Larry Bird vs. Tim Duncan: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Larry Bird and Tim Duncan 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

Ever wondered how Larry Bird and Tim Duncan truly stack up against each other? 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 Tim Duncan, with 19 seasons played from 1998 to 2016, 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. Tim Duncan
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Tim Duncan Larry Bird Tim Duncan
Points
40th
17th
13th
6th
Rebounds
58th
6th
11th
3rd
Assists
49th
110th
9th
33rd
Steals
41st
172nd
8th
48th
Blocks
167th
5th
41st
1st
Years13191218

Larry Bird vs. Tim Duncan
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Larry Bird Tim Duncan Larry Bird Tim Duncan
Points
23rd
98th
41st
81st
Rebounds
55th
33rd
50th
26th
Assists
52nd
+300th
40th
+300th
Steals
39th
+300th
25th
+300th
Blocks
226th
21st
195th
10th

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 Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
40th
17th
23 21,791 vs. 26,4964,705
Rebounds
58th
6th
52 8,974 vs. 15,0916,117
Assists
49th
110th
61 5,695 vs. 4,2251,470
Steals
41st
172nd
131 1,556 vs. 1,025531
Blocks
167th
5th
162 755 vs. 3,0202,265
Offensive Rebounds
158th
11th
147 1,757 vs. 3,8592,102
Defensive Rebounds
27th
3rd
24 7,217 vs. 11,2324,015
Field Goals Made
30th
15th
15 8,591 vs. 10,2851,694
Field Goals Attempted
39th
18th
21 17,334 vs. 20,3343,000
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
649 vs. 30619
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,727 vs. 1681,559
Free Throws Made
84th
26th
58 3,960 vs. 5,8961,936
Free Throws Attempted
118th
15th
103 4,471 vs. 8,4683,997

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
274th
11th
263 897 vs. 1,392495
Seasons
292nd
12th
280 13 vs. 196

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
11th
134th
123 59 vs. 455

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
23rd
152nd
129 47 vs. 542
50+ point games
29th
76th
47 4 vs. 13
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
13th
6th
7 3,897 vs. 5,1721,275
Rebounds
11th
3rd
8 1,683 vs. 2,8591,176
Assists
9th
33rd
24 1,062 vs. 764298
Steals
8th
48th
40 296 vs. 168128
Blocks
41st
1st
40 145 vs. 568423
Offensive Rebounds
22nd
2nd
20 360 vs. 778418
Defensive Rebounds
5th
2nd
3 1,323 vs. 2,081758
Field Goals Made
12th
6th
6 1,458 vs. 1,975517
Field Goals Attempted
13th
5th
8 3,090 vs. 3,939849
3-Pointers Made
162nd
+300th
+138 80 vs. 575
3-Pointers Attempted
140th
+300th
+160 249 vs. 35214
Free Throws Made
14th
6th
8 901 vs. 1,217316
Free Throws Attempted
22nd
3rd
19 1,012 vs. 1,766754

Games and Years:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
36th
3rd
33 164 vs. 25187
Playoffs
76th
3rd
73 12 vs. 186

Triple-Doubles:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
6th
13th
7 10 vs. 46

Rankings by Points Scored:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
36th
8 5 vs. 41
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
23rd
98th
75 24.29 vs. 19.035.26
Rebounds per game
55th
33rd
22 10.00 vs. 10.840.84
Assists per game
52nd
+300th
+248 6.35 vs. 3.043.31
Steals per game
39th
+300th
+261 1.73 vs. 0.741.00
Blocks per game
226th
21st
205 0.84 vs. 2.171.33
Offensive Rebounds per game
228th
53rd
175 1.96 vs. 2.770.81
Defensive Rebounds per game
12th
10th
2 8.05 vs. 8.070.02
Field Goals Made per game
9th
85th
76 9.58 vs. 7.392.19
Field Goals Attempted per game
17th
139th
122 19.32 vs. 14.614.72
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.72 vs. 0.020.70
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.93 vs. 0.121.80
Free Throws Made per game
89th
104th
15 4.41 vs. 4.240.18
Free Throws Attempted per game
139th
73rd
66 4.98 vs. 6.081.10

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Larry Bird Tim Duncan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
41st
81st
40 23.76 vs. 20.613.16
Rebounds per game
50th
26th
24 10.26 vs. 11.391.13
Assists per game
40th
+300th
+260 6.48 vs. 3.043.43
Steals per game
25th
+300th
+275 1.80 vs. 0.671.14
Blocks per game
195th
10th
185 0.88 vs. 2.261.38
Offensive Rebounds per game
172nd
39th
133 2.20 vs. 3.100.90
Defensive Rebounds per game
19th
15th
4 8.07 vs. 8.290.22
Field Goals Made per game
37th
71st
34 8.89 vs. 7.871.02
Field Goals Attempted per game
47th
118th
71 18.84 vs. 15.693.15
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.49 vs. 0.020.47
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.52 vs. 0.141.38
Free Throws Made per game
56th
87th
31 5.49 vs. 4.850.65
Free Throws Attempted per game
93rd
51st
42 6.17 vs. 7.040.87

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.