Larry Bird vs. Jayson Tatum: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Larry Bird and Jayson Tatum 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
Filter: Career Stats - Celtics

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 Jayson Tatum, with 8 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. Jayson Tatum
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Larry Bird Jayson Tatum
Points
40th
211st
13th
34th
Rebounds
59th
+300th
11th
54th
Assists
49th
+300th
9th
51st
Steals
42nd
+300th
8th
63rd
Blocks
168th
+300th
41st
71st
Years138128

Larry Bird vs. Jayson Tatum
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Larry Bird Jayson Tatum
Points
23rd
32nd
41st
38th
Rebounds
55th
206th
50th
136th
Assists
51st
258th
40th
112nd
Steals
39th
280th
25th
193rd
Blocks
228th
+300th
195th
195th

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 Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
40th
211st
171 21,791 vs. 13,7848,007
Rebounds
59th
+300th
+241 8,974 vs. 4,2934,681
Assists
49th
+300th
+251 5,695 vs. 2,2433,452
Steals
42nd
+300th
+258 1,556 vs. 639917
Blocks
168th
+300th
+132 755 vs. 384371
Offensive Rebounds
159th
+300th
+141 1,757 vs. 5121,245
Defensive Rebounds
28th
194th
166 7,217 vs. 3,7813,436
Field Goals Made
30th
261st
231 8,591 vs. 4,7893,802
Field Goals Attempted
39th
262nd
223 17,334 vs. 10,4296,905
3-Pointers Made
+300th
50th
+250 649 vs. 1,546897
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
50th
+250 1,727 vs. 4,1812,454
Free Throws Made
84th
230th
146 3,960 vs. 2,6601,300
Free Throws Attempted
119th
281st
162 4,471 vs. 3,1671,304

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
275th
+300th
897 vs. 585312
Seasons
300th
+300th
13 vs. 85

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
11th
135th
124 59 vs. 455

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
24th
45th
21 47 vs. 2918
50+ point games
30th
23rd
7 4 vs. 51
60+ point games
11th
11th
0 1 vs. 10
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
13th
34th
21 3,897 vs. 2,936961
Rebounds
11th
54th
43 1,683 vs. 989694
Assists
9th
51st
42 1,062 vs. 592470
Steals
8th
63rd
55 296 vs. 143153
Blocks
41st
71st
30 145 vs. 10639
Offensive Rebounds
22nd
208th
186 360 vs. 118242
Defensive Rebounds
5th
29th
24 1,323 vs. 871452
Field Goals Made
12th
38th
26 1,458 vs. 983475
Field Goals Attempted
13th
33rd
20 3,090 vs. 2,241849
3-Pointers Made
162nd
11th
151 80 vs. 292212
3-Pointers Attempted
140th
9th
131 249 vs. 840591
Free Throws Made
14th
35th
21 901 vs. 678223
Free Throws Attempted
22nd
40th
18 1,012 vs. 806206

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
36th
103rd
67 164 vs. 12143
Playoffs
76th
+300th
12 vs. 84

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
6th
39th
33 10 vs. 19

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
28th
0 5 vs. 50
50+ point games
-
5th
0 vs. 22
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
23rd
32nd
9 24.29 vs. 23.560.73
Rebounds per game
55th
206th
151 10.00 vs. 7.342.67
Assists per game
51st
258th
207 6.35 vs. 3.832.51
Steals per game
39th
280th
241 1.73 vs. 1.090.64
Blocks per game
228th
+300th
+72 0.84 vs. 0.660.19
Offensive Rebounds per game
230th
+300th
+70 1.96 vs. 0.881.08
Defensive Rebounds per game
11th
60th
49 8.05 vs. 6.461.58
Field Goals Made per game
9th
46th
37 9.58 vs. 8.191.39
Field Goals Attempted per game
17th
35th
18 19.32 vs. 17.831.50
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
13th
+287 0.72 vs. 2.641.92
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
12th
+288 1.93 vs. 7.155.22
Free Throws Made per game
90th
80th
10 4.41 vs. 4.550.13
Free Throws Attempted per game
139th
107th
32 4.98 vs. 5.410.43

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
41st
38th
3 23.76 vs. 24.260.50
Rebounds per game
50th
136th
86 10.26 vs. 8.172.09
Assists per game
40th
112nd
72 6.48 vs. 4.891.58
Steals per game
25th
193rd
168 1.80 vs. 1.180.62
Blocks per game
195th
195th
0 0.88 vs. 0.880.01
Offensive Rebounds per game
172nd
+300th
+128 2.20 vs. 0.981.22
Defensive Rebounds per game
19th
37th
18 8.07 vs. 7.200.87
Field Goals Made per game
37th
61st
24 8.89 vs. 8.120.77
Field Goals Attempted per game
47th
53rd
6 18.84 vs. 18.520.32
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
20th
+280 0.49 vs. 2.411.93
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
13th
+287 1.52 vs. 6.945.42
Free Throws Made per game
56th
48th
8 5.49 vs. 5.600.11
Free Throws Attempted per game
93rd
72nd
21 6.17 vs. 6.660.49

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.