Larry Bird vs Wilt Chamberlain

1of 3 lines

2of 3 lines

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain compared on their NBA careers: Larry Bird played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1991-92, Wilt Chamberlain 14 seasons, 1959-60 to 1972-73. Larry Bird averaged 24.3 points a game to Wilt Chamberlain's 30.1. Larry Bird won 3 titles, Wilt Chamberlain won 2 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Wilt Chamberlain leads in 2 of the 3 lines, Larry Bird in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain career per game

—	GP	1,045
—	MIN	45.8
24.3	PTS	30.1, better
10	REB	22.9, better
6.3, better	AST	4.4
—	STL	0
—	BLK	0
—	FG%	54
—	3P%	0
—	FT%	51.1
—	TS%	54.7

Career totals

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain career totals

21,791	PTS	31,419, better
8,974	REB	23,923, better
5,695, better	AST	4,643
—	STL	0
—	BLK	0
—	FG%	54
—	3P%	0
—	FT%	51.1
—	TS%	54.7

Where each stands all time

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain all-time places

40th (21,791)	Points	8th (31,419), better
57th (8,974)	Rebounds	1st (23,923), better
48th (5,695), better	Assists	80th (4,643)

Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain titles and awards

3, better	Championships	2
1	All-Star MVP	1
1	Rookie of the Year	1
9, better	All-NBA First Team	7
3	MVP	4, better
1	All-NBA Second Team	3, better
2, better	Finals MVP	1
—	All-Defensive First Team	2, better
1, better	All-Rookie First Team	—
3, better	All-Defensive Second Team	—

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain season by season

1st	1979-80	21.3	10.4	4.5, better	1959-60	37.6, better	27.0, better	2.3
2nd	1980-81	21.2	10.9	5.5, better	1960-61	38.4, better	27.2, better	1.9
3rd	1981-82	22.9	10.9	5.8, better	1961-62	50.4, better	25.7, better	2.4
4th	1982-83	23.6	11.0	5.8, better	1962-63	44.8, better	24.3, better	3.4
5th	1983-84	24.2	10.1	6.6, better	1963-64	36.9, better	22.3, better	5.0
6th	1984-85	28.7	10.5	6.6, better	1964-65	34.7, better	22.9, better	3.4
7th	1985-86	25.8	9.8	6.8, better	1965-66	33.5, better	24.6, better	5.2
8th	1986-87	28.1, better	9.2	7.6	1966-67	24.1	24.2, better	7.8, better
9th	1987-88	29.9, better	9.3	6.1	1967-68	24.3	23.8, better	8.6, better
10th	1988-89	19.3	6.2	4.8, better	1968-69	20.5, better	21.1, better	4.5
11th	1989-90	24.3	9.5	7.5, better	1969-70	27.3, better	18.4, better	4.1
12th	1990-91	19.4	8.5	7.2, better	1970-71	20.7, better	18.2, better	4.3
13th	1991-92	20.2, better	9.6	6.8, better	1971-72	14.8	19.2, better	4.0
14th	—	—	—	—	1972-73	13.2	18.6	4.5

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST