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.

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 by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular 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

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9		1988	76
Allen Iverson	30.7	+0.8	2005	75

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Allen Iverson	33.0	+13.7	2006	72

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3		1990	75
Allen Iverson	26.3	+2.0	2007	65

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Allen Iverson	26.4	+7.0	2008	82

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2	+2.7	1992	45
Allen Iverson	17.5		2009	57

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 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17
Allen Iverson	31.2	+6.7	2005	5

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Allen Iverson	-	DNP	2006	0

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4	+1.6	1990	5
Allen Iverson	22.8		2007	5

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Allen Iverson	24.5	+7.4	2008	4

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.