Bill Russell vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart 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 / 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 played 13 years in the NBA, 1 more than Marcus Smart, who played 12. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Marcus Smart had his rookie season in 2014-15. 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
Marcus Smart	12	9	2014-15 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1956-57	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+19	+8.3	+6.9			+16.3	+1.3				-0.4	+3.2	+6.4	+.060				+2.0	+4.5	+.154
Marcus Smart	67	27.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	3.1	1.5	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.6	7.1	.367	1.4	4.1	.335	1.2	1.9	.646

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:	+6	+18.4	+4.1			+21.6	+1.9				-1.1	+1.9	+7.5	+.118				+1.1	+2.3	+.025
Marcus Smart	4	22.5	9.8	1.3	1.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	3.0	3.5	7.3	.483	0.8	3.3	.231	2.0	3.8	.533


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1957-58	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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	+11.0	+7.5			+18.5	+0.1				-0.4	+3.6	+6.3	+.094				+1.2	+3.7	+.258
Marcus Smart	61	27.3	9.1	1.2	2.9	4.2	3.0	1.5	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	8.7	.348	1.0	4.0	.253	2.1	2.7	.777

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:	+3	+7.2	+3.1			+20.1	+0.3				-0.1	+1.6	+4.8	+.006				+1.6	+3.8	+.204
Marcus Smart	6	32.2	12.0	1.3	3.2	4.5	3.0	1.7	0.8	2.5	2.8	3.7	10.0	.367	1.8	5.3	.344	2.8	3.5	.810


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1958-59	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+9	+12.2	+6.1			+19.1	+1.4				-0.1	+3.1	+4.7	+.098				+1.1	+2.9	+.214
Marcus Smart	79	30.4	10.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	4.6	1.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.4	9.5	.359	1.2	4.2	.283	2.6	3.2	.812

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:	+7	+15.2	+6.9			+23.0	+1.1				-0.3	+3.3	+7.1	+.058				+1.9	+3.3	+.028
Marcus Smart	18	29.9	8.6	1.3	3.4	4.7	4.7	1.5	0.9	2.1	2.8	2.6	7.4	.351	1.6	4.1	.397	1.8	2.8	.640


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1959-60	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+20	+12.6	+8.0			+20.5	+1.1				-0.3	+4.0	+6.6	+.100				+1.4	+2.8	+.117
Marcus Smart	54	29.9	10.2	0.8	2.7	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.4	2.4	2.5	3.5	9.5	.367	1.4	4.6	.301	1.8	2.5	.729

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	+14.1	+8.7			+22.1	+2.4					+4.0	+6.3	+.120				+1.7	+2.5	+.028
Marcus Smart	15	29.9	9.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	9.5	.336	1.0	4.5	.221	2.4	3.3	.735


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1960-61	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+2	+16.8	+8.0			+21.0	+0.6				-0.5	+3.8	+8.9	+.004				+2.0	+4.4	+.256
Marcus Smart	80	27.5	8.9	0.7	2.2	2.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.0	7.1	.422	1.6	4.3	.364	1.3	1.6	.806

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:	+8	+30.2	+15.6			+27.9	+2.8				-0.9	+6.8	+11.6	+.336				+2.5	+5.6	+.144
Marcus Smart	2	16.0	3.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.5	5.5	.091	0.5	5.5	.091	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1961-62	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+16	+13.2	+6.0			+19.8	+0.4					+3.3	+5.2	+.082				+1.7	+3.8	+.241
Marcus Smart	60	32.0	12.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	4.9	1.7	0.5	1.7	2.7	4.3	11.4	.375	2.3	6.6	.347	2.1	2.5	.836

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	+9.9	+7.9			+21.2	+0.4				-0.3	+3.7	+6.5	+.064				+3.0	+4.8	+.149
Marcus Smart	17	38.1	14.5	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.6	1.2	0.5	2.6	3.2	4.6	11.6	.394	2.4	7.2	.333	2.9	3.3	.875


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1962-63	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+30	+12.0	+3.7			+20.1	+1.2				-0.2	+2.4	+4.6	+.034				+1.0	+3.2	+.235
Marcus Smart	48	32.9	13.1	0.8	2.7	3.5	5.7	1.5	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.2	10.6	.398	1.9	5.9	.330	2.7	3.4	.790

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:	+8	+10.9	+2.5			+20.7	+0.9					+1.6	+3.1	+.014				+2.5	+4.2	+.053
Marcus Smart	5	36.6	17.8	0.8	3.6	4.4	6.0	1.0	0.2	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.2	.439	3.2	8.6	.372	3.0	4.2	.714


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1963-64	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+7	+12.3	+2.9			+20.9	+1.2				-0.1	+1.8	+3.7	+.015				+1.0	+3.0	+.243
Marcus Smart	71	32.3	12.1	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.9	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	4.2	10.1	.418	1.7	5.1	.331	2.0	2.5	.793

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:	+11	+8.9	+2.3			+22.7	+1.5				-0.1	+0.7	+0.1	+.049				+1.3	+3.7	+.254
Marcus Smart	21	36.2	15.4	1.0	3.6	4.5	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	3.4	5.4	13.3	.405	2.3	6.5	.350	2.4	3.0	.806


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1964-65	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+17	+12.3	+2.6			+21.0	+1.0				-0.2	+1.4	+2.7	+.023				+1.7	+3.6	+.173
Marcus Smart	61	32.1	11.5	0.8	2.4	3.1	6.3	1.5	0.4	2.3	2.8	4.1	9.9	.415	1.9	5.6	.336	1.4	1.9	.746

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:	+8	+12.8	+1.6			+21.2	+1.2				-1.7	+1.5	+1.3	+.074				+0.7	+3.0	+.274
Marcus Smart	20	34.0	14.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	5.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.9	5.1	11.2	.453	2.2	6.1	.361	2.6	3.3	.800


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1965-66	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+58	+13.1	+1.6			+20.1	+0.5				-0.1	+0.1	+0.2	+.015				+0.7	+2.4	+.217
Marcus Smart	20	30.3	14.5	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.3	2.1	0.3	3.1	2.7	5.1	11.9	.430	2.1	6.7	.313	2.2	2.8	.768

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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1966-67	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+47	+20.7	+4.3			+18.9	+2.6				-1.6	+1.9	+3.1	+.061				+1.9	+3.7	+.151
Marcus Smart	34	20.0	9.0	0.5	1.6	2.1	3.2	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.6	3.0	7.6	.393	1.4	4.1	.348	1.6	2.1	.761

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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Marcus Smart
Season	1967-68	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+74	+10.6	+3.7			+17.1	+2.1				-0.8	+1.7	+5.0	+.075				+0.9	+3.1	+.281
Marcus Smart	4	27.3	8.8	0.3	1.3	1.5	2.5	1.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	3.0	6.0	.500	0.5	2.8	.182	2.3	2.8	.818

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
Marcus Smart	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 1 season more than Marcus Smart in the NBA. In that period—his season 13 in 1969—Bill Russell played in the Playoffs and won the NBA Championship. In that extra year over Marcus Smart, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Star Game

Bill Russell vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart 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

Additional Years