Bill Russell vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis 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.

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, 6 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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 achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1956-57	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+25	+11.5	+0.2			+11.5					-0.1	+0.4	+3.6	+.118					+2.2	+.265
Arvydas Sabonis	73	23.8	14.5	2.0	6.0	8.1	1.8	0.9	1.1	2.1	2.9	5.4	9.9	.545	0.5	1.4	.375	3.2	4.2	.757
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
difference:	+5	+5.5	+9.7			+14.2	+1.4				-0.7	+1.6	+1.4	+.067				+5.5	+5.9	+.209
Arvydas Sabonis	5	35.4	23.6	2.4	7.8	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.4	7.0	16.2	.432	1.0	1.8	.556	8.6	12.0	.717

Season 2
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1957-58	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:		+12.8	+3.2			+14.8	+0.8				-0.3	+1.8	+5.5	+.056				+0.1	+2.2	+.258
Arvydas Sabonis	69	25.5	13.4	1.7	6.3	7.9	2.1	0.9	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.8	9.5	.498	0.7	1.9	.371	3.2	4.2	.777
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
difference:	+5	+12.6	+3.8			+18.1	+0.4				-2.1	+0.8	+4.3	+.068				+2.6	+5.3	+.269
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	11.3	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.3	0.8	0.8	2.3	4.8	4.5	10.5	.429	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.0	.875

Season 3
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1958-59	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+3	+10.6	+0.7			+13.0	+0.2				-1.4	+0.9	+2.9	+.036				+0.7	+0.6	+.200
Arvydas Sabonis	73	32.0	16.0	2.0	7.9	10.0	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.6	3.7	5.6	11.3	.493	0.4	1.6	.261	4.4	5.5	.798
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
difference:	+7	+18.3	+3.2			+19.9	+2.1				-2.3	+1.4	+4.5	+.041				+0.7	+2.6	+.245
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	12.3	1.8	6.0	7.8	1.5	1.8	0.8	2.5	4.8	4.5	10.0	.450	0.3	0.5	.500	3.0	3.5	.857

Season 4
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1959-60	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+24	+15.5	+6.1			+16.1	+1.3				-0.1	+2.9	+6.5	+.018				+0.5	+1.8	+.159
Arvydas Sabonis	50	27.0	12.1	1.8	6.1	7.9	2.4	0.7	1.3	1.7	2.9	4.6	9.6	.485	0.1	0.5	.292	2.7	3.5	.771
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
difference:		+13.9	+8.5			+17.0	+0.7				-0.2	+3.7	+7.1	+.058				+1.1	+2.5	+.200
Arvydas Sabonis	13	30.1	10.0	0.9	7.8	8.8	2.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	2.7	3.5	8.7	.398	0.1	0.4	.200	3.0	3.3	.907

Season 5
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1960-61	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+12	+18.7	+5.1			+16.1	+1.6				-0.8	+2.2	+6.9	+.079				+0.8	+3.0	+.293
Arvydas Sabonis	66	25.6	11.8	1.5	6.3	7.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.8	4.6	9.1	.505	0.1	0.3	.368	2.5	3.0	.843
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
difference:	+6	+15.4	+7.8			+23.2	+2.9				-1.3	+3.0	+7.7	+.026				+2.1	+5.5	+.273
Arvydas Sabonis	16	30.8	11.3	1.2	5.5	6.7	1.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	3.7	4.3	9.4	.453	0.4	1.3	.286	2.4	3.1	.796

Season 6
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1961-62	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+15	+23.9	+8.8			+18.2	+3.0				-0.5	+3.6	+8.1	+.022				+1.8	+3.7	+.181
Arvydas Sabonis	61	21.3	10.1	0.8	4.6	5.4	1.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.2	4.0	8.5	.479	0.0	0.2	.067	2.0	2.6	.776
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
difference:	+11	+13.0	+11.1			+18.1	+2.3				-0.5	+3.6	+8.4	+.025				+3.9	+5.4	+.024
Arvydas Sabonis	3	35.0	11.3	2.7	5.7	8.3	2.7	0.3	2.3	0.7	4.0	4.7	9.7	.483	0.0	0.7	.000	2.0	2.7	.750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7
	Bill Russell	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1962-63	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:		+29.4	+10.7			+19.3	+2.7				-0.6	+4.4	+10.6	+.044				+2.0	+4.5	+.232
Arvydas Sabonis	78	15.5	6.1	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.2	4.6	.476	0.0	0.1	.500	1.7	2.1	.787
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
difference:	+7	+33.0	+10.3			+21.1	+4.3				-0.5	+3.4	+10.3	+.214				+3.5	+5.9	+.139
Arvydas Sabonis	6	14.5	10.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.3	4.0	6.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800

Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 6 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 13, from 1964 to 1969—Bill Russell played in 6 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships. In those 6 extra years over Arvydas Sabonis, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 4 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 Rebounds Leader 6 All-Star Game