Bill Russell vs. Lonnie Shelton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lonnie Shelton 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 played 13 years in the NBA, 3 more than Lonnie Shelton, who played 10. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Lonnie Shelton had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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
Lonnie Shelton	10	6	1976-77 to 1985-86

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1956-57	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Lonnie Shelton	82	25.7	11.6	2.7	5.0	7.7	1.8	1.5	1.2	-	4.4	4.9	10.2	.476	-	-	-	1.9	2.7	.707

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1957-58	1977-78
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 Semis

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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
Lonnie Shelton	82	28.3	14.9	2.5	4.6	7.1	2.4	1.3	1.4	2.8	4.3	6.2	12.0	.514	-	-	-	2.5	3.4	.736

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
Lonnie Shelton	6	25.2	11.0	3.0	4.3	7.3	2.8	0.3	0.8	2.3	4.8	5.0	9.3	.536	-	-	-	1.0	1.3	.750


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1958-59	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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
Lonnie Shelton	76	28.4	13.5	2.4	3.8	6.2	1.4	1.0	1.0	2.5	3.5	5.9	11.3	.519	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.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
Lonnie Shelton	17	33.3	12.9	3.6	4.8	8.4	2.0	1.1	1.1	1.8	4.7	5.9	12.3	.483	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.692


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1959-60	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals

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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
Lonnie Shelton	76	29.5	13.6	2.6	5.0	7.7	1.9	1.2	1.0	2.2	3.8	5.6	10.6	.530	0.0	0.1	.200	2.4	3.2	.763

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
Lonnie Shelton	15	31.3	12.0	2.3	6.0	8.3	1.7	1.5	0.8	2.5	3.6	4.9	9.7	.507	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	3.4	.627


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1960-61	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Lonnie Shelton	14	31.4	13.0	2.2	3.4	5.6	2.5	1.6	0.2	2.9	3.4	5.2	12.4	.420	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.9	.655

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1961-62	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Lonnie Shelton	81	32.9	14.9	2.0	4.3	6.3	3.1	1.2	0.5	2.5	3.9	6.3	12.9	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	3.0	.783

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
Lonnie Shelton	8	33.3	12.8	3.0	4.4	7.4	2.0	0.6	0.9	2.5	4.8	5.0	10.6	.471	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	4.0	.688


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1962-63	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
Lonnie Shelton	82	31.4	12.4	1.9	4.1	6.0	2.9	0.9	0.9	2.1	3.8	5.3	11.2	.478	0.0	0.1	.167	1.7	2.3	.754

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
Lonnie Shelton	2	26.5	5.0	6.5	4.0	10.5	2.5	0.5	0.0	1.0	3.5	2.0	11.5	.174	0.0	1.5	.000	1.0	2.5	.400


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1963-64	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second 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	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Lonnie Shelton	79	26.6	10.8	1.8	3.1	4.8	2.3	1.0	0.7	2.1	3.5	4.7	9.9	.476	0.0	0.1	.200	1.4	1.8	.764

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1964-65	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers 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
Lonnie Shelton	57	21.8	6.4	1.4	3.2	4.7	1.7	0.8	0.3	1.3	3.3	2.8	6.4	.435	0.0	0.1	.000	0.9	1.4	.662

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
Lonnie Shelton	4	26.5	11.5	1.5	4.0	5.5	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.5	5.0	4.8	8.5	.559	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1965-66	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
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
Lonnie Shelton	44	15.5	4.5	0.9	2.4	3.3	1.4	0.5	0.1	1.1	2.9	2.1	4.3	.489	0.0	0.0	.000	0.3	0.4	.875

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1966-67	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div 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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1967-68	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Lonnie Shelton
Season	1968-69	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Lonnie Shelton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. Lonnie Shelton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lonnie Shelton 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