Bill Russell vs. Lou Williams Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lou Williams 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, 4 less than Lou Williams, who played 17. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Lou Williams had his rookie season in 2005-06. 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	Lou Williams
Season	1956-57	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+18	+30.5	+12.8			+19.0	+1.5				-2.6	+5.0	+11.8	+.015				+2.9	+6.0	+.123
Lou Williams	30	4.8	1.9	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.7	.442	0.1	0.3	.222	0.3	0.4	.615
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1957-58	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
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:	+8	+27.0	+12.3			+21.6	+1.1				-1.9	+5.1	+11.5	+.001				+2.3	+4.9	+.177
Lou Williams	61	11.3	4.3	0.3	0.9	1.1	1.8	0.4	0.0	0.8	0.7	1.5	3.5	.441	0.2	0.6	.324	1.0	1.5	.696
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1958-59	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+10	+19.3	+5.2			+20.9					-0.7	+2.5	+4.8	+.033				+0.9	+2.5	+.185
Lou Williams	80	23.3	11.5	0.5	1.6	2.1	3.2	1.0	0.2	1.6	1.6	4.0	9.4	.424	0.7	1.9	.359	2.8	3.6	.783
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:	+5	+22.6	+3.5			+25.7	+1.6				-0.7	+1.9	+4.5	+.009					+1.1	+.121
Lou Williams	6	22.5	12.0	0.5	1.5	2.0	2.0	1.0	0.0	1.2	1.8	4.0	10.0	.400	0.3	1.5	.222	3.7	5.0	.733

Season 4
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1959-60	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+7	+18.8	+5.4			+22.0	+0.7				-1.2	+3.4	+5.7	+.069				+0.6	+0.5	+.178
Lou Williams	81	23.7	12.8	0.4	1.6	2.0	3.0	1.0	0.2	1.9	1.6	4.1	10.4	.398	0.8	2.7	.286	3.8	4.8	.790
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:	+7	+19.2	+8.8			+23.3	+0.1				-1.2	+3.7	+7.3	+.044				+2.4	+3.3	+.040
Lou Williams	6	24.8	9.7	0.3	2.2	2.5	2.8	0.5	0.2	2.0	1.7	3.5	8.5	.412	1.0	2.7	.375	1.7	2.5	.667

Season 5
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1960-61	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+14	+14.4	+2.9			+21.0	+0.8				-0.3	+1.8	+5.4	+.044				+0.3	+2.4	+.274
Lou Williams	64	29.9	14.0	0.4	2.5	2.9	4.2	1.3	0.2	1.7	1.7	5.0	10.6	.470	1.1	3.2	.340	3.0	3.6	.824
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1961-62	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+1	+21.9	+5.2			+21.6	+1.1				-1.0	+3.3	+6.0	+.051				+0.1	+1.6	+.228
Lou Williams	75	23.3	13.7	0.4	1.6	2.0	3.4	0.6	0.2	1.4	1.7	4.3	10.6	.406	1.2	3.4	.348	3.9	4.7	.823
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:	+9	+22.0	+11.6			+24.8	+2.0				-2.3	+4.9	+7.7	+.131				+3.1	+4.3	+.011
Lou Williams	5	26.0	10.8	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.0	1.0	0.0	0.8	1.2	3.4	10.4	.327	1.2	4.0	.300	2.8	3.8	.737

Season 7
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1962-63	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+14	+18.6	+1.9			+21.2	+1.0				-1.0	+1.6	+3.0	+.025					+2.0	+.257
Lou Williams	64	26.3	14.9	0.5	2.0	2.4	3.5	0.8	0.3	1.1	1.4	5.0	12.2	.407	1.3	3.6	.362	3.7	4.6	.812
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:		+20.0	+8.8			+23.0	+2.1				-1.5	+3.6	+5.4	+.101				+2.3	+4.4	+.127
Lou Williams	13	27.5	11.5	0.2	1.8	2.1	3.0	1.0	0.0	1.2	1.3	3.8	10.9	.352	0.6	3.7	.167	3.2	4.0	.788

Season 8
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1963-64	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+39	+15.9	+0.9			+22.6	+1.1				-1.0	+1.2	+2.4	+.011				+0.3	+2.4	+.318
Lou Williams	39	28.7	14.1	0.2	1.8	2.1	3.6	1.1	0.3	1.9	1.4	4.8	11.4	.422	1.8	5.0	.367	2.7	3.1	.868
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1964-65	2013-14
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

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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:	+18	+20.3	+3.7			+22.0	+1.8				-1.5	+2.2	+4.4	+.038				+0.6	+2.5	+.276
Lou Williams	60	24.1	10.4	0.2	1.9	2.1	3.5	0.8	0.1	1.5	1.1	3.3	8.2	.400	1.3	3.9	.342	2.5	3.0	.849
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:	+5	+27.8	+8.2			+22.9	+5.2				-2.2	+3.9	+5.4	+.147				+1.2	+4.0	+.412
Lou Williams	7	19.0	8.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	1.1	1.0	0.1	1.9	1.4	2.7	7.1	.380	0.7	2.3	.313	2.1	2.3	.938

Season 10
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1965-66	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+2	+18.2	+2.6			+20.9	+2.7				-1.5	+0.3	+0.5	+.011				+1.4	+0.3	+.310
Lou Williams	80	25.2	15.5	0.3	1.6	1.9	2.1	1.1	0.1	1.3	1.3	4.7	11.6	.404	1.9	5.6	.340	4.3	4.9	.861
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
difference:	+13	+22.4	+6.3			+23.4	+3.7				-1.2	+3.3	+2.6	+.161				+0.7	+2.7	+.215
Lou Williams	4	25.5	12.8	0.5	1.3	1.8	1.3	1.5	0.0	0.8	2.3	4.0	12.8	.314	1.0	5.3	.190	3.8	4.5	.833

Season 11
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1966-67	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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:	+14	+12.2	+2.0			+18.5	+3.3				-1.6	+0.7	+0.4	+.046				+1.8	+0.5	+.220
Lou Williams	67	28.5	15.3	0.5	2.1	2.5	2.5	0.9	0.3	1.6	1.6	4.2	10.3	.408	1.6	4.8	.344	5.3	6.3	.830
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1967-68	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+3	+13.3	+5.0			+16.1	+1.6				-2.0	+0.6	+1.3	+.004				+1.8	+0.3	+.343
Lou Williams	81	24.6	17.5	0.3	2.2	2.5	3.0	1.0	0.2	2.0	1.1	5.3	12.3	.429	2.0	5.5	.365	5.0	5.6	.880
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:	+8	+21.0	+1.9			+20.1	+3.9				-2.3	+0.7	+2.0	+.015				+1.6	+4.2	+.312
Lou Williams	11	24.7	12.5	0.6	2.1	2.7	1.3	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.5	4.5	10.7	.424	1.1	3.5	.308	2.4	2.6	.897

Season 13
	Bill Russell	Lou Williams
Season	1968-69	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	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	+9.9	+12.7			+16.8	+0.4				-1.7	+3.8	+8.5	+.002				+2.9	+1.2	+.354
Lou Williams	79	32.8	22.6	0.5	2.0	2.5	5.3	1.1	0.2	3.0	1.3	7.4	16.9	.435	2.4	6.6	.359	5.5	6.2	.880
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
Lou Williams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Lou Williams played 4 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2019 to 2022—Lou Williams played in 3 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Bill Russell, Lou Williams got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Sixth Man of the Year