Larry Costello vs. Paul Pierce Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Pierce and Larry Costello, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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 Costello played 12 years in the NBA, 7 less than Paul Pierce, who played 19. Larry Costello had the first of his seasons in 1954-55, while Paul Pierce had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19
Rookie Season
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1954-55	1998-99
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 Costello	19	24.4	6.2	-	-	2.6	4.1	-	-	-	1.9	2.4	7.3	.331	-	-	-	1.4	1.7	.813
Paul Pierce	48	34.0	16.5	2.4	4.0	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.9	5.9	13.5	.439	1.8	4.3	.412	2.9	4.1	.713
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Larry Costello didn't play in 1955-56.

Season 3
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1957-58	2000-01
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div 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 Costello	72	38.1	14.9	-	-	5.3	4.4	-	-	-	3.4	5.3	12.3	.426	-	-	-	4.4	5.3	.847
Paul Pierce	82	38.0	25.3	1.1	5.2	6.4	3.1	1.7	0.8	3.2	3.1	8.4	18.5	.454	1.8	4.7	.383	6.7	9.0	.745
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	3	44.7	11.3	-	-	8.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.0	3.3	11.3	.294	-	-	-	4.7	4.7	1.000
Paul Pierce	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1958-59	2001-02
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Finals	Celtics 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 Costello	70	39.3	15.8	-	-	5.2	5.4	-	-	-	3.8	5.9	13.5	.437	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.802
Paul Pierce	82	40.3	26.1	1.0	5.9	6.9	3.2	1.9	1.0	2.9	2.9	8.6	19.5	.442	2.6	6.3	.404	6.3	7.8	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	9	40.1	17.7	-	-	5.9	6.0	-	-	-	4.4	6.0	13.4	.446	-	-	-	5.7	6.8	.836
Paul Pierce	16	42.0	24.6	1.7	6.9	8.6	4.1	1.7	1.3	3.8	3.3	7.6	18.9	.403	1.9	6.5	.288	7.5	9.8	.764

Season 5
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1959-60	2002-03
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	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 Costello	71	34.8	14.0	-	-	5.5	6.3	-	-	-	3.3	5.2	11.6	.453	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.862
Paul Pierce	79	39.2	25.9	1.3	6.0	7.3	4.4	1.8	0.8	3.6	2.9	8.4	20.2	.416	1.5	4.9	.302	7.6	9.5	.802
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	3	40.7	16.7	-	-	4.7	6.7	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	15.7	.426	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833
Paul Pierce	10	44.5	27.1	1.1	7.9	9.0	6.7	2.1	0.8	4.4	3.8	7.7	19.3	.399	1.6	4.5	.356	10.1	11.7	.863

Season 6
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1960-61	2003-04
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Finals	Celtics 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 Costello	75	28.9	14.5	-	-	3.9	5.5	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	11.3	.482	-	-	-	3.6	4.5	.799
Paul Pierce	80	38.7	23.0	0.9	5.7	6.5	5.1	1.6	0.7	3.8	2.9	7.5	18.7	.402	1.4	4.8	.299	6.5	7.9	.819
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	8	33.6	16.4	-	-	4.4	6.5	-	-	-	4.9	5.3	12.9	.408	-	-	-	5.9	6.9	.855
Paul Pierce	4	40.8	20.8	1.5	7.3	8.8	2.5	1.3	1.0	6.3	3.0	6.5	19.0	.342	1.3	4.3	.294	6.5	7.8	.839

Season 7
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1961-62	2004-05
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div Semis	Celtics 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 Costello	63	29.4	13.8	-	-	3.9	5.7	-	-	-	3.5	4.9	11.5	.427	-	-	-	3.9	4.7	.837
Paul Pierce	82	36.1	21.6	1.0	5.6	6.6	4.2	1.6	0.5	2.8	3.1	6.8	14.9	.455	1.3	3.6	.370	6.7	8.1	.822
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	5	33.4	14.6	-	-	3.2	5.6	-	-	-	4.2	4.4	10.2	.431	-	-	-	5.8	6.6	.879
Paul Pierce	7	39.7	22.9	1.0	6.7	7.7	4.6	1.9	1.4	2.7	2.6	6.7	13.3	.505	1.0	3.9	.259	8.4	9.7	.868

Season 8
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1962-63	2005-06
Team	Syracuse Nationals	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nationals Lost East Div 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 Costello	78	26.5	11.0	-	-	3.0	4.3	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	8.5	.432	-	-	-	3.7	4.2	.881
Paul Pierce	79	39.0	26.8	1.0	5.7	6.7	4.7	1.4	0.4	3.5	2.8	8.7	18.5	.471	1.4	4.0	.354	7.9	10.3	.772
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	5	26.8	10.2	-	-	0.8	4.6	-	-	-	5.4	3.2	7.4	.432	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.826
Paul Pierce	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1964-65	2007-08
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div 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 Costello	64	30.7	13.5	-	-	2.6	4.3	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	10.9	.445	-	-	-	3.8	4.3	.877
Paul Pierce	80	35.9	19.6	0.7	4.5	5.1	4.5	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.5	6.4	13.7	.464	1.8	4.6	.392	5.1	6.1	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	10	20.7	5.5	-	-	1.2	2.0	-	-	-	4.3	2.2	5.3	.415	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.688
Paul Pierce	26	38.1	19.7	0.8	4.2	5.0	4.6	1.1	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.3	14.2	.441	1.7	4.6	.361	5.5	6.8	.802

Note: Larry Costello didn't play in 1965-66.

Season 11
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1966-67	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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 Costello	49	19.9	7.8	-	-	2.1	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	2.7	6.0	.444	-	-	-	2.4	2.7	.902
Paul Pierce	81	37.5	20.5	0.7	5.0	5.6	3.6	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.7	6.7	14.6	.457	1.5	3.8	.391	5.7	6.8	.830
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	2	12.5	8.5	-	-	2.0	1.5	-	-	-	1.0	3.0	4.0	.750	-	-	-	2.5	2.5	1.000
Paul Pierce	14	39.7	21.0	0.3	5.5	5.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	2.4	3.1	6.8	15.8	.430	1.4	4.1	.333	6.1	7.2	.842

Season 12
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	1967-68	2009-10
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics 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 Costello	28	17.6	7.2	-	-	1.8	2.4	-	-	-	2.2	2.4	5.3	.453	-	-	-	2.4	2.9	.827
Paul Pierce	71	34.0	18.3	0.5	3.8	4.4	3.1	1.2	0.4	2.3	2.8	5.8	12.2	.472	1.5	3.7	.414	5.2	6.1	.852
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	24	38.8	18.8	0.8	5.1	6.0	3.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	3.3	6.1	14.0	.438	1.7	4.3	.392	4.9	5.9	.824

Season 13
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	-	2010-11
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 Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	80	34.7	18.9	0.4	5.0	5.4	3.3	1.0	0.6	2.1	2.9	6.3	12.8	.497	1.4	3.7	.374	4.8	5.6	.860
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	9	38.1	20.8	0.6	4.4	5.0	2.8	1.3	0.4	2.7	3.3	7.6	16.4	.459	2.3	5.2	.447	3.3	3.8	.882

Season 14
	Larry Costello	Paul Pierce
Season	-	2011-12
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics 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 Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	61	34.0	19.4	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.5	1.1	0.4	2.8	2.4	6.5	14.6	.443	1.6	4.5	.366	4.8	5.6	.852
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Costello	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	20	38.9	18.9	0.7	5.4	6.1	3.1	1.5	0.9	2.8	3.4	6.0	15.6	.386	1.4	4.4	.310	5.5	6.2	.894