Larry Bird vs. Allen Iverson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Allen Iverson and Larry Bird 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.
Allen Iverson and Larry Bird are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 46,159 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. Here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Allen Iverson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Larry Bird scored more points in the postseason. 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: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Allen Iverson averages 2.4 points more than Larry Bird in his 13 seasons (26.7 points against 24.3), and he also scored a total of 2,577 points more (24,368 vs. 21,791).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | 13 | |
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | +2.4 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 21,791 | 13 | |
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | +2,577 | 14 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |
| Allen Iverson | 4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() +4 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Allen Iverson has a better career point average than Larry Bird (+5.9 points per game) while Larry Bird scored more points (+1,786).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 23.8 | 12 | |
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | +5.9 | 8 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 3,897 | +1,786 | 12 |
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 625 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 700 | +75 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 873 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 883 | +10 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 896 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 914 | +18 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | +1 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 110 | +49 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 61 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 161 | +90 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 164 | +93 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | 9.6 | 19.3 | 49.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 37.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 88.6 | 13 | 897 |
| difference: | +2.4 | +0.3 | +2.5 | +7.0 | +0.5 | +1.8 | +6.3 | +2.6 | +3.9 | +10.6 | +1 | +17 |
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | 9.3 | 21.8 | 42.5 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 31.3 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Bird | 21,791 | 8,591 | 17,334 | 49.6 | 649 | 1,727 | 37.6 | 3,960 | 4,471 | 88.6 | 13 | 897 |
| difference: | +2,577 | +124 | +2,572 | +7.0 | +410 | +1,656 | +6.3 | +2,415 | +3,697 | +10.6 | +1 | +17 |
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | 8,467 | 19,906 | 42.5 | 1,059 | 3,383 | 31.3 | 6,375 | 8,168 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Bird | 23.8 | 8.9 | 18.8 | 47.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 32.1 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 89.0 | 12 | 164 |
| difference: | +5.9 | +1.7 | +7.7 | +7.1 | +1.2 | +3.8 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +2.6 | +12.6 | +4 | +93 |
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | 10.6 | 26.5 | 40.1 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 32.7 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Bird | 3,897 | 1,458 | 3,090 | 47.2 | 80 | 249 | 32.1 | 901 | 1,012 | 89.0 | 12 | 164 |
| difference: | +1,786 | +703 | +1,208 | +7.1 | +43 | +127 | +0.6 | +423 | +386 | +12.6 | +4 | +93 |
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 755 | 1,882 | 40.1 | 123 | 376 | 32.7 | 478 | 626 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | 1980 | 82 | |
| Allen Iverson | 23.5 | +2.2 | 1997 | 76 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.2 | 1981 | 82 | |
| Allen Iverson | 22.0 | +0.8 | 1998 | 80 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 22.9 | 1982 | 77 | |
| Allen Iverson | 26.8 | +3.9 | 1999 | 48 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 23.6 | 1983 | 79 | |
| Allen Iverson | 28.4 | +4.8 | 2000 | 70 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 24.2 | 1984 | 79 | |
| Allen Iverson | 31.1 | +6.9 | 2001 | 71 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.7 | 1985 | 80 | |
| Allen Iverson | 31.4 | +2.7 | 2002 | 60 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.8 | 1986 | 82 | |
| Allen Iverson | 27.6 | +1.8 | 2003 | 82 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.1 | +1.7 | 1987 | 74 |
| Allen Iverson | 26.4 | 2004 | 48 | |
Allen Iverson's additional seasons: | ||||
* Allen Iverson played 1 season more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In that year—his season 14 in 2010—he averaged 13.8 points in a total of 28 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +21.3 | 1980 | 9 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1997 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.9 | +21.9 | 1981 | 17 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 17.8 | 1982 | 12 | |
| Allen Iverson | 28.5 | +10.7 | 1999 | 8 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 20.5 | 1983 | 6 | |
| Allen Iverson | 26.2 | +5.7 | 2000 | 10 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.5 | 1984 | 23 | |
| Allen Iverson | 32.9 | +5.4 | 2001 | 22 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 26.0 | 1985 | 20 | |
| Allen Iverson | 30.0 | +4.0 | 2002 | 5 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.9 | 1986 | 18 | |
| Allen Iverson | 31.7 | +5.8 | 2003 | 12 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.0 | +27.0 | 1987 | 23 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | - | DNP | 1989 | 0 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 11.3 | +11.3 | 1992 | 4 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Allen Iverson's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Allen Iverson didn't play in the postseason. |