Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, 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.

Wilt Chamberlain played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Wilt Chamberlain had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, 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
Wilt Chamberlain	14	13	1959-60 to 1972-73
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


Rookie Season
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1959-60	1956-57
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	72	46.4	37.6	-	-	27.0	2.3	-	-	-	2.1	14.8	32.1	.461	-	-	-	8.0	13.8	.582
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	9	46.1	33.2	-	-	25.8	2.1	-	-	-	1.9	13.9	28.0	.496	-	-	-	5.4	12.2	.445
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1960-61	1957-58
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	79	47.8	38.4	-	-	27.2	1.9	-	-	-	1.6	15.8	31.1	.509	-	-	-	6.7	13.3	.504
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	3	48.0	37.0	-	-	23.0	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	15.0	32.0	.469	-	-	-	7.0	12.7	.553
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1961-62	1958-59
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	48.5	50.4	-	-	25.7	2.4	-	-	-	1.5	20.0	39.5	.506	-	-	-	10.4	17.0	.613
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	48.0	35.0	-	-	26.6	3.1	-	-	-	2.3	13.5	28.9	.467	-	-	-	8.0	12.6	.636
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1962-63	1959-60
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	47.6	44.8	-	-	24.3	3.4	-	-	-	1.7	18.3	34.6	.528	-	-	-	8.3	13.9	.593
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1963-64	1960-61
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	46.1	36.9	-	-	22.3	5.0	-	-	-	2.3	15.1	28.7	.524	-	-	-	6.8	12.7	.531
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	46.5	34.7	-	-	25.2	3.3	-	-	-	2.3	14.6	26.8	.543	-	-	-	5.5	11.6	.475
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1964-65	1961-62
Team	San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	73	45.2	34.7	-	-	22.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	14.6	28.5	.510	-	-	-	5.6	12.1	.464
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	11	48.7	29.3	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	2.6	11.2	21.1	.530	-	-	-	6.9	12.4	.559
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1965-66	1962-63
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	79	47.3	33.5	-	-	24.6	5.2	-	-	-	2.2	13.6	25.2	.540	-	-	-	6.3	12.4	.513
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	5	48.0	28.0	-	-	30.2	3.0	-	-	-	2.0	11.2	22.0	.509	-	-	-	5.6	13.6	.412
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1966-67	1963-64
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	81	45.5	24.1	-	-	24.2	7.8	-	-	-	1.8	9.7	14.2	.683	-	-	-	4.8	10.8	.441
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	15	47.9	21.7	-	-	29.1	9.0	-	-	-	2.5	8.8	15.2	.579	-	-	-	4.1	10.7	.388
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1967-68	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	Assists Leader	-
	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	46.8	24.3	-	-	23.8	8.6	-	-	-	2.0	10.0	16.8	.595	-	-	-	4.3	11.4	.380
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	13	48.5	23.7	-	-	24.7	6.5	-	-	-	2.2	9.5	17.8	.534	-	-	-	4.6	12.2	.380
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1968-69	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	81	45.3	20.5	-	-	21.1	4.5	-	-	-	1.8	7.9	13.6	.583	-	-	-	4.7	10.6	.446
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	18	46.2	13.9	-	-	24.7	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	5.3	9.8	.545	-	-	-	3.2	8.2	.392
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1969-70	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	42.1	27.3	-	-	18.4	4.1	-	-	-	2.6	10.8	18.9	.568	-	-	-	5.8	13.1	.446
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	18	47.3	22.1	-	-	22.2	4.5	-	-	-	2.3	8.8	16.0	.549	-	-	-	4.6	11.2	.406
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1970-71	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	44.3	20.7	-	-	18.2	4.3	-	-	-	2.1	8.1	15.0	.545	-	-	-	4.4	8.2	.538
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	46.2	18.3	-	-	20.2	4.4	-	-	-	2.8	7.1	15.6	.455	-	-	-	4.2	8.1	.515
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585


Season 13
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1971-72	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	42.3	14.8	-	-	19.2	4.0	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	9.3	.649	-	-	-	2.7	6.4	.422
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	15	46.9	14.7	-	-	21.0	3.3	-	-	-	3.1	5.3	9.5	.563	-	-	-	4.0	8.1	.492
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	43.2	13.2	-	-	18.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.3	5.2	7.1	.727	-	-	-	2.8	5.5	.510
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	17	47.1	10.4	-	-	22.5	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	3.8	6.8	.552	-	-	-	2.9	5.8	.500
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, 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