Larry Bird vs. Dwyane Wade Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dwyane Wade 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, 3 less than Dwyane Wade, who played 16. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Dwyane Wade had his rookie season in 2003-04. 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
Dwyane Wade 16 13 2003-04 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16

Rookie Season
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1979-802003-04
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsHeat 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 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
Dwyane Wade 61 34.9 16.2 1.4 2.7 4.0 4.5 1.4 0.6 3.2 2.3 6.1 13.1 .465 0.3 0.9 .302 3.8 5.1 .747
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
Dwyane Wade 13 39.5 18.0 1.2 2.8 4.0 5.6 1.3 0.3 4.2 3.5 6.6 14.5 .455 0.2 0.6 .375 4.5 5.8 .787

Season 2
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1980-812004-05
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionHeat Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
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
Dwyane Wade 77 38.6 24.1 1.4 3.7 5.2 6.8 1.6 1.1 4.2 3.0 8.2 17.1 .478 0.2 0.6 .289 7.5 9.9 .762
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
Dwyane Wade 14 41.0 27.4 1.6 4.1 5.7 6.6 1.6 1.1 4.4 3.1 9.7 20.1 .484 0.1 0.7 .100 7.9 9.9 .799

Season 3
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1981-822005-06
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
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
Dwyane Wade 75 38.6 27.2 1.4 4.3 5.7 6.7 1.9 0.8 3.6 2.9 9.3 18.8 .495 0.2 1.0 .171 8.4 10.7 .783
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
Dwyane Wade 23 41.7 28.4 1.2 4.7 5.9 5.7 2.2 1.1 3.9 3.1 9.5 19.2 .497 0.6 1.6 .378 8.8 10.9 .808

Season 4
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1982-832006-07
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisHeat 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 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
Dwyane Wade 51 37.9 27.4 1.0 3.7 4.7 7.5 2.1 1.2 4.2 2.3 9.3 18.9 .491 0.4 1.5 .266 8.5 10.5 .807
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
Dwyane Wade 4 40.5 23.5 1.8 3.0 4.8 6.3 1.3 0.5 5.8 3.3 9.0 21.0 .429 0.0 1.3 .000 5.5 8.0 .688

Season 5
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1983-842007-08
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid 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 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
Dwyane Wade 51 38.3 24.6 0.9 3.3 4.2 6.9 1.7 0.7 4.4 2.7 8.6 18.4 .469 0.4 1.5 .286 6.9 9.2 .758
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
Dwyane Wade ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1984-852008-09
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsHeat 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 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
Dwyane Wade 79 38.6 30.2 1.1 3.9 5.0 7.5 2.2 1.3 3.4 2.3 10.8 22.0 .491 1.1 3.5 .317 7.5 9.8 .765
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
Dwyane Wade 7 40.7 29.1 0.6 4.4 5.0 5.3 0.9 1.6 3.6 2.9 9.7 22.1 .439 2.6 7.1 .360 7.1 8.3 .862

Season 7
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1985-862009-10
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionHeat 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 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
Dwyane Wade 77 36.3 26.6 1.4 3.5 4.8 6.5 1.8 1.1 3.3 2.4 9.3 19.6 .476 0.9 3.2 .300 6.9 9.1 .761
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
Dwyane Wade 5 42.0 33.2 1.2 4.4 5.6 6.8 1.6 1.6 5.2 3.2 12.4 22.0 .564 3.0 7.4 .405 5.4 8.0 .675

Season 8
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1986-872010-11
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsHeat Lost NBA Finals
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
Dwyane Wade 76 37.1 25.5 1.6 4.8 6.4 4.6 1.5 1.1 3.1 2.6 9.1 18.2 .500 0.8 2.7 .306 6.5 8.6 .758
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
Dwyane Wade 21 39.4 24.5 2.0 5.1 7.1 4.4 1.6 1.3 3.0 2.5 8.6 17.8 .485 0.7 2.5 .269 6.6 8.5 .777

Season 9
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1987-882011-12
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
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
Dwyane Wade 49 33.2 22.1 1.5 3.3 4.8 4.6 1.7 1.3 2.6 2.2 8.5 17.1 .497 0.3 1.1 .268 4.8 6.1 .791
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
Dwyane Wade 23 39.4 22.8 1.4 3.8 5.2 4.3 1.7 1.3 3.0 2.8 8.6 18.5 .462 0.4 1.5 .294 5.3 7.2 .729

Season 10
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1988-892012-13
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
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
Dwyane Wade 69 34.7 21.2 1.2 3.7 5.0 5.1 1.9 0.8 2.8 2.0 8.2 15.8 .521 0.2 1.0 .258 4.5 6.2 .725
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 22 35.5 15.9 1.7 2.9 4.6 4.8 1.7 1.0 2.6 2.0 6.5 14.3 .457 0.0 0.2 .250 2.7 3.6 .750

Season 11
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1989-902013-14
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st RdHeat Lost NBA Finals
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
Dwyane Wade 54 32.9 19.0 1.1 3.4 4.5 4.7 1.5 0.5 3.0 2.0 7.7 14.1 .545 0.2 0.6 .281 3.5 4.8 .733
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
Dwyane Wade 20 34.7 17.8 0.8 3.1 3.9 3.9 1.5 0.3 2.7 2.8 7.0 13.9 .500 0.5 1.2 .375 3.5 4.5 .767

Season 12
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1990-912014-15
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisDid 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 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
Dwyane Wade 62 31.8 21.5 0.9 2.6 3.5 4.8 1.2 0.3 3.4 1.7 8.2 17.5 .470 0.5 1.6 .284 4.6 6.0 .768
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
Dwyane Wade ------- --- ----------

Season 13
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season 1991-922015-16
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisHeat 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
Dwyane Wade 74 30.5 19.0 1.1 3.0 4.1 4.6 1.1 0.6 2.7 1.6 7.3 16.0 .456 0.1 0.6 .159 4.4 5.5 .793
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
Dwyane Wade 14 33.8 21.4 0.9 4.8 5.6 4.3 0.8 0.9 2.7 1.6 8.5 18.1 .469 0.9 1.6 .522 3.6 4.6 .781

Season 14
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season -2016-17
Team -Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Bulls 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 ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 60 29.9 18.3 1.1 3.5 4.5 3.8 1.4 0.7 2.3 1.9 6.9 15.9 .434 0.8 2.4 .310 3.7 4.7 .794
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 6 31.7 15.0 1.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 0.8 1.3 1.7 1.3 5.3 14.3 .372 1.0 2.8 .353 3.3 3.5 .952

Season 15
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season -2017-18
Team -Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Heat 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 ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 67 22.9 11.4 0.7 3.0 3.8 3.4 0.9 0.7 2.1 1.9 4.5 10.2 .438 0.5 1.7 .288 2.0 2.8 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 5 25.4 16.6 0.6 3.6 4.2 3.6 1.4 0.2 2.2 2.2 6.2 14.0 .443 0.0 0.8 .000 4.2 5.2 .808

Season 16
Larry Bird Dwyane Wade
Season -2018-19
Team -Miami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -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 ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade 72 26.2 15.0 1.0 3.0 4.0 4.2 0.8 0.5 2.3 1.6 5.8 13.3 .433 1.2 3.6 .330 2.3 3.2 .708
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Larry Bird ------- --- ----------
Dwyane Wade ------- --- ----------
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