Bill Russell vs. Derrick White Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Derrick White 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, 4 more than Derrick White, who played 9. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Derrick White had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Derrick White	9	6	2017-18 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1956-57	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+31	+27.1	+11.5			+18.1	+1.3				-2.5	+4.9	+11.6	+.058				+2.4	+5.2	+.208
Derrick White	17	8.2	3.2	0.3	1.2	1.5	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.9	1.9	.485	0.5	0.8	.615	0.8	1.2	.700

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:	+7	+34.9	+11.6			+24.4	+2.9				-4.1	+4.4	+12.8	+.135				+3.1	+6.1
Derrick White	3	6.0	2.3	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	.500	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1957-58	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+12.5	+6.7			+19.0	+1.0				-0.4	+2.7	+6.9	+.037				+1.9	+4.6	+.253
Derrick White	67	25.8	9.9	0.5	3.2	3.7	3.9	1.0	0.7	1.4	2.2	3.9	8.1	.479	0.7	2.1	.338	1.4	1.8	.772

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:	+2	+12.1				+21.6	+0.3				-0.3	+0.6	+4.1	+.186				+1.7	+3.6	+.125
Derrick White	7	27.3	15.1	0.1	2.9	3.0	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.1	2.4	5.9	10.7	.547	0.7	2.4	.294	2.7	3.7	.731


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1958-59	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
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:	+2	+17.9	+5.4			+19.7	+0.3				-0.1	+2.8	+6.1	+.001				+1.1	+3.0	+.255
Derrick White	68	24.7	11.3	0.5	2.8	3.3	3.5	0.6	0.9	1.3	2.2	3.7	8.1	.458	1.2	3.2	.366	2.6	3.1	.853

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
Derrick White	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1959-60	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
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:	+38	+12.9	+2.8			+21.0	+0.2				-0.3	+2.3	+3.5	+.056				+0.5	+2.1	+.239
Derrick White	36	29.6	15.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	3.5	0.7	1.0	1.3	2.5	5.2	12.6	.411	2.3	6.8	.346	2.7	3.2	.851

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
Derrick White	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1960-61	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+3	+15.0	+3.7			+20.4	+1.5				-0.3	+2.3	+5.3	+.005				+0.6	+2.9	+.314
Derrick White	75	29.3	13.2	0.5	3.0	3.5	4.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	2.3	4.5	10.7	.421	1.5	4.9	.312	2.7	3.1	.864

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:	+13	+20.8	+10.6			+26.9	+2.1				-0.4	+4.5	+9.4	+.063				+2.7	+6.4	+.301
Derrick White	23	25.4	8.5	0.3	2.7	3.0	2.7	0.9	0.6	1.3	2.0	2.8	7.7	.364	1.1	3.6	.313	1.8	2.2	.824


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1961-62	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+6	+16.9	+6.5			+20.0	+0.6				-0.5	+3.3	+7.4	+.005				+1.8	+4.0	+.280
Derrick White	82	28.3	12.4	0.6	2.9	3.6	3.9	0.7	0.9	1.2	2.2	4.3	9.2	.462	1.8	4.8	.381	2.0	2.3	.875

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:	+6	+18.3	+9.0			+23.4	+2.9				-1.6	+3.6	+8.9	+.047				+4.3	+6.4	+.186
Derrick White	20	29.7	13.4	0.7	2.3	3.0	2.1	0.6	1.0	0.9	1.9	4.7	9.2	.505	2.5	5.5	.455	1.6	1.7	.912


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1962-63	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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	+12.3	+1.6			+19.4	+0.7				-0.3	+1.3	+3.7	+.029				+1.8	+4.5	+.346
Derrick White	73	32.6	15.2	0.7	3.5	4.2	5.2	1.0	1.2	1.5	2.1	5.3	11.5	.461	2.7	6.8	.396	1.9	2.1	.901

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:	+6	+11.9	+3.6			+20.8	+1.0				-0.5	+1.7	+3.6	+.001				+3.7	+6.4	+.260
Derrick White	19	35.6	16.7	1.0	3.3	4.3	4.1	0.9	1.2	0.8	2.3	5.7	12.7	.452	3.4	8.5	.404	1.8	2.0	.921


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1963-64	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+10.7	+1.4			+20.2	+0.1				-0.6	+0.4	+1.2	+.009				+1.2	+3.4	+.289
Derrick White	76	33.9	16.4	0.9	3.6	4.5	4.8	0.9	1.1	1.7	1.8	5.6	12.6	.442	3.5	9.1	.384	1.8	2.1	.839

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:	+1	+7.4	+5.7			+22.1	+0.9				-1.3	+1.5	+0.2	+.107				+0.9	+3.4	+.309
Derrick White	11	37.7	18.8	1.3	3.8	5.1	3.5	0.6	1.1	1.2	2.0	6.2	13.4	.463	3.6	9.5	.385	2.8	3.3	.861


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Derrick White
Season	1964-65	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+72	+10.1	+2.6			+20.3	+1.0				-0.4	+0.2	+5.1	+.117				+0.4	+2.5	+.316
Derrick White	6	34.3	16.7	0.7	3.2	3.8	4.3	1.5	1.0	1.2	2.2	5.7	17.7	.321	2.7	10.5	.254	2.7	3.0	.889

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
Derrick White	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 4 seasons more than Derrick White in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1966 to 1969—Bill Russell played in 4 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those 4 extra years over Derrick White, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game

Bill Russell vs. Derrick White Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Derrick White 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

Additional Years