Walt Bellamy vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird 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.

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.

Walt Bellamy played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Larry Bird, who played 13. Walt Bellamy had the first of his seasons in 1961-62, while Larry Bird had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Walt Bellamy	14	7	1961-62 to 1974-75
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1961-62	1979-80
Team	Chicago Packers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Walt Bellamy	79	42.3	31.6	-	-	19.0	2.7	-	-	-	3.6	12.3	23.7	.519	-	-	-	6.9	10.8	.644
difference:	+3	+6.3	+10.3			+8.6	+1.8				-0.2	+3.8	+5.9	+.045				+3.2	+6.4	+.192
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

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


Season 2
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1962-63	1980-81
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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:	+2	+1.8	+6.7			+5.5	+2.6				-0.6	+1.7	+1.6	+.049				+3.4	+6.3	+.189
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

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


Season 3
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1963-64	1981-82
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+3	+4.4	+4.1			+6.1	+4.2				-0.6	+0.9	+1.4	+.010				+2.4	+5.4	+.212
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

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


Season 4
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1964-65	1982-83
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost West Div Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+1	+3.6	+1.2			+3.6	+3.4				-0.8	+0.3	+0.7	+.005				+2.0	+4.1	+.155
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

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:	+4	+2.7	+0.4			+2.6	+3.4				-1.3	+0.8	+3.5	+.046				+2.1	+4.4	+.165
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


Season 5
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1965-66	1983-84
Team	Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
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:	+1	+3.6	+1.4			+5.6	+3.7				-1.2	+0.9	+2.3	+.014				+0.7	+3.3	+.264
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

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


Season 6
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1966-67	1984-85
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Semis	Celtics 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:	+1	+1.4	+9.7			+3.0	+4.0				-0.9	+4.3	+8.3	+.001				+0.3	+1.6	+.246
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

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:	+16	+1.5	+7.7			+7.4	+2.8				-1.1	+2.8	+7.8	+.058				+1.8	+0.5	+.304
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


Season 7
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1967-68	1985-86
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Walt Bellamy	82	32.9	16.7	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	3.2	6.2	11.5	.541	-	-	-	4.3	6.5	.662
difference:		+5.1	+9.1			+1.9	+4.8				-1.0	+3.5	+8.1	+.045				+1.1	+0.5	+.234
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

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
difference:	+12	+3.4	+5.9			+6.7	+4.7				-0.6	+2.0	+0.6	+.096				+0.6	+1.9	+.302
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


Season 8
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1968-69	1986-87
Team	New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+14	+4.7	+10.7			+3.3	+5.6				-1.1	+4.2	+7.7	+.015				+1.0	+0.9	+.261
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

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


Season 9
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1969-70	1987-88
Team	Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	Celtics 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		%
Walt Bellamy	79	25.7	11.6	-	-	8.9	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	4.4	8.5	.523	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	.576
difference:	+3	+13.3	+18.3			+0.4	+4.3				-1.2	+7.2	+13.5	+.004				+2.8	+1.3	+.340
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	9	40.9	16.8	-	-	15.6	3.9	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	14.0	.468	-	-	-	3.7	5.1	.717
difference:	+8	+4.0	+7.7			+6.8	+2.9				-1.0	+2.3	+5.9	+.018				+2.2	+1.5	+.177
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


Season 10
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1970-71	1988-89
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+76	+4.0	+4.6			+6.7	+2.0				-0.3	+2.9	+6.6	+.022				+1.1	+3.6	+.343
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

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
Larry Bird	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1971-72	1989-90
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics 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		%
Walt Bellamy	82	38.9	18.6	-	-	12.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.1	7.2	13.3	.545	-	-	-	4.1	7.1	.585
difference:	+7	+0.4	+5.7			+3.3	+4.3				-0.8	+2.4	+6.9	+.072				+0.2	+2.5	+.345
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	6	41.2	18.5	-	-	13.7	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	7.0	14.3	.488	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.628
difference:	+1	+0.2	+5.9			+4.5	+7.0				-1.3	+1.8	+5.5	+.044				+1.3	+0.8	+.278
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


Season 12
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1972-73	1990-91
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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	+0.1	+3.3			+4.5	+4.8				-1.3	+1.6	+4.8	+.051				+1.1	+4.0	+.353
Larry Bird	60	38.0	19.4	0.9	7.6	8.5	7.2	1.8	1.0	3.1	2.0	7.7	17.0	.454	1.3	3.3	.389	2.7	3.1	.891

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
difference:	+4	+1.6	+3.4			+5.0	+4.3					+0.5	+0.9	+.013				+2.1	+0.1	+.411
Larry Bird	10	39.6	17.1	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.5	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.8	6.2	15.2	.408	0.3	2.1	.143	4.4	5.1	.863


Season 13
	Walt Bellamy	Larry Bird
Season	1973-74	1991-92
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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13th 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	77	31.7	13.1	3.4	6.2	9.6	2.5	0.7	0.6	-	3.0	5.1	10.4	.486	-	-	-	3.0	5.0	.608
difference:	+32	+5.2	+7.1	+2.4	+2.4		+4.3	+0.2	+0.1		-1.2	+2.7	+6.4	+.020				+0.3	+1.4	+.318
Larry Bird	45	36.9	20.2	1.0	8.6	9.6	6.8	0.9	0.7	2.8	1.8	7.8	16.8	.466	1.2	2.8	.406	3.3	3.6	.926

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Walt Bellamy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	4	26.8	11.3	0.5	4.0	4.5	5.3	0.3	0.5	1.5	1.8	5.3	10.5	.500	0.0	1.3	.000	0.8	1.0	.750

Additional Years

* Walt Bellamy played 1 season more than Larry Bird in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 1975—Walt Bellamy didn't play in the postseason.

Walt Bellamy vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird 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.

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

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years