Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan 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.

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 54,083 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages (with MJ at the top of the list). 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 Michael Jordan 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 5.8 points more than Larry Bird in his 13 seasons (30.1 points against 24.3), and he also scored a total of 10,501 points more (32,292 vs. 21,791).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Larry Bird	24.3		13
Michael Jordan	30.1	+5.8	15

Total Points			Seasons
Larry Bird	21,791		13
Michael Jordan	32,292	+10,501	15

Scoring Titles
Larry Bird	0
Michael Jordan	10	+10

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
Michael Jordan	28.2	+6.9	1985	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
Michael Jordan	22.7	+1.5	1986	18

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9		1982	77
Michael Jordan	37.1	+14.2	1987	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6		1983	79
Michael Jordan	35.0	+11.4	1988	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
Michael Jordan	32.5	+8.3	1989	81

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7		1985	80
Michael Jordan	33.6	+4.9	1990	82

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8		1986	82
Michael Jordan	31.5	+5.7	1991	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1		1987	74
Michael Jordan	30.1	+2.0	1992	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9		1988	76
Michael Jordan	32.6	+2.7	1993	78

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Michael Jordan	26.9	+7.6	1995	17

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3		1990	75
Michael Jordan	30.4	+6.1	1996	82

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4		1991	60
Michael Jordan	29.6	+10.2	1997	82

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2		1992	45
Michael Jordan	28.7	+8.5	1998	82

Michael Jordan's additional seasons:

* Michael Jordan played 2 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 15, from 2002 to 2003—he averaged 21.2 points in a total of 142 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3		1980	9
Michael Jordan	29.3	+8.0	1985	4

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9		1981	17
Michael Jordan	43.7	+21.8	1986	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8		1982	12
Michael Jordan	35.7	+17.9	1987	3

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
Michael Jordan	36.3	+15.8	1988	10

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5		1984	23
Michael Jordan	34.8	+7.3	1989	17

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0		1985	20
Michael Jordan	36.7	+10.7	1990	16

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9		1986	18
Michael Jordan	31.1	+5.2	1991	17

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0		1987	23
Michael Jordan	34.5	+7.5	1992	22

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17
Michael Jordan	35.1	+10.6	1993	19

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Michael Jordan	31.5	+31.5	1995	10

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4		1990	5
Michael Jordan	30.7	+6.3	1996	18

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Michael Jordan	31.1	+14.0	1997	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4
Michael Jordan	32.4	+21.1	1998	21

Michael Jordan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Michael Jordan didn't play in the postseason.