Larry Bird vs. Slater Martin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Slater Martin 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, 2 more than Slater Martin, who played 11. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Slater Martin had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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
Slater Martin	11	11	1949-50 to 1959-60

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1979-80	1949-50
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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	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
Slater Martin	67	-	4.0	-	-	-	2.2	-	-	-	2.4	1.6	4.5	.351	-	-	-	0.9	1.4	.634

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
Slater Martin	12	-	4.7	-	-	-	2.1	-	-	-	2.9	1.8	4.2	.420	-	-	-	1.2	2.0	.583


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1980-81	1950-51
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Div 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	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
Slater Martin	68	-	8.5	-	-	3.6	3.5	-	-	-	2.9	3.3	9.2	.362	-	-	-	1.8	2.6	.684

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
Slater Martin	7	-	7.1	-	-	6.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.9	2.6	7.3	.353	-	-	-	2.0	3.9	.519


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1981-82	1951-52
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
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
Slater Martin	66	37.6	9.3	-	-	3.5	3.8	-	-	-	3.4	3.6	9.6	.375	-	-	-	2.2	2.9	.747

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
Slater Martin	13	40.2	9.0	-	-	2.8	4.3	-	-	-	4.9	2.9	8.5	.345	-	-	-	3.2	4.3	.732


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1982-83	1952-53
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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	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
Slater Martin	70	36.5	10.6	-	-	2.7	3.6	-	-	-	3.5	3.7	9.1	.410	-	-	-	3.2	4.1	.780

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
Slater Martin	12	37.8	10.1	-	-	2.6	3.6	-	-	-	4.1	3.4	8.6	.398	-	-	-	3.3	4.3	.765


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1983-84	1953-54
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Slater Martin	69	35.8	9.9	-	-	2.4	3.7	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	9.5	.388	-	-	-	2.6	3.5	.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
Slater Martin	13	41.0	9.7	-	-	2.2	4.6	-	-	-	4.0	2.8	8.6	.330	-	-	-	4.0	5.4	.743


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1984-85	1954-55
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost West Div 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	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
Slater Martin	72	38.7	13.6	-	-	3.6	5.9	-	-	-	3.1	4.9	12.8	.381	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	.769

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
Slater Martin	7	45.0	13.7	-	-	4.0	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	13.4	.298	-	-	-	5.7	7.0	.816


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1985-86	1955-56
Team	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Div 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
Slater Martin	72	39.4	13.2	-	-	3.6	6.2	-	-	-	2.8	4.3	12.0	.358	-	-	-	4.6	5.5	.833

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
Slater Martin	3	40.3	18.0	-	-	2.3	5.0	-	-	-	3.0	5.7	12.3	.459	-	-	-	6.7	8.0	.833


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1986-87	1956-57
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Hawks 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		%
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
Slater Martin	66	36.4	10.9	-	-	4.4	4.1	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	11.2	.332	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.790

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
Slater Martin	10	43.9	16.6	-	-	4.2	4.9	-	-	-	3.9	5.5	15.5	.355	-	-	-	5.6	7.4	.757


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1987-88	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
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	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
Slater Martin	60	35.0	12.0	-	-	3.8	3.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.3	12.8	.336	-	-	-	3.4	4.6	.746

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
Slater Martin	11	37.8	11.5	-	-	4.4	3.6	-	-	-	3.6	4.0	12.5	.321	-	-	-	3.5	5.7	.619


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1988-89	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div 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
Slater Martin	71	35.3	9.7	-	-	3.6	4.7	-	-	-	3.2	3.5	9.9	.347	-	-	-	2.8	3.6	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Slater Martin	1	18.0	8.0	-	-	3.0	2.0	-	-	-	2.0	4.0	5.0	.800	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
Season	1989-90	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Hawks 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		%
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
Slater Martin	64	27.4	6.2	-	-	2.9	5.2	-	-	-	2.7	2.2	6.0	.371	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.729

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
Slater Martin	3	19.3	1.0	-	-	1.0	2.7	-	-	-	3.0	0.3	4.3	.077	-	-	-	0.3	1.3	.250


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
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		%
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
Slater Martin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Slater Martin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Slater Martin
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
Slater Martin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Slater Martin	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Larry Bird vs. Slater Martin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Slater Martin 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