Otis Birdsong vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Otis Birdsong, 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.

Otis Birdsong played 12 years in the NBA, 6 more than Ben Simmons, who played 6. Otis Birdsong had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Ben Simmons had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Otis Birdsong	12	7	1977-78 to 1988-89
Ben Simmons	6	3	2017-18 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1977-78	2017-18
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers 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		%
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
Ben Simmons	81	33.7	15.8	1.8	6.3	8.1	8.2	1.7	0.9	3.4	2.6	6.7	12.3	.545	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	4.2	.560

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Simmons	10	36.9	16.3	1.6	7.8	9.4	7.7	1.7	0.8	4.4	3.4	6.1	12.5	.488	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.8	.707


Season 2
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1978-79	2018-19
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf Semis	76ers 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		%
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
Ben Simmons	79	34.2	16.9	2.2	6.6	8.8	7.7	1.4	0.8	3.5	2.6	6.8	12.2	.563	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.4	.600

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	12	35.1	13.9	1.9	5.1	7.0	6.0	1.3	1.0	2.7	3.8	6.0	9.7	.621	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.3	.575


Season 3
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1979-80	2019-20
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Ben Simmons	57	35.4	16.4	2.0	5.8	7.8	8.0	2.1	0.6	3.5	3.3	6.6	11.4	.580	0.0	0.1	.286	3.2	5.2	.621

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1980-81	2020-21
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf Finals	76ers 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		%
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
Ben Simmons	58	32.4	14.3	1.6	5.6	7.2	6.9	1.6	0.6	3.0	2.9	5.6	10.1	.557	0.1	0.2	.300	3.0	4.9	.613

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	12	33.5	11.9	2.1	5.8	7.9	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.3	3.3	4.9	7.9	.621	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	6.1	.342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.


Season 5
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1981-82	2022-23
Team	New Jersey Nets	Brooklyn 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		%
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
Ben Simmons	42	26.3	6.9	1.0	5.3	6.3	6.1	1.3	0.6	2.3	3.3	3.2	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	1.4	.439

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


Season 6
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1982-83	2023-24
Team	New Jersey Nets	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Ben Simmons	15	23.9	6.1	2.1	5.9	7.9	5.7	0.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.9	4.9	.581	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.0	.400

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
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		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
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		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 9
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
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		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
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		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 11
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1987-88	-
Team	New Jersey Nets	-
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		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 12
	Otis Birdsong	Ben Simmons
Season	1988-89	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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	-
Ben Simmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Otis Birdsong vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Otis Birdsong, 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