LeBron vs Larry. The two best small forwards in NBA History. Some of you might read this, and wonder why this is a discussion. One of these two is CLEARLY better than the other with all due respect to the other player. It really shouldn't be a discussion at all. However, the debate still rages on in twitter threads and even on media outlets, such as First Take. So let's break down these two Greats of basketball, in terms of their scoring prowess, passing and playmaking, defense, peak performance, longevity, and playoff performance to determine who was actually better... although this should be obvious.
First up, let's talk about LeBron and Bird's ability to score the basketball. When it comes to shooting the basketball, Larry Bird has a clear edge. He was the much better jump shooter. Winning three straight 3 Point shooting contests let's you know he was lethal as a shooter. During his peak shooting season, he hit a crisp 41.4% of his shot attempts from three, on more than 3 attempts per game, which may not seem like a lot, but taking 8 threes per game in the 80s wasn't even thought of. During his prime seasons from 1983-1988, Bird shot 40% from three on 2.2 attempts. When it came to free throw shooting, Bird yet again holds a clear advantage, hovering around 90% for his career average. In 5 seasons, out of Bird's career, he shot above 90% from the charity strip. And he led the league in FT% 4 times. Free throw shooting is arguably the weakest part of LeBron's game. Being at or below average in almost every season of his career, with his best FT shooting season being 78% which is respectable. But stats aside, Bird was simply a better jump shooter. He had a fadeaway that was unblockable, being at 6'10, while shooting from behind his head. He was elite in the mid range, getting jumpshots off over contests. And his step back was lethal as well. LeBron on the other hand has a very streaky jumpshot. There are times when his jumper is falling and he seems unstoppable, but then other times where he can't buy a jumpshot in the mid range. For this season alone, he is shooting 37% on all jumpshots and 42% on mid range shots. LeBron has improved as a three ball shooter over his career and he is respectable from the outside, but all things considered, Larry Bird is clear of LeBron as a shooter.
Futhermore, let's discuss their volume as scorers. Now this is a completely different conversation because in terms of volume, LeBron completely clears Bird. Scoring volume is arguably the most important aspect of determining who the better scorer is between two players. "How much buckets do you get?" In simpler terms haha. To start simple, Bird for his career averaged 24.3 PPG while LeBron has averaged 27.1 PPG which is the 5th most in NBA History. However. Bird and LeBron played in very different eras with a very different pace. So to adjust for that, I'll be using per 75 possessions, to give an even playing field.
LeBron James Career Points per 75: 27.5✅️
Larry Bird Career Points per 75: 22.7❌️
So over their careers, LeBron was a significantly more productive scorer in terms of raw averages. But it gets deeper. Bird has never led the NBA or playoffs in scoring. LeBron has led the league in scoring once and has led the playoffs in scoring 3 times. When we breakdown their scoring volume even further, by the milestone, the gap between their scoring production widens.
LeBron, through his 19 seasons in the NBA, has averaged better than 25 points per 75 possessions in every season of his career except his rookie reason. Bird on the other hand, has only done this 3 times. In no way could you argue that Bird was a more productive scorer, or that he had a higher scoring volume.
Moving on to efficiency. Yes, Larry was the far better jump shooter than LeBron. But that doesn't solely determine efficiency. When looking at the total picture, LeBron was significantly more efficient than Bird because LeBron is one of the very best ever, at the most efficient aspect of scoring: at the basket. When we discuss non big men players, LeBron might be the most efficient driver, finisher at the Rim ever. Shooting at the basket is by far the most effective shot in basketball, and considering that LeBron has many seasons, finishing at near 80% of his shots at the Rim... there isn't much of a discussion to be had. Now yes, although Bird was the better 3 Ball shooter, he was VERY low volume from outside, only attempting 1.7 attempts from three for his career. His low volume isn't enough to make up for the efficiency gap. If Bird attempted more threes, while maintaining a good percentage, the conversation would be different. Futhermore, as we have known for many years, the best efficiency stat is known as true shooting percentage. For their careers:
LeBron: 61.3%✅️
Bird: 58.8%❌️
Now this may not seem like much of a difference, but let's show how their TS% stacked up to the League average.
LeBron: +7.4rTS✅️
Bird: +4.7rTS❌️
LeBron also had a better FG%, 2PT% and EFG% for his career over Larry Bird. By no metric, is Larry Bird the more efficient scorer over LeBron James.
So clearly, LeBron is the better scorer. His the far more productive scorer, he's far more efficient by every meaningful metric, and his longevity as a scorer is clear.
Next up let's talk about their ability to pass and playmaker for others. Now this is a harder topic to breakdown in words because there's no super accurate way to judge playmaking outside of good Ole fashioned "WATCH THE TAPE". Both LeBron and Bird was excellent, top tier passers. The two best ever at the small forwards spot easily. Both could handle the ball and initiate and offense.
Bird was excellent at making plays and setting up teammates in transition. I'd say Bird was the better passer in transition. He was the better passer out of the
post than LeBron by a good amount. Bird's awareness in the post was superb. I'd also argue Bird was better threading the needle on tight passes. And when it comes to fancy no look passes, or touch passes... Bird was incredible. Very Magic esque.
post than LeBron by a good amount. Bird's awareness in the post was superb. I'd also argue Bird was better threading the needle on tight passes. And when it comes to fancy no look passes, or touch passes... Bird was incredible. Very Magic esque.
Moving to LeBron, as a passer, he's goat tier. He's the better PNR passer for sure. And when it comes to dishing and kicking back out to open shooters..Shooters... not Many, if any, are better than LeBron James. Because LeBron is a much bigger threat to drive and finish at the basket, he forces the defense to collapse on him which leaves Shooters open. Bird could find Shooters for sure. But since he wasn't an attacker of the basket, he wasn't as effective at dishing out to Shooters. LeBron is also more willing to pass the ball in a clutch moment than Bird was. (Although many of you would say that's a bad thing). Outside of passing out to open shooters, LeBron was also much better at feeding cutting teammates than Bird. Because LeBron usually brings the ball up, he's more often in a better position to see cutting teammates than Bird was, since Bird liked to operate more in the mid range, or without the ball, or cutting himself. LeBron plays much more like a point guard, Bird plays more like a point forward. Bird was the better post passer, better passer in transition, and better at making a tight pass. However, LeBron being the fat better PNR passer, and far better at kicking put to open teammates for three hold more value as well as being better at finding cutting teammates. They aren't far off in terms of passing ability but I'd say LeBron is better.
As far as the Assists are concerned;
LeBron ASTS per 75: 7.5✅️
Bird ASTS per 75: 5.9❌️
Let's compare their AST/TO Ratio for their Careers
LeBron: 2.1✅️
Bird: 2.0❌️
In terms of playmaking, it's not close. Bron better. LeBron is a goat tier playmaker, easily top 5 ever. This is because he simple generates more offense than almost anyone outside of maybe Magic, Nash and MJ. And this stems from his insane ability to get to the basket. The pressure LeBron puts on the rim, and his gravity as a scorer, opens up far more efficient opportunities for his team to score, whether it's him scoring g for himself, or dishing to a teammate. Bird was a great playmaker as well, but he simple doesn't generate the offense that Bron can.
Moving on, let's talk about the most one sided part of this discussion. Defense.... and that's about all that needs to be said haha. But all jokes aside, LeBron is a top tier defender among non bigs, especially during his peak. One of the more versatile defenders the game has ever seen. And this isn't a knock on Larry at all. Actually, I think Larry was an underrated defender. He was always in great position, his defensive awareness was great, and he played the passing lanes extremely well, despite not being the quickest player on the court. But all that being said, it's not close. In terms of on ball 1 on 1 defense. The gap couldn't be larger. At his peak. LeBron could effectively defend 1-4. We saw him put MVP Derrick Rose in a prison cell in the 2011 playoffs. In 2012 ECF, we saw LeBron play exceptional defense against Paul Pierce, holding him to just 18PPG on 34% shooting. And even guarding KG pretty well on a few possessions. But it's not just one on one defense. LeBron for his position was a solid rim protector. His size combined with his athleticism, provided us with numerous chasedown blocks. That strength of LeBron enabled him to be a very good post defender as well. LeBron was never too great in the passing lanes however, which is an area of defense Bird had over him for sure. But when it comes to the defensive side of the court, LeBron James was elite, and much better than Bird. Switching things up, let's compare their peaks. It can be said that both LeBron James and Larry Bird both have some of the best peaks in NBA History. But who's was better? Who peaked higher? First let's establish both of their respective peaks. For Larry Bird, we can say 84' until 88' are his peak seasons. For LeBron, 09' until 13' is the easiest choice. With their peaks established, let's compare their stats per 75 possessions.
LeBron James (2009-2013)
28.9 PTS/75✅️
7.6 ASTS/75✅️
7.5 REBS/75❌️
1.7 STLS/75✅️
0.9 BLKS/75✅️
60.6 TS% (+6.7rTS)✅️
11.1 BPM✅️
Larry Bird (1984-1988)
25.2 PTS/75❌️
6.2 ASTS/75❌️
9.0 REBS/75✅️
1.6 STLS/75❌️
0.8 BLKS/75❌️
58.8 TS% (+4.7rTS)❌️
8.7 BPM❌️
Now in every statistical category, LeBron was superior to Larry Bird during their respective peaks. And this doesn't account for their Defensive contributions at all. Sure, Larry was the better shooter and rebounder... but to put it simply, LeBron scored more, assisted more, and defended on a much higher level on defense while also being more efficient. And these things matter more. There is no way you could argue Larry was a better player during his peak when compared to LeBron.
Futhermore, the next category to discuss is longevity. This was the downfall of Larry Bird as a player. When we look at the all time greatest players, he had some of the worst longevity of any of them. Bird entered the NBA as a 23 year old, in 1980 and by 1988, he was on the decline. Yes a lot of this is due to injury. But regardless of the reason, his longevity doesn't match up to LeBron because LeBron's longevity is literally the best in NBA History. He's averaged better than 25 ppg in the last 18 seasons, which is longer than Bird has even played in the NBA. Not to mention, LeBron has played at least 500 more games than Larry Bird. By no means is there a way to dispute the longevity factor.
Now let's talk about the playoffs. Where legends are made. For LeBron haters, they believe his career started and ended with the 2011 NBA Finals. But unfortunately for them, it didn't. LeBron is one of the best playoff performers in NBA History. The same cannot be said for Larry Bird. Bird on the other hand drops off in the playoffs by a large margin. LeBron was simply a way better playoff performer. And the gap between them as Finals performers couldn't be any larger.
LeBron Playoff Stats per 75
27.8 PTS/75✅️
7.0 ASTS/75✅️
8.7 REBS/75❌️
1.6 STLS/75✅️
0.9 BLK/75✅️
10.2 BPM✅️
58.3 TS% (+4.0rTS)✅️
Larry Bird Playoff Stats per 75
21.0 PTS/75❌️
5.7 ASTS/75❌️
9.1 REBS/75✅️
1.5 STLS/75❌️
0.7 BLKS/75❌️
6.9 BPM❌️
55.1 TS% (+1.4rTS)❌️
As far as the stats are concerned, LeBron was better in every statistical category outside of rebounding the basketball for their playoff careers. According to their per 75 stats, Larry Bird got worse in the playoffs in EVERY way possible. His scoring, efficiency, Assists, rebounding, steals and blocks all dropped in the playoffs. Bird is actually a bad playoff performer.
Conversely, LeBron for his career in the playoffs increased his scoring, rebounding, steals and shot blocking in the playoffs while maintaining about equal efficiency.
Moving on, let's discuss the NBA Finals. The biggest stage in the sport. LeBron has dominated in the NBA Finals outside of 2-3 poor Finals. Larry Bird was a very sub par Finals performer. In his first trip to the NBA Finals is 1981, Bird dropped 15 points a game and was outperformed by Cedric Maxwell... his own teammate. A little known fact, Larry Bird's career high in an NBA Finals game, was only 34 points, something LeBron has averaged for an entire finals series before! Bird was a career 23 ppg scorer in the NBA Finals, which is less than his career scoring average in the regular season. LeBron for his career in the Finals was a 28 ppg scorer. Which is better than his regular season average. Let's take a look at their Best Finals Performances.
LeBron 2017 NBA Finals
33.6 PPG✅️
12.0 RPG❌️
10.0 APG✅️
1.4 SPG❌️
1.0 BPG❌️
Bird 1984 NBA Finals Stats
27.4 PPG❌️
14.0 RPG✅️
3.6 APG❌️
2.1 SPG✅️
1.1 BPG✅️
In now way could you argue Bird's performance was better. LeBron outside of the 2007 and 2011 Finals, performed better better than any Bird Finals outing.
To sum it all up, LeBron James is very clear of Larry Bird as a basketball player and this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Yes, Bird was legendary. He's one of the very best to ever lace them up, but he can't see LeBron James, a Top 3 of all time lock, as a player. He can't score like LeBron, he didnt playmake like him either. He certainly couldnt defend on the level that LeBron was able to. His longevity doesn't compare to LeBron, and neither does his peak. And when it came to playoffs performance, Bird fell short or LeBron. I know old heads loathe LeBron and swear Bird was better... but that isn't reality.
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