Cross-era · careers 12 years apart

Larry Bird vs Carmelo Anthony

Larry Bird 1979-1991 · Forward Carmelo Anthony 2003-2021 · Forward

Larry Bird (1979-1991) and Carmelo Anthony (2003-2021) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 12 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Larry Bird was the higher-volume scorer (24.3 points per game to 22.4); adjusted for era they scored at 2.32× and 2.32× their league average respectively; Larry Bird was the more efficient scorer (56.5% true shooting to 54.3%). Larry Bird holds the edge on accolades — 3 MVPs, 3 championships, 2 Finals MVPs and the #10 all-time ranking to Carmelo Anthony's #63.

Career averages

Larry BirdStatCarmelo Anthony
24.3 Points / game 22.4
10.0 Rebounds / game 6.2
6.3 Assists / game 2.7
1.7 Steals / game 1.0
0.8 Blocks / game 0.5
49.4% Field goal % 44.4%
34.6% 3-point % 34.3%
88.5% Free throw % 81.6%
56.5% True shooting % 54.3%
897 Games played 1,260

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Larry BirdStatCarmelo Anthony
2.32× Points vs era avg 2.32×
2.38× Rebounds vs era avg 1.50×
2.56× Assists vs era avg 1.29×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Larry Bird's era.

Larry BirdStatCarmelo Anthony
— Offensive rating 109.9
— Defensive rating 111.0
— Net rating -1.1
— Usage % 0.2%
— Assist % 0.1%
— Rebound % 0.1%

Playoff averages

Larry BirdStatCarmelo Anthony
23.7 Points / game 23.1
10.3 Rebounds / game 6.7
6.5 Assists / game 2.5
1.8 Steals / game 1.2
0.9 Blocks / game 0.4
47.1% Field goal % 41.3%
31.6% 3-point % 28.5%
88.5% Free throw % 82.7%
164 Playoff games 83

Accolades

Larry BirdStatCarmelo Anthony
3 MVP awards 0
2 Finals MVP 0
3 Championships 0
10 All-Star selections 10
9 All-NBA 1st Team 0
#10 All-time GOAT rank #63

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