Larry Bird vs. Jalen Brunson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Jalen Brunson 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

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 Jalen Brunson.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Larry Bird scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Jalen Brunson has a better scoring average 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.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Larry Bird averages 6.2 points more than Jalen Brunson in his 7 seasons (24.3 points against 18.1), and he also scored a total of 12,970 points more (21,791 vs. 8,821).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Larry Bird 24.3
+6.2
13
Jalen Brunson 18.1
7

Total Points

Seasons
Larry Bird 21,791
+12,970
13
Jalen Brunson 8,821
7

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Jalen Brunson has a better career point average than Larry Bird (+1.6 points per game) while Larry Bird scored more points (+2,196).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Larry Bird 23.8
12
Jalen Brunson 25.4
+1.6
5

Total Points

Playoffs
Larry Bird 3,897
+2,196
12
Jalen Brunson 1,701
5

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Larry Bird 1
Jalen Brunson 1

50+ Point Games

Larry Bird 4
+1
Jalen Brunson 3

40+ Point Games

Larry Bird 47
+29
Jalen Brunson 18

30+ Point Games

Larry Bird 223
+145
Jalen Brunson 78

20+ Point Games

Larry Bird 625
+423
Jalen Brunson 202

10+ Point Games

Larry Bird 873
+500
Jalen Brunson 373

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Larry Bird 896
+422
Jalen Brunson 474

0 Point Games (games without points)

Larry Bird 1
Jalen Brunson 13
+12

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Larry Bird 5
Jalen Brunson 9
+4

30+ Point Games

Larry Bird 43
+19
Jalen Brunson 24

20+ Point Games

Larry Bird 110
+62
Jalen Brunson 48

10+ Point Games

Larry Bird 161
+100
Jalen Brunson 61

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Larry Bird 164
+97
Jalen Brunson 67

0 Point Games (games without points)

Larry Bird 0
Jalen Brunson 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+6.2+2.9+5.7+0.7+0.9+2.2+1.3+1.2+1.1+6.3+6+410
Jalen Brunson 18.1 6.7 13.6 48.9 1.6 4.1 38.9 3.2 3.9 82.3 7 487

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:+12,970+5,350+10,703+0.7+129+271+1.3+2,399+2,575+6.3+6+410
Jalen Brunson 8,821 3,241 6,631 48.9 778 1,998 38.9 1,561 1,896 82.3 7 487

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:+1.6+0.1+0.9+1.2+1.5+4.3+2.1+0.2+0.2+6.4+7+97
Jalen Brunson 25.4 9.0 19.7 46.0 2.0 5.8 34.2 5.3 6.4 82.6 5 67

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:+2,196+852+1,772+1.2+52+137+2.1+544+580+6.4+7+97
Jalen Brunson 1,701 606 1,318 46.0 132 386 34.2 357 432 82.6 5 67

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 21.3
+12.0
198082
Jalen Brunson 9.3
201973

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 21.2
+13.0
1981NBA Champion82
Jalen Brunson 8.2
202057

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 22.9
+10.3
198277
Jalen Brunson 12.6
202168

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 23.6
+7.3
198379
Jalen Brunson 16.3
202279

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 24.2
+0.2
1984NBA Champion79
Jalen Brunson 24.0
202368

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 28.7
198580
Jalen Brunson 28.7
202477

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 25.8
1986NBA Champion82
Jalen Brunson 26.0
+0.2
202565

Larry Bird's additional seasons:

* Larry Bird played 6 seasons more than Jalen Brunson 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 gameYearGames
Larry Bird 21.3
+21.3
19809
Jalen Brunson -
DNP
20190

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 21.9
+21.9
1981NBA Champion17
Jalen Brunson -
DNP
20200

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 17.8
+9.8
198212
Jalen Brunson 8.0
20217

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 20.5
19836
Jalen Brunson 21.6
+1.1
202218

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 27.5
1984NBA Champion23
Jalen Brunson 27.8
+0.3
202311

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 26.0
198520
Jalen Brunson 32.4
+6.4
202413

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Bird 25.9
1986NBA Champion18
Jalen Brunson 29.4
+3.5
202518

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.

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