Bill Russell vs. Josh Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Josh Smith 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

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 Josh Smith both played 13 years in the NBA. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Josh Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69
Josh Smith	13	8	2004-05 to 2017-18

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1956-57	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Josh Smith	74	27.7	9.7	2.0	4.2	6.2	1.7	0.8	1.9	1.8	2.1	3.7	8.1	.455	0.1	0.3	.174	2.2	3.2	.688

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
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1957-58	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Josh Smith	80	32.0	11.3	2.2	4.4	6.6	2.4	0.8	2.6	2.0	3.3	4.1	9.7	.425	0.4	1.4	.309	2.6	3.7	.719

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
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1958-59	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Josh Smith	72	36.8	16.4	2.3	6.3	8.6	3.3	1.4	2.9	3.2	3.3	6.1	13.8	.439	0.5	2.1	.250	3.7	5.4	.693

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
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1959-60	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Josh Smith	81	35.5	17.2	2.0	6.2	8.2	3.4	1.5	2.8	3.0	3.3	6.4	14.0	.457	0.3	1.2	.253	4.1	5.8	.710

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
Josh Smith	7	33.9	15.7	1.0	5.4	6.4	2.9	1.7	2.9	3.7	3.7	5.0	12.6	.398	0.4	2.6	.167	5.3	6.3	.841


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1960-61	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Josh Smith	69	35.1	15.6	1.9	5.3	7.2	2.4	1.4	1.6	2.3	2.7	6.1	12.3	.492	0.4	1.3	.299	3.1	5.2	.588

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
Josh Smith	11	37.3	17.1	2.2	5.3	7.5	2.2	1.1	1.5	1.9	3.3	6.1	14.5	.421	0.2	1.4	.133	4.7	6.5	.732


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1961-62	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Josh Smith	81	35.4	15.7	2.8	6.0	8.7	4.2	1.6	2.1	2.4	3.0	6.2	12.3	.505	0.0	0.1	.000	3.2	5.2	.618

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
Josh Smith	11	35.6	14.1	3.4	5.6	9.0	2.6	1.2	1.7	1.5	2.7	5.6	11.7	.481	0.2	0.5	.333	2.6	4.0	.659


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1962-63	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Josh Smith	77	34.4	16.5	1.7	6.8	8.5	3.3	1.3	1.6	2.6	2.8	6.5	13.5	.477	0.7	2.0	.331	3.0	4.1	.725

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
Josh Smith	12	36.5	15.1	1.5	7.0	8.5	2.9	1.1	2.1	2.2	3.3	5.8	14.3	.404	0.3	2.0	.125	3.3	5.6	.597


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1963-64	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Josh Smith	66	35.3	18.8	2.1	7.5	9.6	3.9	1.4	1.7	2.5	2.6	7.6	16.7	.458	0.4	1.7	.257	3.1	4.9	.630

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
Josh Smith	5	39.2	16.8	2.0	11.6	13.6	4.8	0.6	1.0	3.0	2.8	6.8	17.6	.386	0.0	0.8	.000	3.2	4.2	.762


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1964-65	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Josh Smith	76	35.3	17.5	1.8	6.7	8.4	4.2	1.2	1.8	3.0	2.3	7.2	15.6	.465	0.8	2.6	.303	2.2	4.2	.517

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
Josh Smith	6	33.2	17.0	1.7	5.8	7.5	3.5	1.8	0.5	2.7	3.5	6.5	15.0	.433	0.8	3.3	.250	3.2	6.0	.528


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1965-66	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Josh Smith	77	35.5	16.4	1.3	5.4	6.8	3.3	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.6	6.7	16.0	.419	0.9	3.4	.264	2.1	3.9	.532

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
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1966-67	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

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
Josh Smith	83	27.7	12.4	1.8	4.6	6.4	3.3	1.0	1.4	2.5	2.7	5.0	11.9	.419	0.9	2.7	.316	1.5	3.1	.498

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
Josh Smith	17	23.3	13.5	1.5	4.1	5.6	2.7	0.5	1.0	2.2	2.4	5.0	11.4	.438	1.6	4.2	.380	1.9	4.4	.432


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1967-68	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Josh Smith	55	16.0	6.0	0.9	2.6	3.5	1.6	0.6	0.9	1.4	2.1	2.3	6.3	.364	0.7	2.6	.287	0.7	1.2	.552

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
Josh Smith	4	9.5	4.0	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.3	1.3	1.8	1.5	3.3	.462	1.0	2.0	.500	0.0	0.5	.000

Note: Josh Smith didn't play in 2016-17.


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Josh Smith
Season	1968-69	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Josh Smith	3	4.0	0.7	1.0	0.3	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.3	1.3	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

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
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. Josh Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Josh Smith 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13