Desmond Bane vs. Larry Bird: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Larry Bird and Desmond Bane to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Larry Bird is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Desmond Bane.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Larry Bird has better scoring stats than Desmond Bane in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Larry Bird averages 6.5 points more than Desmond Bane in his 5 seasons (24.3 points against 17.8), and he also scored a total of 16,211 points more (21,791 vs. 5,580).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Desmond Bane 17.8
5
Larry Bird 24.3
+6.5
13

Total Points

Seasons
Desmond Bane 5,580
5
Larry Bird 21,791
+16,211
13

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Larry Bird has a better career point average than Desmond Bane (+6.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,442).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Desmond Bane 16.9
4
Larry Bird 23.8
+6.9
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Desmond Bane 455
4
Larry Bird 3,897
+3,442
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 0
Larry Bird 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 0
Larry Bird 4
+4

40+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 2
Larry Bird 47
+45

30+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 29
Larry Bird 223
+194

20+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 137
Larry Bird 625
+488

10+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 256
Larry Bird 873
+617

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Desmond Bane 311
Larry Bird 896
+585

0 Point Games (games without points)

Desmond Bane 2
+1
Larry Bird 1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 0
Larry Bird 5
+5

30+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 3
Larry Bird 43
+40

20+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 10
Larry Bird 110
+100

10+ Point Games

Desmond Bane 18
Larry Bird 161
+143

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Desmond Bane 27
Larry Bird 164
+137

0 Point Games (games without points)

Desmond Bane 0
Larry Bird 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Desmond Bane 17.8 6.5 13.8 47.2 2.6 6.3 41.0 2.2 2.5 88.3 5 313
difference:+6.5+3.1+5.5+2.4+1.9+4.4+3.4+2.2+2.5+0.3+8+584
Larry Bird 24.3 9.6 19.3 49.6 0.7 1.9 37.6 4.4 5.0 88.6 13 897

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Desmond Bane 5,580 2,045 4,333 47.2 812 1,979 41.0 678 768 88.3 5 313
difference:+16,211+6,546+13,001+2.4+163+252+3.4+3,282+3,703+0.3+8+584
Larry Bird 21,791 8,591 17,334 49.6 649 1,727 37.6 3,960 4,471 88.6 13 897

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Desmond Bane 16.9 5.8 13.2 43.7 2.7 6.7 39.6 2.6 2.9 89.9 4 27
difference:+6.9+3.1+5.6+3.5+2.2+5.2+7.5+2.9+3.3+0.9+8+137
Larry Bird 23.8 8.9 18.8 47.2 0.5 1.5 32.1 5.5 6.2 89.0 12 164

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Desmond Bane 455 156 357 43.7 72 182 39.6 71 79 89.9 4 27
difference:+3,442+1,302+2,733+3.5+8+67+7.5+830+933+0.9+8+137
Larry Bird 3,897 1,458 3,090 47.2 80 249 32.1 901 1,012 89.0 12 164

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 9.2
202168
Larry Bird 21.3
+12.1
198082

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 18.2
202276
Larry Bird 21.2
+3.0
1981NBA Champion82

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 21.5
202358
Larry Bird 22.9
+1.4
198277

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 23.7
+0.1
202442
Larry Bird 23.6
198379

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 19.2
202569
Larry Bird 24.2
+5.0
1984NBA Champion79

Larry Bird's additional seasons:

* Larry Bird played 8 seasons more than Desmond Bane in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 6 to 13, from 1985 to 1992—he averaged 25.6 points in a total of 498 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.9 ppg and his lowest 19.3.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 5.6
20215
Larry Bird 21.3
+15.7
19809

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 18.8
202212
Larry Bird 21.9
+3.1
1981NBA Champion17

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 23.5
+5.7
20236
Larry Bird 17.8
198212

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane -
DNP
20240
Larry Bird 20.5
+20.5
19836

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Desmond Bane 15.3
20254
Larry Bird 27.5
+12.2
1984NBA Champion23

Larry Bird's additional Playoffs:

* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Larry Bird played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 24.4 points in a total of 97 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27 ppg and his lowest 11.3.

Share: