Larry Bird vs. Rickey Green Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rickey Green 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, 1 less than Rickey Green, who played 14. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Rickey Green had his rookie season in 1977-78. 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
Rickey Green	14	8	1977-78 to 1991-92

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1979-80	1977-78
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
Rickey Green	76	14.4	4.5	0.6	0.9	1.5	2.0	0.8	0.0	1.0	1.3	1.9	4.9	.381	-	-	-	0.7	1.2	.600

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
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1980-81	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
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
Rickey Green	27	16.0	6.6	0.6	0.9	1.5	2.3	0.9	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.5	6.6	.379	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.672

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
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Rickey Green didn't play in 1979-80.


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1981-82	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
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
Rickey Green	47	27.8	9.0	0.6	1.8	2.5	5.0	1.6	0.0	1.8	2.6	3.7	7.8	.481	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.1	.722

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
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1982-83	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
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
Rickey Green	81	34.8	14.8	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.8	2.3	0.1	2.4	2.3	6.2	12.5	.493	0.0	0.1	.000	2.5	3.3	.765

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
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1983-84	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
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
Rickey Green	78	35.7	14.3	0.8	2.1	2.9	8.9	2.8	0.1	2.8	2.0	5.9	12.1	.493	0.0	0.2	.154	2.4	3.0	.797

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
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1984-85	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Jazz 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	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
Rickey Green	81	34.2	13.2	0.7	2.1	2.8	9.2	2.7	0.2	2.1	1.9	5.4	11.2	.486	0.0	0.2	.118	2.4	2.9	.821

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
Rickey Green	11	36.7	14.6	0.8	2.3	3.1	9.5	1.7	0.4	2.6	1.5	5.8	13.7	.424	0.1	0.4	.250	2.9	3.9	.744


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1985-86	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz 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	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
Rickey Green	77	31.6	13.0	0.5	2.0	2.5	7.8	1.7	0.0	2.3	1.7	4.9	10.4	.477	0.1	0.3	.300	3.0	3.5	.869

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
Rickey Green	10	30.2	15.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.5	1.2	0.0	2.0	2.3	5.7	10.6	.538	0.1	0.7	.143	3.5	3.8	.921


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1986-87	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Jazz 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	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
Rickey Green	80	25.2	11.7	0.4	1.3	1.7	5.1	1.3	0.1	1.7	1.6	4.5	9.5	.471	0.1	0.4	.172	2.7	3.1	.852

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
Rickey Green	4	29.8	13.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	9.5	0.5	0.0	1.3	0.3	5.3	10.8	.488	0.3	0.5	.500	2.5	2.8	.909


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1987-88	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Jazz 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	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
Rickey Green	81	25.8	9.6	0.5	1.5	2.0	6.7	1.4	0.0	1.6	1.3	3.7	8.0	.467	0.1	0.2	.368	2.1	2.6	.827

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
Rickey Green	4	18.0	6.8	0.3	1.8	2.0	6.3	0.5	0.0	1.8	1.3	2.8	5.8	.478	0.0	0.3	.000	1.3	1.5	.833


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1988-89	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz 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	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
Rickey Green	81	13.8	4.9	0.2	0.8	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.0	1.9	4.6	.424	0.0	0.2	.211	0.9	1.0	.904

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rickey Green	7	5.4	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.1	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.3	0.3	1.1	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1989-90	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Bucks 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	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
Rickey Green	63	13.8	4.6	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.0	0.6	0.0	1.0	0.6	2.0	4.2	.489	0.0	0.2	.273	0.5	0.5	.909

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
Rickey Green	8	13.8	3.6	0.4	1.3	1.6	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.1	1.5	3.6	.414	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1990-91	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Pacers 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	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
Rickey Green	69	13.4	3.5	0.1	0.7	0.8	2.6	0.7	0.0	0.9	0.9	1.4	3.3	.433	0.0	0.2	.091	0.6	0.7	.843

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
Rickey Green	3	10.3	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.7	1.7	0.3	2.3	.143	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	1991-92	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	76ers 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	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
Rickey Green	79	28.5	10.0	0.4	1.3	1.7	5.2	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.6	4.2	9.1	.463	0.1	0.5	.222	1.5	1.8	.830

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
Rickey Green	8	24.9	7.4	0.1	1.0	1.1	2.8	0.9	0.0	1.6	1.1	3.0	6.9	.436	0.4	0.5	.750	1.0	1.1	.889


Season 14
	Larry Bird	Rickey Green
Season	-	1991-92
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		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rickey Green	26	14.1	4.1	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.0	0.7	1.1	1.8	4.0	.447	0.0	0.2	.250	0.5	0.7	.722

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

Larry Bird vs. Rickey Green Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rickey Green 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