Larry Bird vs. George Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Johnson 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 and George Johnson both played 13 years in the NBA. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while George Johnson had his rookie season in 1972-73. 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
George Johnson	13	8	1972-73 to 1985-86

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1979-80	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Warriors Lost West 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	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
George Johnson	56	6.2	1.6	-	-	2.5	0.1	-	-	-	0.7	0.7	1.8	.410	-	-	-	0.1	0.3	.412

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
George Johnson	9	5.0	1.4	-	-	1.6	0.3	-	-	-	0.8	0.7	1.7	.400	-	-	-	0.1	0.4	.250


Season 2
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1980-81	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
George Johnson	66	19.6	6.1	2.9	5.0	7.9	1.1	0.5	1.9	-	2.7	2.6	5.4	.483	-	-	-	0.9	1.6	.551

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
George Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1981-82	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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	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
George Johnson	82	17.5	4.4	2.6	4.4	7.0	0.8	0.4	1.7	-	2.5	1.9	3.9	.476	-	-	-	0.7	1.1	.659

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
George Johnson	17	18.9	5.2	3.2	4.2	7.4	0.9	0.5	2.4	-	2.9	2.1	3.7	.571	-	-	-	0.9	1.6	.593


Season 4
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1982-83	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West 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	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
George Johnson	82	21.3	4.9	2.4	5.2	7.6	1.0	0.6	2.1	-	3.4	2.0	4.2	.484	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	.673

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
George Johnson	13	20.1	5.8	2.9	3.8	6.7	1.3	1.1	1.8	-	3.5	2.4	4.2	.574	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.737


Season 5
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1983-84	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors, Buffalo Braves
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second 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	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
George Johnson	78	21.2	6.0	2.6	5.2	7.8	1.3	0.5	2.3	-	3.2	2.5	5.5	.462	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	.724

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
George Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1984-85	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Blocks Leader
	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
George Johnson	81	29.8	8.7	3.0	6.6	9.6	1.4	1.0	3.4	2.7	4.2	3.5	8.9	.395	-	-	-	1.6	2.3	.719

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
George Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1985-86	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
George Johnson	78	26.4	6.6	2.6	5.3	7.9	1.1	0.9	3.2	2.3	4.0	2.6	6.2	.427	-	-	-	1.3	1.8	.761

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
George Johnson	2	35.0	14.5	4.0	8.5	12.5	1.0	1.0	3.5	2.0	4.0	7.0	10.5	.667	-	-	-	0.5	1.5	.333


Season 8
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1986-87	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	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
George Johnson	81	26.2	7.2	2.4	5.1	7.4	2.1	0.7	3.2	2.5	3.9	3.1	6.7	.457	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.6	.706

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
George Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1987-88	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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
George Johnson	82	23.6	5.0	2.6	4.7	7.3	1.1	0.6	3.4	1.3	3.3	2.0	4.2	.473	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.3	.734

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
George Johnson	7	23.6	4.4	3.4	5.6	9.0	0.9	0.4	2.3	1.0	2.9	1.7	3.7	.462	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.4	.700


Season 10
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1988-89	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	Blocks Leader
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West 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
George Johnson	75	21.0	3.0	2.0	4.0	6.1	1.1	0.3	3.1	1.2	3.5	1.2	2.6	.467	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.9	.672

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
George Johnson	9	19.4	1.2	1.3	3.8	5.1	1.3	0.7	1.7	0.4	3.8	0.4	0.9	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.6	.600


Season 11
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1989-90	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
George Johnson	37	12.5	1.7	1.2	2.0	3.2	0.5	0.3	1.6	0.5	1.9	0.7	1.5	.439	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.5	.737

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
George Johnson	1	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Note: George Johnson didn't play in 1983-84.


Season 12
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1990-91	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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
George Johnson	65	12.3	1.6	1.1	1.7	2.8	0.3	0.3	1.2	0.6	2.3	0.6	1.2	.532	0.0	0.0	1.000	0.3	0.4	.815

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
George Johnson	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 13
	Larry Bird	George Johnson
Season	1991-92	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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
George Johnson	41	6.4	0.9	0.6	0.8	1.5	0.3	0.1	0.9	0.3	1.1	0.3	0.6	.522	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.4	.688

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
George Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Larry Bird vs. George Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Johnson 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