Larry Bird vs. Bill Cartwright Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Cartwright and Larry Bird, 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.

Larry Bird played 13 years in the NBA, 2 less than Bill Cartwright, who played 15. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Bill Cartwright 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
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92
Bill Cartwright	15	10	1979-80 to 1994-95

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1979-80	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	82	38.4	21.7	2.4	6.5	8.9	2.0	0.6	1.2	2.7	3.4	8.1	14.8	.547	0.0	0.0	-	5.5	6.9	.797

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1980-81	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	82	35.7	20.1	2.0	5.5	7.5	1.4	0.6	1.0	2.4	3.2	7.5	13.6	.554	0.0	0.0	.000	5.0	6.3	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	2	24.5	10.0	2.0	4.5	6.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	3.0	3.5	3.0	8.5	.353	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	6.0	.667


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1981-82	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	72	28.6	14.4	1.6	4.2	5.8	1.2	0.7	0.9	2.3	2.9	5.4	9.6	.562	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	4.7	.763

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1982-83	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Knicks 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	82	30.1	15.7	2.3	4.9	7.2	1.7	0.5	1.5	2.5	3.8	5.5	9.8	.566	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.2	.744

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	6	28.7	11.2	1.5	4.2	5.7	0.7	0.5	1.2	3.2	4.2	4.2	7.2	.581	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.7	.773


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1983-84	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	77	32.3	17.0	2.5	5.9	8.4	1.4	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.4	5.9	10.5	.561	0.0	0.0	.000	5.2	6.5	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	12	33.2	17.4	2.3	6.0	8.3	0.4	0.2	1.2	2.2	3.7	5.8	10.5	.556	0.0	0.0	-	5.8	6.7	.863

Note: Bill Cartwright didn't play in 1984-85.


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1984-85	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	2	18.0	6.0	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.5	0.5	0.5	3.0	3.0	1.5	3.5	.429	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	5.0	.600

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1985-86	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	58	34.3	17.5	2.3	5.4	7.7	1.7	0.7	0.4	2.2	3.2	5.8	10.9	.531	0.0	0.0	-	6.0	7.6	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1986-87	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Knicks 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	82	20.4	11.1	1.5	3.1	4.7	1.0	0.5	0.5	1.6	2.9	3.5	6.4	.544	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	5.2	.798

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	4	19.0	7.3	2.0	2.8	4.8	1.5	0.0	0.8	2.0	3.0	2.3	4.5	.500	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.8	.733


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1987-88	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	78	29.9	12.4	1.9	4.7	6.7	1.2	0.3	0.5	2.4	3.0	4.7	9.8	.475	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.9	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	17	34.3	11.8	1.9	5.2	7.1	1.2	0.5	0.7	2.4	4.1	4.2	8.7	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.7	.700


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1988-89	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	71	30.4	11.4	1.9	4.6	6.5	2.0	0.5	0.5	1.7	3.4	4.1	8.4	.488	0.0	0.0	-	3.2	3.9	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Cartwright	16	28.9	8.1	1.6	3.1	4.7	1.0	0.3	0.3	1.6	3.3	3.1	7.6	.413	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.7	.674


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1989-90	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
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
Bill Cartwright	79	28.8	9.6	2.1	4.0	6.2	1.6	0.4	0.2	1.4	2.1	4.0	8.2	.490	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	2.3	.697

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	17	30.1	9.5	1.5	3.2	4.7	1.9	0.5	0.4	1.2	3.2	4.1	7.9	.519	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.9	.688


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1990-91	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	64	23.0	8.0	1.5	3.6	5.1	1.4	0.3	0.2	1.2	2.0	3.3	7.0	.467	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.5	.604

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	22	27.8	5.6	1.3	3.1	4.5	1.7	0.5	0.2	1.2	3.2	2.5	5.3	.474	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.4	.419


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	1991-92	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	63	19.9	5.6	1.3	2.4	3.7	1.3	0.3	0.2	1.0	2.4	2.2	5.4	.411	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.6	.735

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Cartwright	19	23.4	6.3	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.5	0.6	0.2	0.7	2.7	2.4	5.2	.465	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	1.9	.778


Season 14
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	-	1993-94
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Bulls 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		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Cartwright	42	18.6	5.6	1.0	2.6	3.6	1.4	0.2	0.2	1.2	2.0	2.3	4.5	.513	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.4	.684

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Cartwright	9	21.0	4.6	2.1	2.8	4.9	1.2	0.3	0.2	0.7	2.9	1.6	4.8	.326	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.8	.813


Season 15
	Larry Bird	Bill Cartwright
Season	-	1994-95
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
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		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Cartwright	29	14.8	2.4	0.9	2.1	3.0	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.6	2.4	0.9	2.4	.391	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.8	.625

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

Larry Bird vs. Bill Cartwright Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Cartwright and Larry Bird, 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

Season 14

Season 15