Dave DeBusschere vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Dave DeBusschere, 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.

Dave DeBusschere played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Dave DeBusschere had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, 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
Dave DeBusschere	12	8	1962-63 to 1973-74
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


Rookie Season
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1962-63	1956-57
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	29.4	12.7	-	-	8.7	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	5.1	11.8	.430	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.718
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	4	39.8	20.0	-	-	15.8	1.5	-	-	-	3.5	6.3	14.8	.424	-	-	-	7.5	11.0	.682
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1963-64	1957-58
Team	Detroit Pistons	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	15	20.3	8.6	-	-	7.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.1	3.5	8.9	.391	-	-	-	1.7	2.9	.581
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1964-65	1958-59
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	35.1	16.7	-	-	11.1	3.2	-	-	-	3.1	6.4	15.1	.425	-	-	-	3.9	5.5	.700
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1965-66	1959-60
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	34.1	16.4	-	-	11.6	2.6	-	-	-	3.2	6.6	16.3	.408	-	-	-	3.2	4.8	.659
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1966-67	1960-61
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	78	37.1	18.2	-	-	11.8	2.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.8	16.4	.415	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.705
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1967-68	1961-62
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	39.1	17.9	-	-	13.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	7.2	16.2	.442	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.664
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	6	43.8	19.3	-	-	16.2	2.2	-	-	-	3.8	7.5	17.7	.425	-	-	-	4.3	7.5	.578
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1968-69	1962-63
Team	Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	76	38.7	16.3	-	-	11.7	2.5	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.0	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.698
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	10	41.9	16.3	-	-	14.8	3.3	-	-	-	4.3	6.1	17.4	.351	-	-	-	4.1	5.0	.820
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1969-70	1963-64
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	33.3	14.6	-	-	10.0	2.5	-	-	-	3.1	6.2	13.7	.451	-	-	-	2.2	3.2	.688
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	19	36.9	16.1	-	-	11.6	2.4	-	-	-	3.3	6.8	16.3	.421	-	-	-	2.4	3.6	.662
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1970-71	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	81	35.7	15.6	-	-	11.1	2.7	-	-	-	2.9	6.5	15.3	.421	-	-	-	2.7	3.9	.696
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	12	40.7	16.4	-	-	13.0	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	7.0	16.8	.416	-	-	-	2.4	3.7	.659
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1971-72	1965-66
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	38.4	15.4	-	-	11.3	3.6	-	-	-	2.7	6.5	15.2	.427	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	16	38.5	16.6	-	-	12.1	2.3	-	-	-	3.2	6.8	15.1	.450	-	-	-	3.0	4.0	.750
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	1966-67
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	77	36.7	16.3	-	-	10.2	3.4	-	-	-	2.8	6.9	15.9	.435	-	-	-	2.5	3.4	.746
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	17	37.2	15.6	-	-	10.5	3.4	-	-	-	3.4	6.9	15.6	.442	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.775
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
Season	1973-74	1967-68
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	71	38.0	18.1	1.9	8.8	10.7	3.6	0.9	0.5	-	3.1	7.9	17.1	.461	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.756
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	12	33.7	12.0	2.1	6.2	8.3	3.2	0.6	0.3	-	3.0	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	1.5	2.4	.621
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
	Dave DeBusschere	Bill Russell
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Dave DeBusschere vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Dave DeBusschere, 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