Ray Allen vs. Larry Bird: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Larry Bird and Ray Allen 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.

Ray Allen and Larry Bird are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 46,296 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 and also scored more points in during the postseason while Ray Allen scored more points in the regular season. 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
Ray Allen	13.4		1997	82
Larry Bird	21.3	+7.9	1980	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	19.5		1998	82
Larry Bird	21.2	+1.7	1981	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	17.1		1999	50
Larry Bird	22.9	+5.8	1982	77

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	22.1		2000	82
Larry Bird	23.6	+1.5	1983	79

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	22.0		2001	82
Larry Bird	24.2	+2.2	1984	79

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	21.8		2002	69
Larry Bird	28.7	+6.9	1985	80

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	22.5		2003	76
Larry Bird	25.8	+3.3	1986	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	23.0		2004	56
Larry Bird	28.1	+5.1	1987	74

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	23.9		2005	78
Larry Bird	29.9	+6.0	1988	76

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	25.1	+5.8	2006	78
Larry Bird	19.3		1989	6

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	26.4	+2.1	2007	55
Larry Bird	24.3		1990	75

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	17.4		2008	73
Larry Bird	19.4	+2.0	1991	60

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	18.2		2009	79
Larry Bird	20.2	+2.0	1992	45

Ray Allen's additional seasons:

* Ray Allen played 5 seasons more than Larry Bird in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2010 to 2014—he averaged 13.5 points in a total of 358 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.5 ppg and his lowest 9.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	1997	0
Larry Bird	21.3	+21.3	1980	9

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	1998	0
Larry Bird	21.9	+21.9	1981	17

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	22.3	+4.5	1999	3
Larry Bird	17.8		1982	12

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	22.0	+1.5	2000	5
Larry Bird	20.5		1983	6

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	25.1		2001	18
Larry Bird	27.5	+2.4	1984	23

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	2002	0
Larry Bird	26.0	+26.0	1985	20

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	2003	0
Larry Bird	25.9	+25.9	1986	18

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	2004	0
Larry Bird	27.0	+27.0	1987	23

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	26.5	+2.0	2005	11
Larry Bird	24.5		1988	17

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	2006	0
Larry Bird	-	DNP	1989	0

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	-	DNP	2007	0
Larry Bird	24.4	+24.4	1990	5

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	15.6		2008	26
Larry Bird	17.1	+1.5	1991	10

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Ray Allen	18.3	+7.0	2009	14
Larry Bird	11.3		1992	4

Ray Allen's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Ray Allen played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 12.4 points in a total of 94 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.9 ppg and his lowest 9.3.