Larry Bird vs. Ben Wallace: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Larry Bird and Ben Wallace 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 / Scoring / Stats / 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 Wallace, with 16 seasons played from 1997 to 2012, 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 Wallace
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Ben Wallace Larry Bird Ben Wallace
Points
40th
+300th
13th
269th
Rebounds
59th
36th
11th
23rd
Assists
49th
+300th
9th
+300th
Steals
42nd
69th
8th
33rd
Blocks
168th
14th
41st
12th
Years1316128

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

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Ben Wallace Larry Bird Ben Wallace
Points
23rd
+300th
41st
+300th
Rebounds
55th
73rd
50th
27th
Assists
51st
+300th
40th
+300th
Steals
39th
167th
25th
65th
Blocks
228th
25th
195th
24th

Comparisons on this page:

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

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
40th
+300th
+260 21,791 vs. 6,25415,537
Rebounds
59th
36th
23 8,974 vs. 10,4821,508
Assists
49th
+300th
+251 5,695 vs. 1,4374,258
Steals
42nd
69th
27 1,556 vs. 1,369187
Blocks
168th
14th
154 755 vs. 2,1371,382
Offensive Rebounds
159th
18th
141 1,757 vs. 3,4441,687
Defensive Rebounds
28th
32nd
4 7,217 vs. 7,038179
Field Goals Made
30th
+300th
+270 8,591 vs. 2,5696,022
Field Goals Attempted
39th
+300th
+261 17,334 vs. 5,42111,913
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
649 vs. 7642
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,727 vs. 511,676
Free Throws Made
84th
+300th
+216 3,960 vs. 1,1092,851
Free Throws Attempted
119th
+300th
+181 4,471 vs. 2,6791,792

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
275th
97th
178 897 vs. 1,088191
Seasons
300th
91st
209 13 vs. 163

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
11th
204th
193 59 vs. 257

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
24th
-
47 vs. 047
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 Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
13th
269th
256 3,897 vs. 9392,958
Rebounds
11th
23rd
12 1,683 vs. 1,454229
Assists
9th
+300th
+291 1,062 vs. 173889
Steals
8th
33rd
25 296 vs. 19997
Blocks
41st
12th
29 145 vs. 250105
Offensive Rebounds
22nd
13th
9 360 vs. 463103
Defensive Rebounds
5th
20th
15 1,323 vs. 991332
Field Goals Made
12th
257th
245 1,458 vs. 3641,094
Field Goals Attempted
13th
278th
265 3,090 vs. 7552,335
3-Pointers Made
162nd
+300th
+138 80 vs. 080
3-Pointers Attempted
140th
+300th
+160 249 vs. 10239
Free Throws Made
14th
238th
224 901 vs. 211690
Free Throws Attempted
22nd
86th
64 1,012 vs. 505507

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
36th
85th
49 164 vs. 13034
Playoffs
76th
+300th
12 vs. 84

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
6th
+300th
10 vs. 010

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace 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 Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
23rd
+300th
+277 24.29 vs. 5.7518.55
Rebounds per game
55th
73rd
18 10.00 vs. 9.630.37
Assists per game
51st
+300th
+249 6.35 vs. 1.325.03
Steals per game
39th
167th
128 1.73 vs. 1.260.48
Blocks per game
228th
25th
203 0.84 vs. 1.961.12
Offensive Rebounds per game
230th
19th
211 1.96 vs. 3.171.21
Defensive Rebounds per game
11th
59th
48 8.05 vs. 6.471.58
Field Goals Made per game
9th
+300th
+291 9.58 vs. 2.367.22
Field Goals Attempted per game
17th
+300th
+283 19.32 vs. 4.9814.34
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.72 vs. 0.010.72
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.93 vs. 0.051.88
Free Throws Made per game
90th
+300th
+210 4.41 vs. 1.023.40
Free Throws Attempted per game
139th
+300th
+161 4.98 vs. 2.462.52

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Ben Wallace Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
41st
+300th
+259 23.76 vs. 7.2216.54
Rebounds per game
50th
27th
23 10.26 vs. 11.180.92
Assists per game
40th
+300th
+260 6.48 vs. 1.335.14
Steals per game
25th
65th
40 1.80 vs. 1.530.27
Blocks per game
195th
24th
171 0.88 vs. 1.921.04
Offensive Rebounds per game
172nd
18th
154 2.20 vs. 3.561.37
Defensive Rebounds per game
19th
26th
7 8.07 vs. 7.620.44
Field Goals Made per game
37th
+300th
+263 8.89 vs. 2.806.09
Field Goals Attempted per game
47th
+300th
+253 18.84 vs. 5.8113.03
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.49 vs. 0.000.49
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.52 vs. 0.081.44
Free Throws Made per game
56th
+300th
+244 5.49 vs. 1.623.87
Free Throws Attempted per game
93rd
+300th
+207 6.17 vs. 3.882.29

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.