Rickey Green vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Rickey Green, 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.

Rickey Green played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Rickey Green had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, 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
Rickey Green	14	8	1977-78 to 1991-92
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1977-78	1956-57
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Rickey Green	76	14.4	4.5	0.6	0.9	1.5	2.0	0.8	0.0	1.0	1.3	1.9	4.9	.381	-	-	-	0.7	1.2	.600
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		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1978-79	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		%
Rickey Green	27	16.0	6.6	0.6	0.9	1.5	2.3	0.9	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.5	6.6	.379	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.672
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		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606

Note: Rickey Green didn't play in 1979-80.


Season 3
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1958-59
Team	Utah Jazz	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		%
Rickey Green	47	27.8	9.0	0.6	1.8	2.5	5.0	1.6	0.0	1.8	2.6	3.7	7.8	.481	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.1	.722
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		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1959-60
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Rickey Green	81	34.8	14.8	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.8	2.3	0.1	2.4	2.3	6.2	12.5	.493	0.0	0.1	.000	2.5	3.3	.765
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		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1960-61
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Rickey Green	78	35.7	14.3	0.8	2.1	2.9	8.9	2.8	0.1	2.8	2.0	5.9	12.1	.493	0.0	0.2	.154	2.4	3.0	.797
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		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1961-62
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rickey Green	81	34.2	13.2	0.7	2.1	2.8	9.2	2.7	0.2	2.1	1.9	5.4	11.2	.486	0.0	0.2	.118	2.4	2.9	.821
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		%
Rickey Green	11	36.7	14.6	0.8	2.3	3.1	9.5	1.7	0.4	2.6	1.5	5.8	13.7	.424	0.1	0.4	.250	2.9	3.9	.744
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1962-63
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rickey Green	77	31.6	13.0	0.5	2.0	2.5	7.8	1.7	0.0	2.3	1.7	4.9	10.4	.477	0.1	0.3	.300	3.0	3.5	.869
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		%
Rickey Green	10	30.2	15.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.5	1.2	0.0	2.0	2.3	5.7	10.6	.538	0.1	0.7	.143	3.5	3.8	.921
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1963-64
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rickey Green	80	25.2	11.7	0.4	1.3	1.7	5.1	1.3	0.1	1.7	1.6	4.5	9.5	.471	0.1	0.4	.172	2.7	3.1	.852
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		%
Rickey Green	4	29.8	13.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	9.5	0.5	0.0	1.3	0.3	5.3	10.8	.488	0.3	0.5	.500	2.5	2.8	.909
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1964-65
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rickey Green	81	25.8	9.6	0.5	1.5	2.0	6.7	1.4	0.0	1.6	1.3	3.7	8.0	.467	0.1	0.2	.368	2.1	2.6	.827
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		%
Rickey Green	4	18.0	6.8	0.3	1.8	2.0	6.3	0.5	0.0	1.8	1.3	2.8	5.8	.478	0.0	0.3	.000	1.3	1.5	.833
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1965-66
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rickey Green	81	13.8	4.9	0.2	0.8	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.0	1.9	4.6	.424	0.0	0.2	.211	0.9	1.0	.904
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		%
Rickey Green	7	5.4	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.1	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.3	0.3	1.1	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1966-67
Team	Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Rickey Green	63	13.8	4.6	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.0	0.6	0.0	1.0	0.6	2.0	4.2	.489	0.0	0.2	.273	0.5	0.5	.909
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		%
Rickey Green	8	13.8	3.6	0.4	1.3	1.6	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.1	1.5	3.6	.414	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1967-68
Team	Indiana Pacers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Rickey Green	69	13.4	3.5	0.1	0.7	0.8	2.6	0.7	0.0	0.9	0.9	1.4	3.3	.433	0.0	0.2	.091	0.6	0.7	.843
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		%
Rickey Green	3	10.3	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.7	1.7	0.3	2.3	.143	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1968-69
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East 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		%
Rickey Green	79	28.5	10.0	0.4	1.3	1.7	5.2	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.6	4.2	9.1	.463	0.1	0.5	.222	1.5	1.8	.830
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		%
Rickey Green	8	24.9	7.4	0.1	1.0	1.1	2.8	0.9	0.0	1.6	1.1	3.0	6.9	.436	0.4	0.5	.750	1.0	1.1	.889
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
	Rickey Green	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Rickey Green	26	14.1	4.1	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.6	0.7	0.0	0.7	1.1	1.8	4.0	.447	0.0	0.2	.250	0.5	0.7	.722
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rickey Green	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Rickey Green vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Rickey Green, 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