Bill Russell vs. John Salley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salley and Bill Russell, 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.

Bill Russell played 13 years in the NBA, 2 more than John Salley, who played 11. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while John Salley had his rookie season in 1986-87. 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
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69
John Salley	11	9	1986-87 to 1999-00

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1956-57	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 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		%
Bill Russell	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
John Salley	82	17.8	5.3	1.3	2.3	3.6	0.7	0.5	1.5	0.9	3.1	2.0	3.5	.562	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.614

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	40.9	13.9	-	-	24.4	3.2	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	14.8	.365	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	.508
John Salley	15	20.7	6.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.2	1.1	0.9	4.0	2.2	4.4	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.8	.643


Season 2
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1957-58	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Pistons 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		%
Bill Russell	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519
John Salley	82	24.4	8.5	2.0	2.9	4.9	1.4	0.6	1.7	1.5	3.6	3.1	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.2	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606
John Salley	23	27.1	7.0	2.8	4.0	6.7	0.9	0.7	1.6	1.0	3.8	2.4	4.5	.538	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	3.0	.710


Season 3
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1958-59	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	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		%
Bill Russell	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598
John Salley	67	21.8	7.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	2.9	2.5	5.0	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.692

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	11	45.1	15.5	-	-	27.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	14.5	.409	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.612
John Salley	17	23.1	8.9	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.5	0.5	1.5	0.7	3.4	3.4	5.8	.586	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.2	.667


Season 4
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1959-60	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Bill Russell	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
John Salley	82	23.3	7.2	1.9	3.5	5.4	0.8	0.6	1.9	1.2	3.4	2.5	5.0	.512	0.0	0.0	.250	2.1	3.0	.713

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	13	44.0	18.5	-	-	25.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	7.2	15.8	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.8	.707
John Salley	20	27.4	9.5	2.9	3.0	5.9	1.0	0.5	1.7	1.1	3.8	2.9	6.1	.475	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.9	.755


Season 5
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1960-61	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 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		%
Bill Russell	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
John Salley	74	22.3	7.4	1.9	2.6	4.4	0.9	0.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.4	5.1	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.5	.727

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	46.2	19.1	-	-	29.9	4.8	-	-	-	2.4	7.3	17.1	.427	-	-	-	4.5	8.6	.523
John Salley	15	20.5	7.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	0.9	3.9	2.5	4.7	.543	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.0	.600


Season 6
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1961-62	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons 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		%
Bill Russell	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
John Salley	72	24.6	9.5	1.5	2.6	4.1	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.4	3.1	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.6	.715

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	14	48.0	22.4	-	-	26.4	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.3	18.1	.458	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.726
John Salley	5	29.8	12.6	2.0	4.0	6.0	2.8	0.6	2.8	1.8	3.6	4.0	8.8	.455	0.0	0.2	.000	4.6	5.6	.821


Season 7
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1962-63	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
John Salley	51	27.9	8.3	2.2	3.9	6.1	1.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.8	3.0	6.0	.502	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.799

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	13	47.5	20.3	-	-	25.1	5.1	-	-	-	2.8	7.4	16.3	.453	-	-	-	5.5	8.4	.661
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1963-64	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bill Russell	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
John Salley	76	25.1	7.7	1.7	3.6	5.4	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	2.7	5.7	.477	0.0	0.0	.667	2.2	3.0	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	45.1	13.1	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	13.2	.356	-	-	-	3.7	6.7	.552
John Salley	5	40.2	11.0	3.2	4.8	8.0	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.2	4.2	4.4	11.4	.386	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.2	.688


Season 9
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1964-65	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
John Salley	75	26.1	7.3	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.6	1.1	1.3	3.7	2.6	5.3	.499	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.739

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1965-66	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
John Salley	42	16.0	4.4	1.1	2.2	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.6	1.3	2.6	1.5	3.3	.450	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.0	.694

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618
John Salley	16	5.3	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.6	0.4	0.7	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.4	.286

Note: John Salley didn't play in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.


Season 11
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1966-67	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
John Salley	45	6.7	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.4	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	.362	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635
John Salley	18	4.2	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.3	0.7	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.6	.700


Season 12
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1967-68	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	John Salley
Season	1968-69	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. John Salley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salley and Bill Russell, 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