Spencer Haywood vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Spencer Haywood, 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.

Spencer Haywood played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Spencer Haywood had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, 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
Spencer Haywood	12	4	1970-71 to 1982-83
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1970-71	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	33	35.2	20.6	-	-	12.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	7.9	17.5	.449	-	-	-	4.8	6.6	.734
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1971-72	1957-58
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	73	43.4	26.2	-	-	12.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.8	9.8	21.3	.461	-	-	-	6.6	8.0	.819
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	1958-59
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	77	42.3	29.2	-	-	12.9	2.5	-	-	-	2.8	11.5	24.3	.476	-	-	-	6.1	7.3	.839
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1973-74	1959-60
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	75	40.5	23.5	4.2	9.2	13.4	3.2	0.9	1.4	-	2.6	9.3	20.3	.457	-	-	-	5.0	6.1	.814
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1974-75	1960-61
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics 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		%
Spencer Haywood	68	37.2	22.4	2.9	6.4	9.3	2.0	0.8	1.6	-	2.5	8.9	19.5	.459	-	-	-	4.5	5.6	.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		%
Spencer Haywood	9	37.4	15.7	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.0	0.8	1.2	-	3.2	5.2	14.6	.359	-	-	-	5.2	6.8	.770
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1975-76	1961-62
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	78	37.1	19.9	3.0	8.3	11.3	1.2	0.7	1.0	-	3.3	7.8	17.4	.445	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.757
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1976-77	1962-63
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	31	32.9	16.5	2.5	6.5	9.0	1.6	0.5	0.9	-	2.3	6.5	14.5	.450	-	-	-	3.5	4.2	.832
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1977-78	1963-64
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Spencer Haywood	67	26.3	13.7	2.1	4.5	6.6	1.9	0.6	1.1	2.1	2.8	6.1	12.7	.484	-	-	-	1.4	2.0	.711
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		%
Spencer Haywood	6	29.5	16.2	3.2	3.8	7.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	1.7	4.0	7.2	14.2	.506	-	-	-	1.8	1.8	1.000
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1978-79	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	68	34.7	20.9	2.5	5.3	7.8	1.9	0.6	1.2	2.9	3.5	8.8	17.7	.494	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.791
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1979-80	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
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		%
Spencer Haywood	76	20.3	9.7	1.7	2.8	4.6	1.2	0.5	0.8	1.8	2.6	3.8	7.8	.487	0.0	0.1	.250	2.1	2.7	.772
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		%
Spencer Haywood	11	13.2	5.7	1.3	1.1	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.5	1.8	1.5	2.3	4.8	.472	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.5	.813
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618

Note: Spencer Haywood didn't play in 1980-81.


Season 11
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1966-67
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Spencer Haywood	76	27.4	13.3	1.9	3.7	5.6	0.8	0.6	0.9	2.3	3.3	5.2	10.9	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	3.4	.842
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		%
Spencer Haywood	7	33.0	20.0	2.3	3.3	5.6	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.1	4.0	8.1	16.4	.496	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.0	.743
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
	Spencer Haywood	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1967-68
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	38	20.4	8.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.8	0.3	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.3	8.2	.401	0.0	0.0	.000	1.7	2.3	.724
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Spencer Haywood	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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Spencer Haywood	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Spencer Haywood vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Spencer Haywood, 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