Larry Bird vs. David Robinson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of David Robinson 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 and David Robinson are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 42,581 points—. Larry Bird is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.

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 David Robinson 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Larry Bird averages 3.2 points more than David Robinson in his 14 seasons (24.3 points against 21.1), and he also scored a total of 1,001 points more (21,791 vs. 20,790).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Larry Bird	24.3	+3.2	13
David Robinson	21.1		14

Total Points			Seasons
Larry Bird	21,791	+1,001	13
David Robinson	20,790		14

Scoring Titles
Larry Bird	0
David Robinson	1	+1

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
David Robinson	24.3	+3.0	1990	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
David Robinson	25.6	+4.4	1991	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9		1982	77
David Robinson	23.2	+0.3	1992	68

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6	+0.2	1983	79
David Robinson	23.4		1993	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
David Robinson	29.8	+5.6	1994	80

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7	+1.1	1985	80
David Robinson	27.6		1995	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8	+0.8	1986	82
David Robinson	25.0		1996	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1	+10.4	1987	74
David Robinson	17.7		1997	6

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+8.3	1988	76
David Robinson	21.6		1998	73

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3	+3.5	1989	6
David Robinson	15.8		1999	49

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3	+6.5	1990	75
David Robinson	17.8		2000	80

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4	+5.0	1991	60
David Robinson	14.4		2001	80

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2	+8.0	1992	45
David Robinson	12.2		2002	78

David Robinson's additional seasons:

* David Robinson played 1 season more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In that year—his season 14 in 2003—he averaged 8.5 points in a total of 64 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3		1980	9
David Robinson	24.3	+3.0	1990	10

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9		1981	17
David Robinson	25.8	+3.9	1991	4

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8	+17.8	1982	12
David Robinson	-	DNP	1992	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
David Robinson	23.1	+2.6	1993	10

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5	+7.5	1984	23
David Robinson	20.0		1994	4

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0	+0.7	1985	20
David Robinson	25.3		1995	15

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9	+2.3	1986	18
David Robinson	23.6		1996	10

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+27.0	1987	23
David Robinson	-	DNP	1997	0

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5	+5.1	1988	17
David Robinson	19.4		1998	9

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
David Robinson	15.6	+15.6	1999	17

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4	+0.9	1990	5
David Robinson	23.5		2000	4

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1	+0.5	1991	10
David Robinson	16.6		2001	13

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3	+6.8	1992	4
David Robinson	4.5		2002	4

David Robinson's additional Playoffs:

* In his additional NBA year, David Robinson played in the Playoffs and won the NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 7.8 points in a total of 23 games.