Larry Bird vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis 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.
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 Arvydas Sabonis.
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 Arvydas Sabonis 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: |
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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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Larry Bird averages 12.3 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (24.3 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 16,162 points more (21,791 vs. 5,629).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | +12.3 | 13 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 7 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 21,791 | +16,162 | 13 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 7 | |
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 Arvydas Sabonis (+11.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,280).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 23.8 | +11.7 | 12 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 7 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 3,897 | +3,280 | 12 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | +1 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 4 | +4 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 47 | +47 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 625 | +559 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 873 | +576 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 297 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 896 | +437 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 459 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11 | +10 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 5 | +5 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 43 | +43 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 110 | +104 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 6 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 161 | +126 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 35 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 164 | +115 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 49 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 2 | +2 | ||
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: | +12.3 | +5.2 | +10.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +4.8 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +10.0 | +6 | +427 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 32.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
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: | +16,162 | +6,509 | +13,174 | +0.5 | +513 | +1,312 | +4.8 | +2,631 | +2,781 | +10.0 | +6 | +427 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 2,082 | 4,160 | 50.0 | 136 | 415 | 32.8 | 1,329 | 1,690 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
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: | +11.7 | +4.5 | +9.2 | +2.0 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +2.4 | +2.3 | +8.8 | +5 | +113 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 45.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 31.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
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: | +3,280 | +1,236 | +2,599 | +2.0 | +65 | +202 | +0.2 | +743 | +815 | +8.8 | +5 | +113 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 222 | 491 | 45.2 | 15 | 47 | 31.9 | 158 | 197 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +6.8 | 1980 | 82 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 14.5 | 1996 | 73 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.2 | +7.8 | 1981 | 82 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 13.4 | 1997 | 69 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 22.9 | +6.9 | 1982 | 77 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 16.0 | 1998 | 73 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 23.6 | +11.5 | 1983 | 79 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 1999 | 50 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 24.2 | +12.4 | 1984 | 79 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.8 | 2000 | 66 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.7 | +18.6 | 1985 | 80 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 10.1 | 2001 | 61 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.8 | +19.7 | 1986 | 82 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 6.1 | 2003 | 78 | |
Larry Bird's additional seasons: | ||||
* Larry Bird played 6 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 13, from 1987 to 1992—he averaged 24.9 points in a total of 336 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.9 ppg and his lowest 19.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | 1980 | 9 | |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 23.6 | +2.3 | 1996 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.9 | +10.6 | 1981 | 17 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | 1997 | 4 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 17.8 | +5.5 | 1982 | 12 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.3 | 1998 | 4 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 20.5 | +10.5 | 1983 | 6 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 10.0 | 1999 | 13 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.5 | +16.2 | 1984 | 23 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | 2000 | 16 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 26.0 | +14.7 | 1985 | 20 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | 2001 | 3 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.9 | +15.9 | 1986 | 18 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 10.0 | 2003 | 6 | |
Larry Bird's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Larry Bird played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.3 points in a total of 59 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27 ppg and his lowest 11.3. |