Larry Bird vs. Damian Lillard: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Damian Lillard 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.

Damian Lillard and Larry Bird are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 44,389 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 Damian Lillard 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 by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+2.3	1980	82
Damian Lillard	19.0		2013	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2	+0.5	1981	82
Damian Lillard	20.7		2014	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9	+1.9	1982	77
Damian Lillard	21.0		2015	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6		1983	79
Damian Lillard	25.1	+1.5	2016	75

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
Damian Lillard	27.0	+2.8	2017	75

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7	+1.8	1985	80
Damian Lillard	26.9		2018	73

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8		1986	82
Damian Lillard	25.8		2019	80

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1		1987	74
Damian Lillard	30.0	+1.9	2020	66

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+1.1	1988	76
Damian Lillard	28.8		2021	67

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Damian Lillard	24.0	+4.7	2022	29

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3		1990	75
Damian Lillard	32.2	+7.9	2023	58

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Damian Lillard	24.3	+4.9	2024	73

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2		1992	45
Damian Lillard	24.9	+4.7	2025	58

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+21.3	1980	9
Damian Lillard	-	DNP	2013	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9		1981	17
Damian Lillard	22.9	+1.0	2014	11

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8		1982	12
Damian Lillard	21.6	+3.8	2015	5

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
Damian Lillard	26.5	+6.0	2016	11

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5		1984	23
Damian Lillard	27.8	+0.3	2017	4

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0	+7.5	1985	20
Damian Lillard	18.5		2018	4

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9		1986	18
Damian Lillard	26.9	+1.0	2019	16

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+2.7	1987	23
Damian Lillard	24.3		2020	4

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17
Damian Lillard	34.3	+9.8	2021	6

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Damian Lillard	-	DNP	2022	0

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4	+24.4	1990	5
Damian Lillard	-	DNP	2023	0

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Damian Lillard	31.3	+14.2	2024	4

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3	+4.3	1992	4
Damian Lillard	7.0		2025	3