Larry Bird vs. Paul George: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul George 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 Paul George.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Larry Bird has better scoring stats than Paul George 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.
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 3.7 points more than Paul George in his 15 seasons (24.3 points against 20.6), and he also scored a total of 3,094 points more (21,791 vs. 18,697).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | +3.7 | 13 |
| Paul George | 20.6 | 15 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Bird | 21,791 | +3,094 | 13 |
| Paul George | 18,697 | 15 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Larry Bird has a better career point average than Paul George (+2.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,481).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 23.8 | +2.6 | 12 |
| Paul George | 21.2 | 11 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Bird | 3,897 | +1,481 | 12 |
| Paul George | 2,416 | 11 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 4 | +4 | ||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 625 | +132 | ||
| Paul George | 493 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 873 | +71 | ||
| Paul George | 802 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 896 | |||
| Paul George | 901 | +5 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 1 | |||
| Paul George | 7 | +6 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 110 | +41 | ||
| Paul George | 69 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Bird | 161 | +62 | ||
| Paul George | 99 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 164 | +50 | ||
| Paul George | 114 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Bird | 0 | |||
| Paul George | 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: | +3.7 | +2.6 | +3.3 | +5.6 | +1.9 | +4.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +3.3 | +2 | +11 |
| Paul George | 20.6 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 44.0 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 38.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 85.3 | 15 | 908 |
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: | +3,094 | +2,191 | +2,781 | +5.6 | +1,700 | +4,400 | +0.7 | +412 | +311 | +3.3 | +2 | +11 |
| Paul George | 18,697 | 6,400 | 14,553 | 44.0 | 2,349 | 6,127 | 38.3 | 3,548 | 4,160 | 85.3 | 15 | 908 |
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: | +2.6 | +2.1 | +2.6 | +4.9 | +1.9 | +5.4 | +3.1 | +0.4 | +6.4 | +1 | +50 | |
| Paul George | 21.2 | 6.8 | 16.2 | 42.3 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 35.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
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: | +1,481 | +679 | +1,248 | +4.9 | +196 | +534 | +3.1 | +319 | +307 | +6.4 | +1 | +50 |
| Paul George | 2,416 | 779 | 1,842 | 42.3 | 276 | 783 | 35.2 | 582 | 705 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +13.5 | 1980 | 82 |
| Paul George | 7.8 | 2011 | 61 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.2 | +9.1 | 1981 | 82 |
| Paul George | 12.1 | 2012 | 66 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 22.9 | +5.5 | 1982 | 77 |
| Paul George | 17.4 | 2013 | 79 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 23.6 | +1.9 | 1983 | 79 |
| Paul George | 21.7 | 2014 | 80 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 24.2 | +15.4 | 1984 | 79 |
| Paul George | 8.8 | 2015 | 6 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.7 | +5.6 | 1985 | 80 |
| Paul George | 23.1 | 2016 | 81 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.8 | +2.1 | 1986 | 82 |
| Paul George | 23.7 | 2017 | 75 | |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 28.1 | +6.2 | 1987 | 74 |
| Paul George | 21.9 | 2018 | 79 | |
Paul George's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul George played 2 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 15, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 20.3 points in a total of 115 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.3 | +15.3 | 1980 | 9 |
| Paul George | 6.0 | 2011 | 5 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 21.9 | +12.2 | 1981 | 17 |
| Paul George | 9.7 | 2012 | 11 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 17.8 | 1982 | 12 | |
| Paul George | 19.2 | +1.4 | 2013 | 19 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 20.5 | 1983 | 6 | |
| Paul George | 22.6 | +2.1 | 2014 | 19 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.5 | +27.5 | 1984 | 23 |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 26.0 | 1985 | 20 | |
| Paul George | 27.3 | +1.3 | 2016 | 7 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 25.9 | 1986 | 18 | |
| Paul George | 28.0 | +2.1 | 2017 | 4 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 27.0 | +2.3 | 1987 | 23 |
| Paul George | 24.7 | 2018 | 6 | |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | - | DNP | 1989 | 0 |
| Paul George | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2020 | 13 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 17.1 | +17.1 | 1991 | 10 |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Bird | 11.3 | +11.3 | 1992 | 4 |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Paul George's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Paul George played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 19.5 points in a total of 6 games. |