4	15.1	0.9	1.6	2.4	3.9	1.4	0.3	1.8	2.5	6.9	13.5	.511	0.0	0.1	.333	1.3	2.3	.566

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	2	18.5	6.5	0.5	0.5	1.0	4.5	1.5	0.0	0.5	1.5	3.0	8.0	.375	0.0	0.5	.000	0.5	1.0	.500


Season 7
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1983-84
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Nets Lost East 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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	69	31.4	19.8	1.1	1.4	2.5	3.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	2.6	8.4	16.6	.508	0.1	0.3	.250	2.8	4.6	.608

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	11	35.2	15.2	0.6	1.7	2.4	3.7	1.8	0.1	2.0	3.5	6.5	15.5	.415	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	4.4	.521


Season 8
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1984-85
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	56	32.9	20.6	1.1	1.6	2.6	4.1	1.5	0.1	2.1	2.6	8.8	17.3	.511	0.1	0.4	.190	2.9	4.6	.622

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1985-86
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Nets Lost East 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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	77	31.1	15.8	1.1	1.5	2.6	3.4	1.1	0.2	2.3	3.0	7.0	13.7	.513	0.1	0.3	.364	1.6	2.7	.581

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	3	44.0	23.0	1.7	2.3	4.0	3.3	2.0	1.0	3.0	4.7	9.7	18.3	.527	0.0	1.0	.000	3.7	6.3	.579


Season 10
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1986-87
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	7	18.1	6.3	0.4	0.6	1.0	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.3	2.3	2.7	6.0	.452	0.0	0.1	.000	0.9	1.3	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1987-88
Team	-	New Jersey Nets
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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	67	28.1	10.9	1.1	1.4	2.5	3.3	0.8	0.2	1.9	2.1	5.0	11.0	.458	0.1	0.4	.360	0.7	1.4	.511

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Lonzo Ball	Otis Birdsong
Season	-	1988-89
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	13	8.3	2.8	0.3	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.2	0.1	0.9	0.8	1.4	2.8	.500	0.1	0.2	.333	0.0	0.2	.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Lonzo Ball	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Otis Birdsong	3	6.7	0.7	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	1.0	0.3	1.7	.200	0.0	0.7	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Lonzo Ball vs. Otis Birdsong Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Otis Birdsong and Lonzo Ball, 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