Bill Russell vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel 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 Nick Van Exel both played 13 years in the NBA. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Nick Van Exel had his rookie season in 1993-94. 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
Nick Van Exel	13	7	1993-94 to 2005-06

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1956-57	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
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
Nick Van Exel	81	33.3	13.6	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.8	1.0	0.1	1.8	1.9	5.1	13.0	.394	1.5	4.5	.338	1.9	2.4	.781

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1957-58	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Lakers 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	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519
Nick Van Exel	80	36.8	16.9	0.3	2.5	2.8	8.3	1.2	0.1	2.8	2.0	5.8	13.8	.420	2.3	6.4	.358	2.9	3.8	.783

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
Nick Van Exel	10	46.4	20.0	0.9	2.9	3.8	7.3	2.1	0.3	2.2	3.3	6.7	16.2	.414	2.1	6.6	.318	4.5	5.9	.763


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1958-59	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598
Nick Van Exel	74	34.0	14.9	0.4	2.1	2.4	6.9	0.9	0.1	2.1	1.6	5.4	12.8	.417	1.9	5.4	.357	2.2	2.8	.799

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
Nick Van Exel	4	34.3	11.8	1.0	3.0	4.0	6.8	0.5	0.0	2.8	2.5	4.0	13.5	.296	1.3	4.0	.313	2.5	3.3	.769


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1959-60	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
Nick Van Exel	79	37.2	15.3	0.6	2.3	2.9	8.5	0.9	0.1	2.7	1.4	5.5	13.6	.402	2.2	5.9	.378	2.1	2.5	.825

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
Nick Van Exel	9	39.2	14.4	0.7	2.8	3.4	6.4	1.1	0.0	2.0	2.1	5.0	13.2	.378	1.3	4.9	.273	3.1	3.8	.824


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1960-61	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Nick Van Exel	64	32.1	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.9	1.0	0.1	1.6	1.9	4.9	11.6	.419	1.9	4.9	.389	2.1	2.7	.791

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
Nick Van Exel	13	28.3	11.6	0.7	1.8	2.5	4.2	0.6	0.1	1.7	2.3	3.8	11.6	.331	1.7	5.4	.314	2.2	3.1	.725


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1961-62	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
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	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
Nick Van Exel	50	36.0	16.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	7.4	0.8	0.1	2.4	1.8	6.1	15.4	.398	1.4	4.7	.308	2.8	3.5	.811

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1962-63	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
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	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Nick Van Exel	79	37.3	16.1	0.4	3.5	3.9	9.0	0.9	0.1	2.8	1.9	6.0	15.4	.390	1.7	5.1	.332	2.5	3.0	.817

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1963-64	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	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	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Nick Van Exel	71	37.9	17.7	0.6	2.8	3.4	8.5	0.9	0.3	2.3	1.5	6.5	15.7	.414	1.9	5.0	.377	2.9	3.5	.819

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1964-65	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks 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	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
Nick Van Exel	72	34.7	18.4	0.4	3.1	3.5	6.6	0.6	0.2	2.2	1.4	7.0	17.0	.409	1.7	4.9	.340	2.8	3.5	.801

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
Nick Van Exel	8	32.8	11.1	0.9	2.1	3.0	3.9	1.0	0.0	1.5	3.3	4.6	12.6	.366	0.9	4.3	.206	1.0	1.5	.667


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1965-66	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks 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	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
Nick Van Exel	73	27.8	12.5	0.5	2.4	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.1	1.7	1.2	4.7	11.4	.412	1.6	4.3	.378	1.5	2.0	.764

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
Nick Van Exel	20	33.7	19.5	0.9	2.5	3.4	4.1	0.6	0.0	2.0	2.4	7.5	16.3	.460	2.2	5.6	.393	2.3	3.2	.703


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1966-67	2003-04
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Nick Van Exel	39	32.2	12.6	0.4	2.3	2.7	5.3	0.5	0.1	2.0	1.5	4.8	12.3	.390	1.2	3.8	.307	1.8	2.5	.707

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1967-68	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
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	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
Nick Van Exel	53	30.5	11.1	0.4	2.7	3.0	4.3	0.8	0.0	1.7	1.3	4.0	10.6	.381	1.9	4.8	.389	1.1	1.4	.784

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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Nick Van Exel
Season	1968-69	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Spurs Lost West 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	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
Nick Van Exel	65	15.2	5.5	0.1	1.3	1.4	1.9	0.2	0.0	0.9	0.9	2.1	5.3	.397	0.8	2.4	.357	0.4	0.6	.683

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
Nick Van Exel	12	11.1	2.2	0.1	0.9	1.0	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.4	1.2	0.6	2.7	.219	0.3	0.8	.300	0.8	0.8	1.000

Bill Russell vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel 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