Larry Bird vs. Steve Nash: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Larry Bird and Steve Nash 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 Steve Nash, with 18 seasons played from 1997 to 2014, 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. Steve Nash
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Steve Nash Larry Bird Steve Nash
Points
40th
96th
13th
64th
Rebounds
58th
+300th
11th
245th
Assists
49th
5th
9th
10th
Steals
41st
242nd
8th
222nd
Blocks
167th
+300th
41st
+300th
Years13181212

Larry Bird vs. Steve Nash
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Steve Nash Larry Bird Steve Nash
Points
23rd
+300th
41st
171st
Rebounds
55th
+300th
50th
+300th
Assists
52nd
11th
40th
8th
Steals
39th
+300th
25th
+300th
Blocks
226th
+300th
195th
+300th

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 Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
40th
96th
56 21,791 vs. 17,3874,404
Rebounds
58th
+300th
+242 8,974 vs. 3,6425,332
Assists
49th
5th
44 5,695 vs. 10,3354,640
Steals
41st
242nd
201 1,556 vs. 899657
Blocks
167th
+300th
+133 755 vs. 102653
Offensive Rebounds
158th
+300th
+142 1,757 vs. 6431,114
Defensive Rebounds
27th
+300th
+273 7,217 vs. 2,9994,218
Field Goals Made
30th
110th
80 8,591 vs. 6,3212,270
Field Goals Attempted
39th
132nd
93 17,334 vs. 12,8924,442
3-Pointers Made
+300th
37th
+263 649 vs. 1,6851,036
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
59th
+241 1,727 vs. 3,9392,212
Free Throws Made
84th
170th
86 3,960 vs. 3,060900
Free Throws Attempted
118th
244th
126 4,471 vs. 3,3841,087

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
274th
43rd
231 897 vs. 1,217320
Seasons
292nd
27th
265 13 vs. 185

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
11th
160th
149 59 vs. 356

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
23rd
276th
253 47 vs. 245
50+ point games
29th
-
4 vs. 04
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
13th
64th
51 3,897 vs. 2,0721,825
Rebounds
11th
245th
234 1,683 vs. 4221,261
Assists
9th
10th
1 1,062 vs. 1,0611
Steals
8th
222nd
214 296 vs. 66230
Blocks
41st
+300th
+259 145 vs. 14131
Offensive Rebounds
22nd
+300th
+278 360 vs. 68292
Defensive Rebounds
5th
163rd
158 1,323 vs. 354969
Field Goals Made
12th
68th
56 1,458 vs. 749709
Field Goals Attempted
13th
74th
61 3,090 vs. 1,5841,506
3-Pointers Made
162nd
42nd
120 80 vs. 17898
3-Pointers Attempted
140th
55th
85 249 vs. 438189
Free Throws Made
14th
83rd
69 901 vs. 396505
Free Throws Attempted
22nd
119th
97 1,012 vs. 440572

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
36th
105th
69 164 vs. 12044
Playoffs
76th
76th
0 12 vs. 120

Triple-Doubles:

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

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
78th
50 5 vs. 14
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
23rd
+300th
+277 24.29 vs. 14.2910.01
Rebounds per game
55th
+300th
+245 10.00 vs. 2.997.01
Assists per game
52nd
11th
41 6.35 vs. 8.492.14
Steals per game
39th
+300th
+261 1.73 vs. 0.741.00
Blocks per game
226th
+300th
+74 0.84 vs. 0.080.76
Offensive Rebounds per game
228th
+300th
+72 1.96 vs. 0.531.43
Defensive Rebounds per game
12th
+300th
+288 8.05 vs. 2.465.58
Field Goals Made per game
9th
+300th
+291 9.58 vs. 5.194.38
Field Goals Attempted per game
17th
+300th
+283 19.32 vs. 10.598.73
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
230th
+70 0.72 vs. 1.380.66
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
227th
+73 1.93 vs. 3.241.31
Free Throws Made per game
89th
+300th
+211 4.41 vs. 2.511.90
Free Throws Attempted per game
139th
+300th
+161 4.98 vs. 2.782.20

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
41st
171st
130 23.76 vs. 17.276.50
Rebounds per game
50th
+300th
+250 10.26 vs. 3.526.75
Assists per game
40th
8th
32 6.48 vs. 8.842.37
Steals per game
25th
+300th
+275 1.80 vs. 0.551.25
Blocks per game
195th
+300th
+105 0.88 vs. 0.120.77
Offensive Rebounds per game
172nd
+300th
+128 2.20 vs. 0.571.63
Defensive Rebounds per game
19th
+300th
+281 8.07 vs. 2.955.12
Field Goals Made per game
37th
185th
148 8.89 vs. 6.242.65
Field Goals Attempted per game
47th
228th
181 18.84 vs. 13.205.64
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
166th
+134 0.49 vs. 1.481.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
194th
+106 1.52 vs. 3.652.13
Free Throws Made per game
56th
268th
212 5.49 vs. 3.302.19
Free Throws Attempted per game
93rd
+300th
+207 6.17 vs. 3.672.50

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 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 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.