Clyde Drexler vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Clyde Drexler, 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.

Clyde Drexler played 15 years in the NBA, 2 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Clyde Drexler had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, 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
Clyde Drexler	15	15	1983-84 to 1997-98
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


Rookie Season
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1956-57
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	17.2	7.7	1.4	1.5	2.9	1.9	1.3	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.1	6.8	.451	0.0	0.0	.250	1.5	2.1	.728
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		%
Clyde Drexler	5	17.0	7.2	1.4	2.0	3.4	1.6	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.2	3.0	7.0	.429	0.0	0.2	.000	1.2	1.4	.857
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1957-58
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 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		%
Clyde Drexler	80	31.9	17.2	2.7	3.2	6.0	5.5	2.2	0.9	2.8	3.3	7.2	14.5	.494	0.1	0.5	.216	2.8	3.7	.759
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		%
Clyde Drexler	9	37.7	16.7	3.0	3.1	6.1	9.2	2.6	1.0	3.2	4.1	6.1	14.9	.410	0.2	0.8	.286	4.2	5.0	.844
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1958-59
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	75	34.3	18.5	2.3	3.3	5.6	8.0	2.6	0.6	3.8	3.6	7.2	15.2	.475	0.2	0.8	.200	3.9	5.1	.769
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	36.3	18.0	2.3	4.0	6.3	6.5	1.5	0.8	4.8	4.8	6.5	14.3	.456	0.5	1.3	.400	4.5	5.8	.783
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1959-60
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	38.0	21.7	2.8	3.5	6.3	6.9	2.5	0.9	3.1	3.4	8.6	17.2	.502	0.1	0.6	.234	4.4	5.7	.760
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	38.3	24.0	4.0	3.5	7.5	3.8	1.8	0.8	1.5	4.0	9.0	19.8	.456	0.3	1.0	.250	5.8	7.3	.793
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1960-61
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	81	37.8	27.0	3.2	3.4	6.6	5.8	2.5	0.6	2.9	3.1	10.5	20.7	.506	0.1	0.6	.212	5.9	7.2	.811
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	42.5	22.0	3.0	4.0	7.0	5.3	3.0	0.5	3.0	3.5	8.0	20.8	.386	0.8	1.5	.500	5.3	7.3	.724
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1961-62
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	78	39.3	27.2	3.7	4.2	7.9	5.8	2.7	0.7	3.2	3.4	10.6	21.4	.496	0.3	1.3	.260	5.6	7.0	.799
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		%
Clyde Drexler	3	42.7	27.7	4.3	2.3	6.7	8.3	2.0	0.7	4.0	3.7	11.7	23.7	.493	0.0	0.7	.000	4.3	5.7	.765
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1962-63
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	73	36.8	23.3	2.8	4.1	6.9	5.9	2.0	0.7	2.6	3.0	9.2	18.6	.494	0.4	1.5	.283	4.6	5.9	.774
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		%
Clyde Drexler	21	40.6	21.4	3.0	4.2	7.2	7.1	2.5	0.9	3.2	3.4	8.2	18.6	.441	0.4	2.0	.220	4.6	5.9	.774
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1963-64
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	34.8	21.5	2.6	4.1	6.7	6.0	1.8	0.7	2.8	2.8	7.9	16.3	.482	0.7	2.3	.319	5.1	6.4	.794
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		%
Clyde Drexler	16	39.6	21.7	2.5	5.6	8.1	8.1	2.1	1.0	3.8	3.5	8.0	16.8	.476	0.9	3.5	.268	4.8	6.1	.776
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1964-65
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	76	36.2	25.0	2.2	4.4	6.6	6.7	1.8	0.9	3.2	3.0	9.1	19.4	.470	1.5	4.4	.337	5.3	6.6	.794
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		%
Clyde Drexler	21	40.3	26.3	2.9	4.5	7.4	7.0	1.5	1.0	2.8	3.7	9.4	20.2	.466	0.9	3.9	.235	6.6	8.1	.807
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1965-66
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	49	34.1	19.9	2.6	3.7	6.3	5.7	1.9	0.8	2.3	3.2	7.1	16.7	.429	0.6	2.7	.233	5.0	6.0	.839
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		%
Clyde Drexler	3	38.7	19.0	2.7	3.7	6.3	4.7	1.7	1.0	1.0	3.0	6.0	14.3	.419	1.7	4.0	.417	5.3	6.7	.800
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1966-67
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Clyde Drexler	68	34.3	19.2	2.3	4.3	6.5	4.9	1.4	0.5	2.5	3.0	7.0	16.3	.428	1.0	3.2	.324	4.2	5.4	.777
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	39.3	21.0	2.5	7.8	10.3	5.5	2.0	0.5	2.3	1.8	7.8	18.3	.425	0.8	3.3	.231	4.8	5.8	.826
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1994-95	1967-68
Team	Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	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		%
Clyde Drexler	76	35.9	21.8	2.0	4.3	6.3	4.8	1.8	0.6	2.4	2.7	7.5	16.3	.461	1.9	5.4	.360	4.8	5.8	.824
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		%
Clyde Drexler	22	38.6	20.5	2.0	5.0	7.0	5.0	1.5	0.7	2.0	3.1	7.0	14.6	.481	1.4	4.5	.303	5.0	6.4	.786
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1995-96	1968-69
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Clyde Drexler	52	38.4	19.3	1.9	5.3	7.2	5.8	2.0	0.5	2.6	2.9	6.4	14.7	.433	1.5	4.5	.332	5.1	6.5	.784
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		%
Clyde Drexler	8	36.5	16.6	1.9	5.9	7.8	5.0	2.6	0.5	2.5	2.8	6.1	14.8	.415	1.1	4.3	.265	3.3	4.3	.765
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
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1996-97	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	62	36.6	18.0	1.9	4.1	6.0	5.7	1.9	0.6	2.5	2.4	6.4	14.5	.442	1.9	5.4	.355	3.2	4.3	.750
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	16	39.1	18.1	1.6	4.0	5.6	4.8	1.6	0.4	2.3	3.3	6.6	15.1	.436	2.4	6.4	.373	2.6	3.4	.778
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Clyde Drexler	Bill Russell
Season	1997-98	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
Clyde Drexler	70	35.3	18.4	1.5	3.4	4.9	5.5	1.8	0.6	2.7	2.8	6.5	15.1	.427	1.5	4.8	.317	4.0	4.9	.801
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	5	36.4	15.0	1.8	3.6	5.4	4.6	1.6	0.6	2.6	3.0	4.2	13.6	.309	1.0	5.2	.192	5.6	7.4	.757
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Clyde Drexler vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Clyde Drexler, 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