Larry Bird vs. Tim Duncan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Tim Duncan 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.

Tim Duncan and Larry Bird are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 48,287 points—. Larry Bird is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Larry Bird has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Tim Duncan scored more total points in both stages. 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 by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+0.2	1980	82
Tim Duncan	21.1		1998	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.2		1981	82
Tim Duncan	21.7	+0.5	1999	50

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	22.9		1982	77
Tim Duncan	23.2	+0.3	2000	74

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	23.6	+1.4	1983	79
Tim Duncan	22.2		2001	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.2		1984	79
Tim Duncan	25.5	+1.3	2002	82

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.7	+5.4	1985	80
Tim Duncan	23.3		2003	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.8	+3.5	1986	82
Tim Duncan	22.3		2004	69

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	28.1	+7.8	1987	74
Tim Duncan	20.3		2005	66

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	29.9	+11.3	1988	76
Tim Duncan	18.6		2006	80

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6
Tim Duncan	20.0	+0.7	2007	80

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.3	+5.0	1990	75
Tim Duncan	19.3		2008	78

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	19.4	+0.1	1991	60
Tim Duncan	19.3		2009	75

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.2	+2.3	1992	45
Tim Duncan	17.9		2010	78

Tim Duncan's additional seasons:

* Tim Duncan played 6 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2011 to 2016—he averaged 14.1 points in a total of 415 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 8.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.3	+0.6	1980	9
Tim Duncan	20.7		1998	9

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	21.9		1981	17
Tim Duncan	23.2	+1.3	1999	17

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.8	+17.8	1982	12
Tim Duncan	-	DNP	2000	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6
Tim Duncan	24.4	+3.9	2001	13

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.5		1984	23
Tim Duncan	27.6	+0.1	2002	9

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	26.0	+1.3	1985	20
Tim Duncan	24.7		2003	24

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	25.9	+3.8	1986	18
Tim Duncan	22.1		2004	10

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	27.0	+3.4	1987	23
Tim Duncan	23.6		2005	23

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17
Tim Duncan	25.8	+1.3	2006	13

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0
Tim Duncan	22.2	+22.2	2007	20

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	24.4	+4.2	1990	5
Tim Duncan	20.2		2008	17

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	17.1		1991	10
Tim Duncan	19.8	+2.7	2009	5

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4
Tim Duncan	19.0	+7.7	2010	10

Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 15.5 points in a total of 81 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.1 ppg and his lowest 5.9.