Bill Russell vs. John Starks Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Starks 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 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 and John Starks both played 13 years in the NBA. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while John Starks had his rookie season in 1988-89. 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
John Starks	13	9	1988-89 to 2001-02

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1956-57	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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:	+12	+26.5	+10.6			+18.5	+1.0				-2.0	+4.4	+10.0	+.019				+2.3	+5.0	+.162
John Starks	36	8.8	4.1	0.4	0.7	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.1	1.1	1.0	1.4	3.5	.408	0.3	0.7	.385	0.9	1.4	.654

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
John Starks	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: John Starks didn't play in 1989-90.


Season 2
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1957-58	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East 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:	+8	+19.1	+9.0			+20.6	+0.4				-0.4	+3.6	+8.3	+.003				+2.0	+4.7	+.233
John Starks	61	19.2	7.6	0.5	1.7	2.1	3.3	1.0	0.3	1.2	2.2	3.0	6.7	.439	0.4	1.5	.290	1.3	1.7	.752

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:	+6	+30.1	+13.1			+23.6	+0.7				-1.4	+4.6	+13.1	+.039				+3.7	+6.6	+.394
John Starks	3	9.3	2.0	0.3	0.7	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.3	0.7	1.7	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 3
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1958-59	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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:	+12	+16.8	+2.8			+20.7	+0.2				-0.5	+1.6	+3.2	+.008				+0.8	+2.4	+.180
John Starks	82	25.8	13.9	0.5	1.8	2.3	3.4	1.3	0.2	1.8	2.8	4.9	11.0	.449	1.1	3.3	.348	2.9	3.7	.778

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:	+1	+20.5	+3.4			+25.2	+0.4				-1.3	+2.1	+4.2	+.035				+0.2	+1.8	+.196
John Starks	12	24.6	12.1	0.6	1.9	2.5	3.2	1.4	0.0	1.8	3.8	3.8	10.3	.374	0.9	3.8	.239	3.5	4.3	.808


Season 4
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1959-60	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East 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:	+6	+11.5	+0.7			+21.4	+1.4				-0.1	+1.1	+1.1	+.039				+0.1	+1.2	+.183
John Starks	80	31.0	17.5	0.7	1.9	2.6	5.1	1.1	0.2	2.2	2.9	6.4	15.0	.428	1.4	4.2	.321	3.3	4.1	.795

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:	+2	+5.7	+2.0			+22.3	+3.5				-0.9	+1.3	+2.5	+.016				+1.2	+1.8	+.010
John Starks	15	38.3	16.5	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.4	1.0	0.2	3.7	3.8	5.9	13.3	.440	1.9	5.0	.373	2.9	4.0	.717


Season 5
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1960-61	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost NBA 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:	+19	+9.4	+2.1			+20.8	+2.5				-1.2	+0.1	+0.6	+.006				+0.1	+1.8	+.204
John Starks	59	34.9	19.0	0.6	2.5	3.1	5.9	1.6	0.1	3.1	3.2	6.9	16.6	.420	1.9	5.7	.335	3.2	4.2	.754

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:	+15	+12.6	+4.5			+27.6	+0.2				-1.0	+2.9	+5.5	+.046				+0.6	+3.6	+.247
John Starks	25	33.6	14.6	0.4	2.0	2.3	4.6	1.4	0.1	2.3	3.4	4.4	11.6	.381	1.9	5.3	.356	3.9	5.0	.770


Season 6
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1961-62	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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:	+4	+11.1	+3.6			+20.9	+0.6				-0.5	+2.4	+3.3	+.062				+1.7	+3.4	+.142
John Starks	80	34.1	15.3	0.4	2.3	2.7	5.1	1.2	0.1	2.0	3.2	5.2	13.3	.395	2.7	7.6	.355	2.1	2.9	.737

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:	+3	+13.5	+6.8			+24.1	+0.2				-0.1	+3.0	+6.4	+.008				+3.5	+4.3	+.107
John Starks	11	34.5	15.6	0.2	2.1	2.3	5.2	1.2	0.1	2.4	3.6	5.3	11.7	.450	2.7	6.6	.411	2.4	3.8	.619


Season 7
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1962-63	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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:	+3	+14.1	+4.2			+20.7	+0.6				-0.4	+2.0	+4.8	+.011				+2.1	+4.5	+.198
John Starks	81	30.8	12.6	0.4	2.5	2.9	3.9	1.3	0.1	1.9	2.8	4.6	10.4	.443	1.8	4.9	.361	1.6	2.1	.753

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:	+5	+8.2	+4.3			+21.5	+1.0				-0.5	+2.5	+5.4	+.005				+1.9	+3.5	+.083
John Starks	8	39.3	16.0	0.4	3.3	3.6	4.1	1.6	0.1	3.1	3.3	4.9	10.9	.448	2.6	5.6	.467	3.6	4.9	.744


Season 8
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1963-64	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+1	+18.1	+1.2			+22.0	+1.9				-0.1	+1.2	+2.7	+.002				+0.8	+2.6	+.219
John Starks	77	26.5	13.8	0.5	2.2	2.7	2.8	1.2	0.1	2.1	2.5	4.8	11.1	.431	1.9	5.3	.369	2.2	2.9	.769

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	+16.8	+0.9			+23.8	+1.6				-0.5	+0.2	+2.2	+.088				+0.9	+3.3	+.254
John Starks	9	28.3	14.0	0.8	2.7	3.4	2.8	1.1	0.0	2.2	2.8	4.9	11.0	.444	1.4	4.6	.317	2.8	3.4	.806


Season 9
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1964-65	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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	+17.7	+1.2			+21.3	+2.6				-0.1	+1.0	+1.1	+.045				+0.8	+2.6	+.214
John Starks	82	26.7	12.9	0.6	2.2	2.8	2.7	1.0	0.1	1.7	2.5	4.5	11.5	.393	1.6	4.9	.327	2.3	2.9	.787

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:	+2	+15.4	+0.1			+21.2	+4.0				-0.1	+0.7		+.055				+1.2	+3.9	+.349
John Starks	10	31.4	16.4	0.4	3.6	4.0	2.3	1.6	0.1	1.1	3.5	5.9	12.5	.472	2.5	5.9	.424	2.1	2.4	.875


Season 10
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1965-66	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+28	+9.7	+0.9			+19.5	+0.1				-0.1	+0.4	+2.5	+.045				+1.4	+3.2	+.189
John Starks	50	33.7	13.8	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.7	1.4	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.4	14.6	.370	1.6	5.4	.290	1.5	2.0	.740

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
John Starks	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1966-67	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+44	+8.5	+0.6			+18.3	+0.9				-0.4	+0.6	+3.9	+.079				+2.1	+4.2	+.237
John Starks	37	32.2	13.9	0.3	2.5	2.7	4.9	1.1	0.1	1.8	2.8	5.5	14.6	.375	1.6	4.6	.345	1.4	1.6	.847

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
John Starks	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1967-68	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+3	+9.6	+3.2			+16.5	+2.2				-0.2	+1.1	+1.9	+.027				+2.0	+4.4	+.265
John Starks	75	28.3	9.3	0.4	1.7	2.1	2.4	1.0	0.1	1.3	2.9	3.6	9.1	.398	0.9	2.4	.352	1.2	1.5	.802

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:	+16	+33.7	+10.7			+21.8	+4.9				-2.1	+3.9	+8.7	+.076				+3.3	+6.1	+.415
John Starks	3	12.0	3.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.7	1.3	4.0	.333	0.3	1.3	.250	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 13
	Bill Russell	John Starks
Season	1968-69	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+11	+28.6	+5.5			+18.3	+3.8				-1.1	+1.9	+3.7	+.065				+2.1	+4.4	+.279
John Starks	66	14.1	4.4	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.1	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.9	1.7	4.7	.368	0.4	1.4	.305	0.5	0.6	.805

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
John Starks	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. John Starks Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Starks 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