Walt Bellamy vs. Kyrie Irving Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kyrie Irving and Walt Bellamy, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Walt Bellamy and Kyrie Irving both played 14 years in the NBA. Walt Bellamy had the first of his seasons in 1961-62, while Kyrie Irving had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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.

Rookie Season
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1961-62	2011-12
Team	Chicago Packers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	79	42.3	31.6	-	-	19.0	2.7	-	-	-	3.6	12.3	23.7	.519	-	-	-	6.9	10.8	.644
difference:	+28	+11.8	+13.1			+15.3	+2.7				-1.4	+5.4	+9.1	+.050				+3.5	+7.0	+.228
Kyrie Irving	51	30.5	18.5	0.9	2.9	3.7	5.4	1.1	0.4	3.1	2.2	6.9	14.6	.469	1.4	3.6	.399	3.4	3.8	.872
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Walt Bellamy nor Kyrie Irving played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1962-63	2012-13
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	80	41.3	27.9	-	-	16.4	2.9	-	-	-	3.5	10.5	19.9	.527	-	-	-	6.9	10.3	.674
difference:	+21	+6.6	+5.4			+12.7	+3.0				-1.0	+2.3	+1.8	+.075				+2.7	+5.4	+.181
Kyrie Irving	59	34.7	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.7	5.9	1.5	0.4	3.2	2.5	8.2	18.1	.452	1.8	4.7	.391	4.2	4.9	.855
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Walt Bellamy nor Kyrie Irving played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1963-64	2013-14
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	80	42.4	27.0	-	-	17.0	1.6	-	-	-	3.8	10.1	19.8	.513	-	-	-	6.7	10.3	.651
difference:	+9	+7.2	+6.2			+13.4	+4.5				-1.5	+2.6	+2.4	+.083				+2.6	+5.5	+.210
Kyrie Irving	71	35.2	20.8	0.7	2.9	3.6	6.1	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.3	7.5	17.4	.430	1.7	4.8	.358	4.1	4.8	.861
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Walt Bellamy nor Kyrie Irving played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1964-65	2014-15
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost West Div Finals	Cavaliers 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		%
Walt Bellamy	80	41.3	24.8	-	-	14.6	2.4	-	-	-	3.3	9.2	18.0	.509	-	-	-	6.4	9.4	.685
difference:	+5	+4.9	+3.1			+11.4	+2.8				-1.4	+1.5	+1.5	+.041				+2.2	+4.5	+.178
Kyrie Irving	75	36.4	21.7	0.7	2.4	3.2	5.2	1.5	0.3	2.5	1.9	7.7	16.5	.468	2.1	5.0	.415	4.2	4.9	.863
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	10	42.7	20.9	-	-	15.1	3.4	-	-	-	3.8	7.4	15.8	.468	-	-	-	6.1	9.2	.663
difference:	+3	+7.0	+1.9			+11.5	+0.4				-1.6	+1.2	+1.6	+.030				+1.6	+3.9	+.178
Kyrie Irving	13	35.7	19.0	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.8	1.3	0.8	1.5	2.2	6.2	14.2	.438	2.1	4.6	.450	4.5	5.3	.841

Season 5
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1965-66	2015-16
Team	Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	80	41.9	22.8	-	-	15.7	2.9	-	-	-	3.7	8.7	17.2	.506	-	-	-	5.4	8.6	.624
difference:	+27	+10.4	+3.2			+12.7	+1.8				-1.7	+1.3	+0.6	+.058				+2.2	+5.0	+.261
Kyrie Irving	53	31.5	19.6	0.8	2.1	3.0	4.7	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.4	16.6	.448	1.6	4.9	.321	3.2	3.6	.885
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kyrie Irving	21	36.9	25.2	0.7	2.2	3.0	4.7	1.7	0.6	2.3	2.2	9.6	20.1	.475	2.4	5.5	.440	3.7	4.2	.875

Season 6
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1966-67	2016-17
Team	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Semis	Cavaliers 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		%
Walt Bellamy	79	38.1	19.0	-	-	13.5	2.6	-	-	-	3.5	7.2	13.7	.521	-	-	-	4.7	7.3	.636
difference:	+7	+3.0	+6.2			+10.3	+3.2				-1.3	+2.1	+6.0	+.048				+0.6	+2.7	+.269
Kyrie Irving	72	35.1	25.2	0.7	2.5	3.2	5.8	1.2	0.3	2.5	2.2	9.3	19.7	.473	2.5	6.1	.401	4.1	4.6	.905
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	4	39.3	18.3	-	-	16.5	3.0	-	-	-	3.8	7.0	13.5	.519	-	-	-	4.3	7.3	.586
difference:	+14	+3.0	+7.6			+13.7	+2.3				-1.7	+2.6	+7.1	+.051				+0.1	+2.6	+.319
Kyrie Irving	18	36.3	25.9	0.7	2.1	2.8	5.3	1.3	0.4	2.7	2.1	9.6	20.6	.468	2.4	6.6	.373	4.2	4.7	.905

Season 7
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1967-68	2017-18
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	82	32.9	16.7	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	3.2	6.2	11.5	.541	-	-	-	4.3	6.5	.662
difference:	+22	+0.7	+7.7			+7.9	+3.1				-1.2	+2.7	+6.6	+.050				+0.4	+2.1	+.227
Kyrie Irving	60	32.2	24.4	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.1	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	8.9	18.1	.491	2.8	6.8	.408	3.9	4.4	.889
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	6	46.2	20.0	-	-	16.0	3.5	-	-	-	3.7	7.5	17.8	.421	-	-	-	5.0	8.0	.625
Kyrie Irving	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1968-69	2018-19
Team	New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Walt Bellamy	88	35.9	17.4	-	-	12.5	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	6.4	12.5	.510	-	-	-	4.6	7.0	.649
difference:	+21	+2.9	+6.4			+7.5	+4.9				-1.1	+2.6	+6.0	+.023				+1.4	+3.3	+.224
Kyrie Irving	67	33.0	23.8	1.1	3.9	5.0	6.9	1.5	0.5	2.6	2.5	9.0	18.5	.487	2.6	6.5	.401	3.2	3.7	.873
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kyrie Irving	9	36.7	21.3	0.6	3.8	4.3	7.0	1.4	0.4	3.1	2.9	7.7	19.9	.385	2.0	6.4	.310	4.0	4.4	.900

Season 10
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1970-71	2020-21
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Nets 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		%
Walt Bellamy	82	35.5	14.7	-	-	12.9	2.8	-	-	-	3.3	5.3	10.7	.493	-	-	-	4.1	6.8	.604
difference:	+28	+0.6	+12.2			+8.1	+3.2				-0.7	+4.9	+9.4	+.013				+0.4	+2.8	+.318
Kyrie Irving	54	34.9	26.9	1.0	3.8	4.8	6.0	1.4	0.7	2.4	2.6	10.2	20.1	.506	2.8	7.0	.402	3.7	4.0	.922
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	5	43.2	20.8	-	-	14.4	2.0	-	-	-	3.2	8.2	13.8	.594	-	-	-	4.4	5.8	.759
difference:	+4	+7.1	+1.9			+8.6	+1.4				-1.1	+0.4	+4.3	+.122				+1.5	+2.7	+.170
Kyrie Irving	9	36.1	22.7	1.3	4.4	5.8	3.4	1.0	0.6	1.2	2.1	8.6	18.1	.472	2.7	7.2	.369	2.9	3.1	.929

Season 12
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1972-73	2022-23
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	74	37.9	16.1	-	-	13.0	2.4	-	-	-	3.3	6.1	12.2	.505	-	-	-	3.8	7.1	.538
difference:	+14	+0.6	+11.0			+7.9	+3.1				-0.5	+3.8	+7.9	+.011				+0.3	+2.5	+.367
Kyrie Irving	60	37.3	27.1	1.0	4.1	5.1	5.5	1.1	0.8	2.1	2.8	9.9	20.1	.494	3.1	8.3	.379	4.1	4.6	.905
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	6	41.2	13.7	-	-	12.2	2.2	-	-	-	2.8	5.7	14.3	.395	-	-	-	2.3	5.2	.452
Kyrie Irving	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 14
	Walt Bellamy	Kyrie Irving
Season	1974-75	2024-25
Team	New Orleans Jazz	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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14th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	1	14.0	6.0	0.0	5.0	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.000	-	-	-	2.0	2.0	1.000
difference:	+49	+22.1	+18.7	+1.2	+1.4	+0.2	+4.6	+1.3	+0.5			+6.9	+16.9	+.527				+1.9	+2.3	+.084
Kyrie Irving	50	36.1	24.7	1.2	3.6	4.8	4.6	1.3	0.5	2.2	2.0	8.9	18.9	.473	2.9	7.2	.401	3.9	4.3	.916
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Walt Bellamy nor Kyrie Irving played in the postseason in their season 14