Otis Birdsong vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid 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, 4 more than Joel Embiid, who played 8. Otis Birdsong had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Joel Embiid 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 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
Joel Embiid	8	7	2016-17 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	Joel Embiid
Season	1977-78	2016-17
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First 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		%
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
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783

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


Season 2
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1978-79	2017-18
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	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
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769

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
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705


Season 3
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1979-80	2018-19
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804

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
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822


Season 4
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1980-81	2019-20
Team	Kansas City Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf Finals	76ers 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	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
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807

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
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814


Season 5
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1981-82	2020-21
Team	New Jersey Nets	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
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	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
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835


Season 6
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1982-83	2021-22
Team	New Jersey Nets	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814

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
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820


Season 7
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1983-84	2022-23
Team	New Jersey Nets	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East 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	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
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857

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
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905


Season 8
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
Season	1984-85	2023-24
Team	New Jersey Nets	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers 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	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
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Otis Birdsong	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859


Season 9
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
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
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
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
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 11
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
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
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 12
	Otis Birdsong	Joel Embiid
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
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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	-
Joel Embiid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Otis Birdsong vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid 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