Larry Bird vs. Ben Simmons: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Larry Bird and Ben Simmons all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Larry Bird, with a career spanning 13 seasons from 1980 to 1992, and Ben Simmons, with 7 seasons played from 2018 to 2025, stand among the league's historical elite.

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Larry Bird vs. Ben Simmons
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Ben Simmons Larry Bird Ben Simmons
Points
40th
+300th
13th
+300th
Rebounds
59th
+300th
11th
+300th
Assists
49th
286th
9th
176th
Steals
42nd
+300th
8th
+300th
Blocks
167th
+300th
41st
285th
Years137124

Larry Bird vs. Ben Simmons
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Ben Simmons Larry Bird Ben Simmons
Points
23rd
--
41st
+300th
Rebounds
55th
--
50th
203rd
Assists
51st
33rd
40th
35th
Steals
39th
--
25th
159th
Blocks
228th
--
195th
206th

Note: the season per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders: 400 games with some exceptions for some stats; for the Playoffs a minimum of 3 games is used.

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
40th
+300th
+260 21,791 vs. 5,02116,770
Rebounds
59th
+300th
+241 8,974 vs. 2,8406,134
Assists
49th
286th
237 5,695 vs. 2,7542,941
Steals
42nd
+300th
+258 1,556 vs. 568988
Blocks
167th
+300th
+133 755 vs. 255500
Offensive Rebounds
159th
+300th
+141 1,757 vs. 6411,116
Defensive Rebounds
28th
+300th
+272 7,217 vs. 2,1995,018
Field Goals Made
30th
+300th
+270 8,591 vs. 2,0766,515
Field Goals Attempted
39th
+300th
+261 17,334 vs. 3,72013,614
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
649 vs. 5644
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,727 vs. 361,691
Free Throws Made
84th
+300th
+216 3,960 vs. 8643,096
Free Throws Attempted
119th
+300th
+181 4,471 vs. 1,4593,012

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
274th
+300th
897 vs. 383514
Seasons
300th
+300th
13 vs. 76

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
11th
14th
3 59 vs. 3326

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
24th
+300th
47 vs. 146
50+ point games
30th
-
4 vs. 04
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
13th
+300th
+287 3,897 vs. 4773,420
Rebounds
11th
+300th
+289 1,683 vs. 2801,403
Assists
9th
176th
167 1,062 vs. 259803
Steals
8th
+300th
+292 296 vs. 48248
Blocks
41st
285th
244 145 vs. 34111
Offensive Rebounds
22nd
+300th
+278 360 vs. 67293
Defensive Rebounds
5th
+300th
+295 1,323 vs. 2131,110
Field Goals Made
12th
+300th
+288 1,458 vs. 1941,264
Field Goals Attempted
13th
+300th
+287 3,090 vs. 3422,748
3-Pointers Made
162nd
+300th
+138 80 vs. 080
3-Pointers Attempted
140th
+300th
+160 249 vs. 2247
Free Throws Made
14th
+300th
+286 901 vs. 89812
Free Throws Attempted
22nd
+300th
+278 1,012 vs. 171841

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
36th
+300th
164 vs. 39125
Playoffs
76th
+300th
12 vs. 48

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
6th
20th
14 10 vs. 37

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
-
5 vs. 05
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
23rd
--
24.29 vs. 13.1111.18
Rebounds per game
55th
--
10.00 vs. 7.422.59
Assists per game
51st
33rd
18 6.35 vs. 7.190.84
Steals per game
39th
--
1.73 vs. 1.480.25
Blocks per game
228th
--
0.84 vs. 0.670.18
Offensive Rebounds per game
229th
--
1.96 vs. 1.670.29
Defensive Rebounds per game
12th
--
8.05 vs. 5.742.30
Field Goals Made per game
9th
--
9.58 vs. 5.424.16
Field Goals Attempted per game
17th
--
19.32 vs. 9.719.61
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
--
0.72 vs. 0.010.71
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
--
1.93 vs. 0.091.83
Free Throws Made per game
90th
--
4.41 vs. 2.262.16
Free Throws Attempted per game
138th
--
4.98 vs. 3.811.17

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Simmons Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
41st
+300th
+259 23.76 vs. 12.2311.53
Rebounds per game
50th
203rd
153 10.26 vs. 7.183.08
Assists per game
40th
35th
5 6.48 vs. 6.640.17
Steals per game
25th
159th
134 1.80 vs. 1.230.57
Blocks per game
195th
206th
11 0.88 vs. 0.870.01
Offensive Rebounds per game
172nd
+300th
+128 2.20 vs. 1.720.48
Defensive Rebounds per game
19th
121st
102 8.07 vs. 5.462.61
Field Goals Made per game
37th
+300th
+263 8.89 vs. 4.973.92
Field Goals Attempted per game
47th
+300th
+253 18.84 vs. 8.7710.07
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.49 vs. 0.000.49
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.52 vs. 0.051.47
Free Throws Made per game
56th
+300th
+244 5.49 vs. 2.283.21
Free Throws Attempted per game
93rd
258th
165 6.17 vs. 4.381.79

Note: Even if they don't have the minimum of 400 season games, the players are also included in the all-time rankings in some stats if they reach certain thresholds: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made.