Bill Russell vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens 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, 2 less than Lenny Wilkens, who played 15. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Lenny Wilkens had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1956-57	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+27	+10.0	+3.0			+15.1	+1.0				-0.1	+1.4	+3.1	+.002				+0.3	+2.4	+.221
Lenny Wilkens	75	25.3	11.7	-	-	4.5	2.8	-	-	-	2.9	4.4	10.4	.425	-	-	-	2.9	4.0	.713
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:	+2	+4.5	+0.3			+18.4	+0.3				-0.2	+0.1	+1.0	+.015				+0.6	+1.3	+.251
Lenny Wilkens	12	36.4	14.2	-	-	6.0	3.5	-	-	-	4.3	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759

Season 2
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1957-58	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
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:	+49	+5.2	+1.6			+16.1	+2.9				-0.6	+0.4	+3.2	+.057				+0.9	+0.9	+.245
Lenny Wilkens	20	43.5	18.2	-	-	6.6	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	7.0	18.2	.385	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.764
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1958-59	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+5	+8.3	+4.9			+17.6	+1.9				-1.1	+2.1	+3.1	+.058				+0.7	+1.8	+.098
Lenny Wilkens	75	34.3	11.8	-	-	5.4	5.1	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	11.1	.399	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.696
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:		+8.7	+1.8			+21.4	+2.7				-2.1	+0.7	+0.5	+.039				+0.3	+1.6	+.143
Lenny Wilkens	11	36.4	13.7	-	-	6.3	6.3	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	14.0	.370	-	-	-	3.4	4.5	.755

Season 4
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1959-60	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+4	+10.1	+6.2			+19.7	+0.9				-0.9	+3.2	+5.7	+.054				+0.3	+0.6	+.128
Lenny Wilkens	78	32.4	12.0	-	-	4.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	4.3	10.4	.413	-	-	-	3.5	4.7	.740
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:	+1	+9.6	+4.2			+20.8	+2.4				-0.6	+1.9	+3.9	+.008				+0.4	+1.0	+.052
Lenny Wilkens	12	34.4	14.3	-	-	5.0	5.3	-	-	-	3.5	5.3	11.9	.448	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759

Season 5
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1960-61	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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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:		+7.7	+0.4			+19.2	+2.1				-1.6	+1.2	+2.6	+.012				+2.0	+1.2	+.196
Lenny Wilkens	78	36.6	16.5	-	-	4.7	5.5	-	-	-	3.6	5.6	13.4	.414	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.746
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	+9.4	+3.1			+26.9	+1.0				-1.1	+2.3	+2.8	+.076				+1.5	+1.3	+.305
Lenny Wilkens	4	36.8	16.0	-	-	3.0	3.8	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	14.3	.351	-	-	-	6.0	7.3	.828

Season 6
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1961-62	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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:	+7	+6.2	+0.9			+18.9	+1.7				-0.9	+1.6	+2.8	+.026				+2.3	+1.4	+.198
Lenny Wilkens	69	39.0	18.0	-	-	4.7	6.2	-	-	-	3.6	6.0	13.8	.431	-	-	-	6.1	7.7	.793
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	+8.9	+5.3			+21.0	+2.0				-0.8	+2.6	+3.8	+.059				+0.2	+0.2	+.039
Lenny Wilkens	10	39.1	17.1	-	-	5.4	7.0	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	14.3	.399	-	-	-	5.7	8.3	.687

Season 7
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1962-63	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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:		+6.8	+0.6			+18.3	+1.2				-1.2	+0.9	+1.9					+2.2	+0.9	+.232
Lenny Wilkens	78	38.1	17.4	-	-	5.3	5.7	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	13.3	.432	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.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:	+4	+5.5	+1.1			+17.5	+2.1				-1.0	+1.0	+0.2	+.053				+3.1	+1.6	+.195
Lenny Wilkens	9	42.0	21.4	-	-	7.6	7.2	-	-	-	3.8	6.4	16.1	.400	-	-	-	8.6	10.0	.856

Season 8
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1963-64	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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:	+4	+6.0	+5.0			+19.4	+3.6				-0.7	+0.7	+1.4	+.005				+3.7	+3.2	+.218
Lenny Wilkens	82	38.6	20.0	-	-	5.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.2	.438	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.768
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:	+4	+5.6	+5.2			+20.9	+3.4				-0.5	+2.0	+2.0	+.084				+1.3		+.198
Lenny Wilkens	6	39.5	18.3	-	-	6.3	7.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.2	.440	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750

Season 9
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1964-65	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+4	+2.2	+8.3			+17.9	+2.9				-1.0	+2.4	+5.2	+.002				+3.6	+3.2	+.197
Lenny Wilkens	82	42.2	22.4	-	-	6.2	8.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.9	17.8	.440	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1965-66	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+3	+6.0	+4.9			+17.8	+4.3					+1.0	+2.1	+.005				+2.9	+2.2	+.237
Lenny Wilkens	75	37.4	17.8	-	-	5.0	9.1	-	-	-	2.8	6.0	14.2	.420	-	-	-	5.8	7.4	.788
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1966-67	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+10	+3.5	+6.5			+16.5	+3.4				-0.4	+1.7	+5.1	+.035				+3.0	+2.3	+.193
Lenny Wilkens	71	37.2	19.8	-	-	4.5	9.2	-	-	-	2.8	6.6	15.8	.419	-	-	-	6.5	8.1	.803
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1967-68	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+0.5	+5.5			+14.4	+5.0				-0.5	+1.3	+1.8	+.041				+2.8	+1.9	+.237
Lenny Wilkens	80	37.4	18.0	-	-	4.2	9.6	-	-	-	2.6	6.0	12.8	.466	-	-	-	6.0	7.8	.774
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 13
	Bill Russell	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1968-69	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+3.1	+10.6			+14.7	+3.5				-0.1	+4.0	+8.6	+.016				+2.7	+1.3	+.302
Lenny Wilkens	75	39.6	20.5	-	-	4.6	8.4	-	-	-	2.9	7.6	17.0	.449	-	-	-	5.3	6.3	.828
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
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-