Bill Russell vs. Ben Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Wallace 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 3 less than Ben Wallace, who played 16. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Ben Wallace had his rookie season in 1996-97. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69
Ben Wallace	16	8	1996-97 to 2011-12

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1956-57	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+14	+29.5	+13.6			+17.9	+1.7				-2.2	+5.3	+12.1	+.079				+3.0	+5.8	+.192
Ben Wallace	34	5.8	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.5	1.4	.348	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.6	.300

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
Ben Wallace	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1957-58	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+21.5	+13.5			+17.9	+2.6				-0.9	+5.3	+12.6	+.076				+2.8	+4.9	+.162
Ben Wallace	67	16.8	3.1	1.7	3.2	4.8	0.3	0.9	1.1	0.4	1.7	1.3	2.4	.518	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.5	.357

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
Ben Wallace	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1958-59	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+24	+15.8	+10.7			+14.7	+2.8				-0.1	+4.0	+9.9	+.121				+2.7	+3.2	+.242
Ben Wallace	46	26.8	6.0	3.0	5.4	8.3	0.4	1.1	2.0	0.8	2.4	2.5	4.3	.578	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	2.9	.356

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
Ben Wallace	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1959-60	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+7	+18.3	+13.4			+15.8	+2.9				-0.8	+5.4	+12.0	+.036				+2.5	+3.9	+.138
Ben Wallace	81	24.2	4.8	2.6	5.6	8.2	0.8	0.9	1.6	0.8	2.0	2.1	4.1	.503	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.4	.474

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
Ben Wallace	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1960-61	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+9.8	+10.5			+10.7	+1.9				-0.4	+4.1	+10.5	+.064				+2.3	+3.0	+.214
Ben Wallace	80	34.5	6.4	3.8	9.4	13.2	1.5	1.3	2.3	1.5	2.4	2.7	5.5	.490	0.0	0.1	.250	1.0	3.0	.336

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
Ben Wallace	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1961-62	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+4	+8.7	+11.3			+10.6	+3.1				-0.5	+4.4	+10.6	+.074				+2.6	+3.4	+.172
Ben Wallace	80	36.5	7.6	4.0	9.0	13.0	1.4	1.7	3.5	0.9	2.2	3.2	6.0	.531	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.9	.423

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:	+4	+7.2	+15.1			+10.3	+3.8				-1.1	+5.5	+12.2	+.017				+4.2	+4.2	+.290
Ben Wallace	10	40.8	7.3	4.8	11.3	16.1	1.2	1.9	2.6	1.9	2.4	2.8	5.9	.475	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	3.9	.436


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1962-63	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+5	+5.5	+9.9			+8.2	+2.9				-0.1	+3.7	+9.2	+.049				+2.5	+4.0	+.105
Ben Wallace	73	39.4	6.9	4.0	11.4	15.4	1.6	1.4	3.2	1.2	2.5	2.9	6.0	.481	0.0	0.1	.167	1.2	2.6	.450

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:	+4	+5.0	+11.4			+8.8	+3.5				-0.1	+4.3	+9.9	+.033				+2.9	+2.5	+.215
Ben Wallace	17	42.5	8.9	5.1	11.2	16.3	1.6	2.5	3.1	0.9	2.9	3.1	6.4	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	2.6	5.9	.446


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1963-64	2003-04
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	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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8th 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	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
difference:	+3	+6.9	+5.5			+12.3	+3.0				-0.4	+2.1	+4.6	+.012				+1.2	+1.9	+.060
Ben Wallace	81	37.7	9.5	4.0	8.4	12.4	1.7	1.8	3.0	1.5	2.0	3.9	9.2	.421	0.0	0.1	.125	1.8	3.6	.490

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	45.1	13.1	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	13.2	.356	-	-	-	3.7	6.7	.552
difference:	+13	+4.8	+2.8			+12.9	+2.5				-0.8	+0.7	+4.3	+.098				+1.5	+1.6	+.125
Ben Wallace	23	40.3	10.3	4.1	10.1	14.3	1.9	1.9	2.4	1.6	2.5	4.0	8.9	.454	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	5.1	.427


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1964-65	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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9th 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	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
difference:	+4	+8.3	+4.4			+11.9	+3.6				-0.5	+1.5	+3.8	+.015				+1.3	+1.4	+.145
Ben Wallace	74	36.1	9.7	3.9	8.2	12.2	1.7	1.4	2.4	1.1	2.1	4.0	8.8	.453	0.0	0.1	.111	1.8	4.1	.428

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526
difference:	+13	+7.8	+6.5			+13.9	+5.3				-1.0	+2.5	+4.0	+.046				+1.4	+2.2	+.065
Ben Wallace	25	39.0	10.0	3.8	7.5	11.3	1.0	1.7	2.4	1.2	2.6	4.1	8.5	.481	0.0	0.2	.000	1.9	4.1	.461


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1965-66	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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10th 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	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
difference:	+4	+8.2	+5.6			+11.5	+2.9				-0.8	+2.1	+6.4	+.095				+1.4	+1.6	+.135
Ben Wallace	82	35.2	7.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	1.9	1.8	2.2	1.1	2.0	2.9	5.7	.510	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	3.6	.416

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618
difference:	+1	+12.2	+14.4			+14.7	+3.3				-1.2	+5.5	+11.5	+.010				+3.5	+3.5	+.345
Ben Wallace	18	35.7	4.7	3.3	7.2	10.5	1.7	1.3	1.2	0.8	2.3	1.8	3.9	.465	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	3.7	.273


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1966-67	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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11th 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	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
difference:	+4	+5.7	+6.9			+10.3	+3.4				-1.2	+2.4	+5.2	+.001				+2.1	+2.3	+.202
Ben Wallace	77	35.0	6.4	3.9	6.7	10.7	2.4	1.4	2.0	1.3	2.0	2.5	5.5	.453	0.0	0.1	.200	1.4	3.5	.408

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635
difference:	+1	+6.4	+1.9			+12.5	+4.2				-1.7	+0.4	+4.3	+.206				+1.0	+0.4	+.135
Ben Wallace	10	36.9	8.7	2.9	6.6	9.5	1.4	1.5	1.7	1.0	1.9	3.0	5.3	.566	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	5.4	.500


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1967-68	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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12th 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	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
difference:	+6	+7.3	+7.7			+10.2	+3.1				-1.4	+2.8	+6.1	+.033				+2.2	+3.6	+.111
Ben Wallace	72	30.6	4.8	3.3	5.1	8.4	1.5	1.2	1.6	0.9	1.7	1.9	4.9	.392	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	2.3	.426

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585
difference:	+6	+22.3	+11.2			+16.3	+4.0				-1.8	+3.9	+10.2	+.106				+3.5	+5.3	+.235
Ben Wallace	13	23.4	3.2	2.5	4.0	6.5	1.2	0.6	1.1	0.5	2.0	1.3	2.5	.515	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.5	.350


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Ben Wallace
Season	1968-69	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

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13th 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	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
difference:	+21	+19.2	+7.0			+12.8	+4.1				-1.5	+2.4	+5.6	+.012				+2.1	+3.9	+.104
Ben Wallace	56	23.5	2.9	2.4	4.0	6.5	0.8	0.9	1.3	0.6	1.5	1.2	2.8	.445	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.1	.422

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506
difference:	+4	+33.5	+9.7			+17.8	+5.1				-2.7	+3.7	+9.2	+.192				+2.3	+4.1	+.506
Ben Wallace	14	12.6	1.1	1.3	1.4	2.7	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.6	0.9	.615	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.4	.000

Additional Years

* Ben Wallace played 3 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 14 to 16, from 2010 to 2012—Ben Wallace didn't play in the postseason.

Bill Russell vs. Ben Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Wallace 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years