Kevin Durant vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kevin Durant, 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.

Kevin Durant played 16 years in the NBA, 3 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Kevin Durant had the first of his seasons in 2007-08, while Bill Russell had his rookie season in 1956-57. 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
Kevin Durant	16	13	2007-08 to 2023-24
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

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
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Durant	80	34.6	20.3	0.9	3.5	4.4	2.4	1.0	0.9	2.9	1.5	7.3	17.1	.430	0.7	2.6	.288	4.9	5.6	.873
Bill Russell	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	10	40.9	13.9	-	-	24.4	3.2	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	14.8	.365	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	.508


Season 2
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1957-58
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Kevin Durant	74	39.0	25.3	1.0	5.5	6.5	2.8	1.3	0.7	3.0	1.8	8.9	18.8	.476	1.3	3.1	.422	6.1	7.1	.863
Bill Russell	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606


Season 3
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1958-59
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Durant	82	39.5	30.1	1.3	6.3	7.6	2.8	1.4	1.0	3.3	2.1	9.7	20.3	.476	1.6	4.3	.365	9.2	10.2	.900
Bill Russell	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	6	38.5	25.0	1.3	6.3	7.7	2.3	0.5	1.3	3.7	2.8	7.2	20.5	.350	1.7	5.8	.286	9.0	10.3	.871
Bill Russell	11	45.1	15.5	-	-	27.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	14.5	.409	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.612


Season 4
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1959-60
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Kevin Durant	78	38.9	27.7	0.7	6.1	6.8	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.8	2.0	9.1	19.7	.462	1.9	5.3	.350	7.6	8.7	.880
Bill Russell	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	17	42.5	28.6	1.1	7.1	8.2	2.8	0.9	1.1	2.5	3.1	9.1	20.3	.449	2.2	6.4	.339	8.2	9.8	.838
Bill Russell	13	44.0	18.5	-	-	25.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	7.2	15.8	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.8	.707


Season 5
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1960-61
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA 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		%
Kevin Durant	66	38.6	28.0	0.6	7.4	8.0	3.5	1.3	1.2	3.8	2.0	9.7	19.7	.496	2.0	5.2	.387	6.5	7.6	.860
Bill Russell	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	20	41.9	28.5	0.7	6.8	7.4	3.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.6	9.9	19.2	.517	2.1	5.5	.373	6.7	7.7	.864
Bill Russell	10	46.2	19.1	-	-	29.9	4.8	-	-	-	2.4	7.3	17.1	.427	-	-	-	4.5	8.6	.523


Season 6
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1961-62
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	28.1	0.6	7.3	7.9	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.5	1.8	9.0	17.7	.510	1.7	4.1	.416	8.4	9.3	.905
Bill Russell	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	11	44.1	30.8	0.6	8.4	9.0	6.3	1.3	1.1	3.9	2.4	10.2	22.4	.455	2.0	6.4	.314	8.5	10.2	.830
Bill Russell	14	48.0	22.4	-	-	26.4	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.3	18.1	.458	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.726


Season 7
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1962-63
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	32.0	0.7	6.7	7.4	5.5	1.3	0.7	3.5	2.1	10.5	20.8	.503	2.4	6.1	.391	8.7	9.9	.873
Bill Russell	78	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	19	42.9	29.6	1.3	7.6	8.9	3.9	1.0	1.3	3.8	2.2	10.2	22.2	.460	2.3	6.6	.344	6.9	8.6	.810
Bill Russell	13	47.5	20.3	-	-	25.1	5.1	-	-	-	2.8	7.4	16.3	.453	-	-	-	5.5	8.4	.661


Season 8
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1963-64
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Durant	27	33.8	25.4	0.6	6.0	6.6	4.1	0.9	0.9	2.7	1.5	8.8	17.3	.510	2.4	5.9	.403	5.4	6.3	.854
Bill Russell	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	10	45.1	13.1	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	13.2	.356	-	-	-	3.7	6.7	.552


Season 9
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1964-65
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	72	35.8	28.2	0.6	7.6	8.2	5.0	1.0	1.2	3.5	1.9	9.7	19.2	.505	2.6	6.7	.387	6.2	6.9	.898
Bill Russell	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	18	40.3	28.4	0.7	6.4	7.1	3.3	1.0	1.0	3.6	2.1	9.7	22.6	.430	1.7	6.1	.282	7.2	8.1	.890
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526


Season 10
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1965-66
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA 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		%
Kevin Durant	62	33.4	25.1	0.6	7.6	8.3	4.8	1.1	1.6	2.2	1.9	8.9	16.5	.537	1.9	5.0	.375	5.4	6.2	.875
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	15	35.5	28.5	1.1	6.9	7.9	4.3	0.8	1.3	2.5	2.6	9.9	17.9	.556	2.5	5.7	.442	6.1	6.9	.893
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618


Season 11
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1966-67
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	68	34.2	26.4	0.5	6.4	6.8	5.4	0.7	1.8	3.0	2.0	9.3	18.0	.516	2.5	6.1	.419	5.3	5.9	.889
Bill Russell	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	21	38.4	29.0	0.6	7.1	7.8	4.7	0.7	1.2	2.4	2.0	10.1	20.7	.487	2.2	6.6	.341	6.5	7.2	.901
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635


Season 12
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1967-68
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA 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		%
Kevin Durant	78	34.6	26.0	0.4	5.9	6.4	5.9	0.7	1.1	2.9	2.0	9.2	17.7	.521	1.8	5.0	.353	5.7	6.5	.885
Bill Russell	78	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	12	36.8	32.3	0.1	4.8	4.9	4.5	1.1	1.0	3.6	3.2	10.4	20.3	.514	2.9	6.7	.438	8.5	9.4	.903
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585

Note: Kevin Durant didn't play in 2019-20.


Season 13
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1968-69
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	35	33.1	26.9	0.4	6.7	7.1	5.6	0.7	1.3	3.4	2.0	9.3	17.2	.537	2.4	5.4	.450	6.0	6.8	.882
Bill Russell	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	12	40.4	34.3	0.4	8.8	9.3	4.4	1.5	1.6	3.5	2.6	12.1	23.5	.514	2.8	6.8	.402	7.3	8.4	.871
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506


Season 14
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	-
Team	Brooklyn Nets	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets 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		%
Kevin Durant	55	37.2	29.9	0.5	6.9	7.4	6.4	0.9	0.9	3.5	2.1	10.5	20.3	.518	2.1	5.5	.383	6.8	7.4	.910
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	4	44.0	26.3	0.5	5.3	5.8	6.3	1.0	0.3	5.3	3.8	8.0	20.8	.386	1.8	5.3	.333	8.5	9.5	.895
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	-
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	47	35.6	29.1	0.4	6.3	6.7	5.0	0.7	1.4	3.3	2.1	10.3	18.3	.560	2.0	4.9	.404	6.5	7.1	.919
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	11	42.4	29.0	0.6	8.1	8.7	5.5	0.8	1.4	3.5	2.6	9.7	20.4	.478	1.5	4.6	.333	8.0	8.7	.917
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Kevin Durant	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Cup All-Tournament Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	75	37.2	27.1	0.5	6.1	6.6	5.0	0.9	1.2	3.3	1.8	10.0	19.1	.523	2.2	5.4	.413	4.8	5.6	.856
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	4	42.0	26.8	0.3	6.3	6.5	3.3	0.5	1.5	2.5	2.0	9.3	16.8	.552	1.3	3.0	.417	7.0	8.5	.824
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Kevin Durant vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kevin Durant, 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

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16