Larry Bird vs. Monta Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Monta Ellis 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

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, 1 more than Monta Ellis, who played 12. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Monta Ellis had his rookie season in 2005-06. 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
Monta Ellis	12	6	2005-06 to 2016-17

Comparison Season by Season
Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1979-80	2005-06
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	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
Monta Ellis	49	18.1	6.8	0.4	1.7	2.1	1.6	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.4	2.7	6.5	.415	0.6	1.7	.341	0.9	1.2	.712

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1980-81	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Most Improved Player
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost West 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	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
Monta Ellis	77	34.3	16.5	0.8	2.4	3.2	4.1	1.7	0.3	2.9	2.7	6.2	13.1	.475	0.5	1.9	.273	3.5	4.6	.763

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
Monta Ellis	11	21.6	8.0	0.7	1.5	2.3	0.9	0.9	0.2	1.8	2.1	2.9	7.5	.390	0.1	0.8	.111	2.1	2.5	.821

Season 3
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1981-82	2007-08
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	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
Monta Ellis	81	37.9	20.2	1.6	3.3	5.0	3.9	1.5	0.3	2.1	2.4	8.0	15.1	.531	0.1	0.6	.231	4.0	5.1	.767

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1982-83	2008-09
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	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	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
Monta Ellis	25	35.7	19.0	0.6	3.8	4.3	3.7	1.6	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.8	17.2	.451	0.3	1.0	.308	3.1	3.8	.830

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1983-84	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
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
Monta Ellis	64	41.4	25.5	0.7	3.3	4.0	5.3	2.2	0.4	3.8	3.0	9.9	22.0	.449	1.2	3.6	.338	4.6	6.1	.753

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1984-85	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
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
Monta Ellis	80	40.3	24.1	0.6	3.0	3.5	5.6	2.1	0.3	3.2	2.5	9.1	20.1	.451	1.7	4.7	.361	4.3	5.4	.789

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1985-86	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Monta Ellis	58	36.6	20.4	0.3	3.1	3.4	6.0	1.5	0.3	3.1	2.3	7.8	17.9	.433	1.1	3.5	.308	3.8	4.7	.796

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1986-87	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Bucks 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	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
Monta Ellis	82	37.5	19.2	0.5	3.3	3.9	6.0	2.1	0.4	3.1	2.0	7.3	17.5	.416	1.1	4.0	.287	3.5	4.6	.773

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
Monta Ellis	4	38.0	14.3	0.5	2.8	3.3	5.5	2.5	0.3	3.5	2.0	6.0	13.8	.436	0.8	4.8	.158	1.5	4.0	.375

Season 9
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1987-88	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost West 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	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
Monta Ellis	82	36.9	19.0	0.5	3.1	3.6	5.7	1.7	0.3	3.2	2.4	7.0	15.6	.451	0.8	2.5	.330	4.1	5.2	.788

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
Monta Ellis	7	35.6	20.4	0.9	1.6	2.4	2.9	1.3	0.1	2.1	2.7	7.4	18.1	.409	1.7	4.9	.353	3.9	4.4	.871

Season 10
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1988-89	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West 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	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
Monta Ellis	80	33.7	18.9	0.4	2.0	2.4	4.1	1.9	0.3	2.5	2.5	7.5	16.9	.445	1.0	3.6	.285	2.9	3.8	.752

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Monta Ellis	5	39.4	26.0	0.8	2.4	3.2	5.2	2.0	0.6	3.2	3.6	10.4	22.2	.468	2.2	6.0	.367	3.0	4.0	.750

Season 11
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1989-90	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Pacers 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
Monta Ellis	81	33.8	13.8	0.5	2.8	3.3	4.7	1.9	0.5	2.5	2.1	5.4	12.6	.427	1.1	3.5	.309	2.0	2.5	.786

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
Monta Ellis	7	32.1	11.6	0.6	3.3	3.9	4.3	2.1	0.0	2.4	2.4	4.7	10.9	.434	1.0	3.0	.333	1.1	1.4	.800

Season 12
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1990-91	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Pacers 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
Monta Ellis	74	27.0	8.5	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.2	1.1	0.4	1.8	2.0	3.3	7.5	.443	0.6	1.8	.319	1.3	1.7	.727

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
Monta Ellis	4	19.0	5.5	0.3	1.8	2.0	1.3	0.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	2.0	5.0	.400	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.3	.800

Season 13
	Larry Bird	Monta Ellis
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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	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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Monta Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Larry Bird vs. Monta Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Monta Ellis 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