Larry Bird vs. Dwyane Wade: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Dwyane Wade 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.

Dwyane Wade and Larry Bird are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 44,956 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 averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Dwyane Wade scored more total points in both stages. 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 2.3 points more than Dwyane Wade in his 16 seasons (24.3 points against 22.0). On the other hand Dwyane Wade scored a total of 1,374 points more than Larry Bird (23,165 vs. 21,791).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Larry Bird	24.3	+2.3	13
Dwyane Wade	22.0		16

Total Points			Seasons
Larry Bird	21,791		13
Dwyane Wade	23,165	+1,374	16

Scoring Titles
Larry Bird	0
Dwyane Wade	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	+5.1	1980	82
Dwyane Wade	16.2		2004	61

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
Dwyane Wade	24.1	+2.9	2005	77

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9		1982	77
Dwyane Wade	27.2	+4.3	2006	75

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6		1983	79
Dwyane Wade	27.4	+3.8	2007	51

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
Dwyane Wade	24.6	+0.4	2008	51

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7		1985	80
Dwyane Wade	30.2	+1.5	2009	79

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8		1986	82
Dwyane Wade	26.6	+0.8	2010	77

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1	+2.6	1987	74
Dwyane Wade	25.5		2011	76

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+7.8	1988	76
Dwyane Wade	22.1		2012	49

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Dwyane Wade	21.2	+1.9	2013	69

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3	+5.3	1990	75
Dwyane Wade	19.0		2014	54

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Dwyane Wade	21.5	+2.1	2015	62

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2	+1.2	1992	45
Dwyane Wade	19.0		2016	74

Dwyane Wade's additional seasons:

* Dwyane Wade played 5 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2017 to 2019—he averaged 13.4 points in a total of 333 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.3 ppg and his lowest 11.4.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+3.3	1980	9
Dwyane Wade	18.0		2004	13

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9		1981	17
Dwyane Wade	27.4	+5.5	2005	14

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8		1982	12
Dwyane Wade	28.4	+10.6	2006	23

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
Dwyane Wade	23.5	+3.0	2007	4

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5	+27.5	1984	23
Dwyane Wade	-	DNP	2008	0

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0		1985	20
Dwyane Wade	29.1	+3.1	2009	7

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9		1986	18
Dwyane Wade	33.2	+7.3	2010	5

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+2.5	1987	23
Dwyane Wade	24.5		2011	21

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5	+1.7	1988	17
Dwyane Wade	22.8		2012	23

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Dwyane Wade	15.9	+15.9	2013	22

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4	+6.6	1990	5
Dwyane Wade	17.8		2014	20

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1	+17.1	1991	10
Dwyane Wade	-	DNP	2015	0

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4
Dwyane Wade	21.4	+10.1	2016	14

Dwyane Wade's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Dwyane Wade played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 16.1 points in a total of 21 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 16.6 ppg and his lowest 15.