Billy Ray Bates vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird and Billy Ray Bates, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Billy Ray Bates played 4 years in the NBA, 9 less than Larry Bird, who played 13. Billy Ray Bates had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Larry Bird had his rookie season in 1979-80. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Billy Ray Bates	4	2	1979-80 to 1982-83
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	1979-80	1979-80
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	16	14.7	11.3	0.8	1.0	1.8	1.9	0.9	0.1	1.3	1.6	4.5	9.1	.493	0.5	1.2	.421	1.8	2.4	.718
Larry Bird	82	36.0	21.3	2.6	7.8	10.4	4.5	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.4	8.5	17.8	.474	0.7	1.7	.406	3.7	4.4	.836

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	3	34.7	25.0	0.7	2.7	3.3	4.0	1.7	0.3	5.0	4.3	10.3	19.7	.525	0.7	2.3	.286	3.7	4.7	.786
Larry Bird	9	41.3	21.3	2.4	8.8	11.2	4.7	1.6	0.9	3.7	3.3	9.2	19.7	.469	0.4	1.7	.267	2.4	2.8	.880


Season 2
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	1980-81	1980-81
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	77	20.3	13.8	0.9	1.1	2.0	2.5	1.1	0.1	1.9	1.6	5.7	11.7	.487	0.2	0.7	.259	2.2	2.6	.854
Larry Bird	82	39.5	21.2	2.3	8.6	10.9	5.5	2.0	0.8	3.5	2.9	8.8	18.3	.478	0.2	0.9	.270	3.5	4.0	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	3	38.3	28.3	1.0	1.3	2.3	4.3	1.7	0.3	3.7	3.7	11.7	20.7	.565	0.3	0.3	1.000	4.7	5.7	.824
Larry Bird	17	44.1	21.9	2.9	11.1	14.0	6.1	2.3	1.0	3.6	3.1	8.6	18.4	.470	0.2	0.5	.375	4.5	5.0	.894


Season 3
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	1981-82	1981-82
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	75	16.4	11.1	0.7	0.7	1.4	1.5	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.3	4.4	9.2	.473	0.2	0.5	.293	2.2	2.8	.787
Larry Bird	77	38.0	22.9	2.6	8.3	10.9	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.3	3.2	9.2	18.4	.503	0.1	0.7	.212	4.3	4.9	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	12	40.8	17.8	2.8	9.8	12.5	5.6	1.9	1.4	3.2	3.6	7.3	17.2	.427	0.1	0.5	.167	3.1	3.8	.822


Season 4
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	1982-83	1982-83
Team	Washington Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	19	16.0	6.5	0.6	0.4	1.0	0.7	0.7	0.2	0.6	1.0	2.9	7.6	.379	0.1	0.3	.400	0.6	1.2	.500
Larry Bird	79	37.7	23.6	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.5	18.7	.504	0.3	1.0	.286	4.4	5.3	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	6	40.0	20.5	3.3	9.2	12.5	6.8	2.2	0.5	3.2	2.5	8.2	19.3	.422	0.2	0.7	.250	4.0	4.8	.828


Season 5
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1983-84
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	79	38.3	24.2	2.3	7.8	10.1	6.6	1.8	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.6	19.5	.492	0.2	0.9	.247	4.7	5.3	.888

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	23	41.8	27.5	2.7	8.3	11.0	5.9	2.3	1.2	3.8	3.1	10.0	19.0	.524	0.3	0.7	.412	7.3	8.3	.879


Season 6
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1984-85
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	80	39.5	28.7	2.1	8.5	10.5	6.6	1.6	1.2	3.1	2.6	11.5	22.0	.522	0.7	1.6	.427	5.0	5.7	.882

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	20	40.8	26.0	2.7	6.5	9.1	5.8	1.7	1.0	2.9	2.7	9.8	21.3	.461	0.4	1.3	.280	6.1	6.8	.890


Season 7
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1985-86
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	82	38.0	25.8	2.3	7.5	9.8	6.8	2.0	0.6	3.2	2.2	9.7	19.6	.496	1.0	2.4	.423	5.4	6.0	.896

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	18	42.8	25.9	1.9	7.4	9.3	8.2	2.1	0.6	2.6	3.1	9.5	18.4	.517	1.3	3.1	.411	5.6	6.1	.927


Season 8
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1986-87
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	74	40.6	28.1	1.7	7.5	9.2	7.6	1.8	0.9	3.2	2.5	10.6	20.2	.525	1.2	3.0	.400	5.6	6.1	.910

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	23	44.1	27.0	1.8	8.3	10.0	7.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.4	9.4	19.7	.476	0.6	1.8	.341	7.7	8.4	.912


Season 9
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1987-88
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	76	39.0	29.9	1.4	7.8	9.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	2.8	2.1	11.6	22.0	.527	1.3	3.1	.414	5.5	6.0	.916

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	17	44.9	24.5	1.7	7.1	8.8	6.8	2.1	0.8	2.9	2.6	8.9	19.9	.450	0.7	1.9	.375	5.9	6.6	.894


Season 10
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1988-89
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	6	31.5	19.3	0.2	6.0	6.2	4.8	1.0	0.8	1.8	3.0	8.2	17.3	.471	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.947

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1989-90
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	75	39.3	24.3	1.2	8.3	9.5	7.5	1.4	0.8	3.2	2.3	9.6	20.2	.473	0.9	2.6	.333	4.3	4.6	.930

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	5	41.4	24.4	1.4	7.8	9.2	8.8	1.0	1.0	3.6	2.0	8.8	19.8	.444	1.0	3.8	.263	5.8	6.4	.906


Season 12
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1990-91
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	60	38.0	19.4	0.9	7.6	8.5	7.2	1.8	1.0	3.1	2.0	7.7	17.0	.454	1.3	3.3	.389	2.7	3.1	.891

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	10	39.6	17.1	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.5	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.8	6.2	15.2	.408	0.3	2.1	.143	4.4	5.1	.863


Season 13
	Billy Ray Bates	Larry Bird
Season	-	1991-92
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	45	36.9	20.2	1.0	8.6	9.6	6.8	0.9	0.7	2.8	1.8	7.8	16.8	.466	1.2	2.8	.406	3.3	3.6	.926

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Ray Bates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Larry Bird	4	26.8	11.3	0.5	4.0	4.5	5.3	0.3	0.5	1.5	1.8	5.3	10.5	.500	0.0	1.3	.000	0.8	1.0	.750

Billy Ray Bates vs. Larry Bird Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Bird and Billy Ray Bates, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13