Larry Bird vs. Kevin Durant: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Kevin Durant 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.

Kevin Durant and Larry Bird are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 52,858 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 Kevin Durant has better scoring stats than Larry Bird 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 18 NBA regular seasons played, Kevin Durant averages 2.9 points more than Larry Bird in his 13 seasons (27.2 points against 24.3), and he also scored a total of 9,276 points more (31,067 vs. 21,791).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Larry Bird	24.3		13
Kevin Durant	27.2	+2.9	18

Total Points			Seasons
Larry Bird	21,791		13
Kevin Durant	31,067	+9,276	18

Scoring Titles
Larry Bird	0
Kevin Durant	4	+4

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	+1.0	1980	82
Kevin Durant	20.3		2008	80

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
Kevin Durant	25.3	+4.1	2009	74

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9		1982	77
Kevin Durant	30.1	+7.2	2010	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6		1983	79
Kevin Durant	27.7	+4.1	2011	78

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
Kevin Durant	28.0	+3.8	2012	66

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7	+0.6	1985	80
Kevin Durant	28.1		2013	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8		1986	82
Kevin Durant	32.0	+6.2	2014	81

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1	+2.7	1987	74
Kevin Durant	25.4		2015	27

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+1.7	1988	76
Kevin Durant	28.2		2016	72

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Kevin Durant	25.1	+5.8	2017	62

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3		1990	75
Kevin Durant	26.4	+2.1	2018	68

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Kevin Durant	26.0	+6.6	2019	78

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2		1992	45
Kevin Durant	26.9	+6.7	2021	35

Kevin Durant's additional seasons:

* Kevin Durant played 6 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2022 to 2026—he averaged 27.9 points in a total of 306 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.9 ppg and his lowest 24.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+21.3	1980	9
Kevin Durant	-	DNP	2008	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9	+21.9	1981	17
Kevin Durant	-	DNP	2009	0

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8		1982	12
Kevin Durant	25.0	+7.2	2010	6

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
Kevin Durant	28.6	+8.1	2011	17

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5		1984	23
Kevin Durant	28.5	+1.0	2012	20

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0		1985	20
Kevin Durant	30.8	+4.8	2013	11

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9		1986	18
Kevin Durant	29.6	+3.7	2014	19

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+27.0	1987	23
Kevin Durant	-	DNP	2015	0

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17
Kevin Durant	28.4	+3.9	2016	18

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Kevin Durant	28.5	+28.5	2017	15

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4		1990	5
Kevin Durant	29.0	+4.6	2018	21

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Kevin Durant	32.3	+15.2	2019	12

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4
Kevin Durant	34.3	+23.0	2021	12

Kevin Durant's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Durant played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 28.3 points in a total of 30 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 29 ppg and his lowest 26.3.