Larry Bird vs. Nikola Jokic: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Nikola Jokic 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 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 Nikola Jokic.
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 Nikola Jokic 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: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
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 Nikola Jokic in his 11 seasons (24.3 points against 22.0), and he also scored a total of 4,874 points more (21,791 vs. 16,917).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | +2.3 | 13 |
| Nikola Jokic | 22.0 | 11 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 21,791 | +4,874 | 13 |
| Nikola Jokic | 16,917 | 11 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Nikola Jokic has a better career point average than Larry Bird (+3.6 points per game) while Larry Bird scored more points (+1,317).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 23.8 | 12 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 27.4 | +3.6 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 3,897 | +1,317 | 12 |
| Nikola Jokic | 2,580 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 625 | +164 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 461 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 873 | +206 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 667 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 896 | +133 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 763 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 6 | +5 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 110 | +29 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 81 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 161 | +67 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 94 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 164 | +70 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 94 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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: | +2.3 | +1.2 | +4.3 | +6.6 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +6.1 | +2 | +128 |
| Nikola Jokic | 22.0 | 8.4 | 15.0 | 56.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 36.3 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 82.5 | 11 | 769 |
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: | +4,874 | +2,100 | +5,782 | +6.6 | +215 | +655 | +1.3 | +889 | +748 | +6.1 | +2 | +128 |
| Nikola Jokic | 16,917 | 6,491 | 11,552 | 56.2 | 864 | 2,382 | 36.3 | 3,071 | 3,723 | 82.5 | 11 | 769 |
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: | +3.6 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +5.3 | +1.3 | +3.0 | +6.7 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +6.4 | +5 | +70 |
| Nikola Jokic | 27.4 | 10.4 | 19.8 | 52.5 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 38.8 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 82.6 | 7 | 94 |
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: | +1,317 | +480 | +1,226 | +5.3 | +85 | +176 | +6.7 | +442 | +456 | +6.4 | +5 | +70 |
| Nikola Jokic | 2,580 | 978 | 1,864 | 52.5 | 165 | 425 | 38.8 | 459 | 556 | 82.6 | 7 | 94 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +11.3 | 1980 | 82 |
| Nikola Jokic | 10.0 | 2016 | 80 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.2 | +4.5 | 1981 | 82 |
| Nikola Jokic | 16.7 | 2017 | 73 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 22.9 | +4.4 | 1982 | 77 |
| Nikola Jokic | 18.5 | 2018 | 75 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 23.6 | +3.5 | 1983 | 79 |
| Nikola Jokic | 20.1 | 2019 | 80 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 24.2 | +4.3 | 1984 | 79 |
| Nikola Jokic | 19.9 | 2020 | 73 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.7 | +2.3 | 1985 | 80 |
| Nikola Jokic | 26.4 | 2021 | 72 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.8 | 1986 | 82 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 27.1 | +1.3 | 2022 | 74 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.1 | +3.6 | 1987 | 74 |
| Nikola Jokic | 24.5 | 2023 | 69 | |
Larry Bird's additional seasons: | ||||
* Larry Bird played 2 seasons more than Nikola Jokic in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 12 to 13, from 1991 to 1992—he averaged 19.7 points in a total of 105 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +21.3 | 1980 | 9 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.9 | +21.9 | 1981 | 17 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 17.8 | +17.8 | 1982 | 12 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 20.5 | 1983 | 6 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 25.1 | +4.6 | 2019 | 14 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.5 | +3.1 | 1984 | 23 |
| Nikola Jokic | 24.4 | 2020 | 19 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 26.0 | 1985 | 20 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 29.8 | +3.8 | 2021 | 10 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.9 | 1986 | 18 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 31.0 | +5.1 | 2022 | 5 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.0 | 1987 | 23 | |
| Nikola Jokic | 30.0 | +3.0 | 2023 | 20 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | - | DNP | 1989 | 0 |
| Nikola Jokic | 26.2 | +26.2 | 2025 | 14 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 24.4 | +24.4 | 1990 | 5 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Larry Bird's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Larry Bird played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 15.4 points in a total of 14 games. |