Carmelo Anthony vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Carmelo Anthony, 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.

Carmelo Anthony played 19 years in the NBA, 6 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Carmelo Anthony had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while Bill Russell had his rookie season in 1956-57. 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
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2003-04	1956-57
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	82	36.5	21.0	2.2	3.8	6.1	2.8	1.2	0.5	3.0	2.7	7.6	17.9	.426	0.8	2.6	.322	5.0	6.4	.777
difference:	+34	+1.2	+6.3			+13.5	+1.0				-0.3	+1.8	+4.4	+.001				+1.8		+.285
Bill Russell	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	4	36.3	15.0	1.8	6.5	8.3	2.8	1.3	0.0	4.3	2.8	5.3	16.0	.328	0.5	2.8	.182	4.0	5.0	.800
difference:	+6	+4.6	+1.1			+16.1	+0.4				-1.3	+0.1	+1.2	+.037				+0.9	+1.1	+.292
Bill Russell	10	40.9	13.9	-	-	24.4	3.2	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	14.8	.365	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	.508

Season 2
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2004-05	1957-58
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	75	34.8	20.8	1.9	3.8	5.7	2.6	0.9	0.4	3.0	3.1	7.1	16.4	.431	0.6	2.1	.266	6.1	7.6	.796
difference:	+6	+3.5	+4.2			+17.0	+0.3				-0.5	+0.5	+1.4	+.011				+2.8	+1.2	+.277
Bill Russell	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	5	36.2	19.2	2.8	2.6	5.4	2.0	0.6	0.2	2.6	4.0	7.0	16.6	.422	0.0	0.2	.000	5.2	6.4	.813
difference:	+4	+3.2	+4.1			+19.2	+0.7				-1.3	+1.7	+1.8	+.061				+0.8	+0.9	+.207
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606

Season 3
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2005-06	1958-59
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	80	36.8	26.5	1.5	3.4	4.9	2.7	1.1	0.5	2.7	2.9	9.5	19.7	.481	0.5	1.9	.243	7.2	8.9	.808
difference:	+10	+5.8	+9.8			+18.1	+0.5				-0.6	+3.0	+5.5	+.024				+3.5	+2.8	+.210
Bill Russell	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	5	38.6	21.0	2.4	4.2	6.6	2.8	0.8	0.2	3.0	4.0	6.6	19.8	.333	0.0	0.8	.000	7.8	10.4	.750
difference:	+6	+6.5	+5.5			+21.1	+0.8				-1.5	+0.7	+5.3	+.076				+4.1	+4.3	+.138
Bill Russell	11	45.1	15.5	-	-	27.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	14.5	.409	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.612

Season 4
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2006-07	1959-60
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	65	38.2	28.9	2.2	3.8	6.0	3.8	1.2	0.4	3.6	3.1	10.6	22.4	.476	0.6	2.3	.268	7.1	8.7	.808
difference:	+9	+4.3	+10.7			+18.0	+0.1				-0.3	+3.1	+6.3	+.009				+3.9	+3.4	+.196
Bill Russell	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	5	42.0	26.8	3.6	5.0	8.6	1.2	1.0	0.0	3.8	2.4	9.4	19.6	.480	1.8	3.6	.500	6.2	7.8	.795
difference:	+8	+2.0	+8.3			+17.2	+1.7				-0.5	+2.2	+3.8	+.024				+2.1	+2.0	+.088
Bill Russell	13	44.0	18.5	-	-	25.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	7.2	15.8	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.8	.707

Season 5
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	1960-61
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	77	36.4	25.7	2.3	5.1	7.4	3.4	1.3	0.5	3.3	3.3	9.5	19.2	.492	0.8	2.1	.354	6.0	7.7	.786
difference:	+1	+7.9	+8.8			+16.5					-1.3	+2.7	+3.2	+.066				+2.7	+1.7	+.236
Bill Russell	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	4	36.5	22.5	4.8	4.8	9.5	2.0	0.5	0.3	3.0	4.3	8.0	22.0	.364	0.5	2.0	.250	6.0	7.3	.828
difference:	+6	+9.7	+3.4			+20.4	+2.8				-1.9	+0.7	+4.9	+.063				+1.5	+1.3	+.305
Bill Russell	10	46.2	19.1	-	-	29.9	4.8	-	-	-	2.4	7.3	17.1	.427	-	-	-	4.5	8.6	.523

Season 6
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1961-62
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	66	34.5	22.8	1.6	5.2	6.8	3.4	1.1	0.4	3.0	3.0	8.1	18.3	.443	1.0	2.6	.371	5.6	7.1	.793
difference:	+10	+10.7	+3.9			+16.8	+1.1				-0.3	+0.5	+1.7	+.014				+1.8	+0.8	+.198
Bill Russell	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	16	38.3	27.2	1.6	4.2	5.8	4.1	1.8	0.6	2.3	3.8	9.1	20.1	.453	1.5	4.1	.364	7.4	9.0	.826
difference:	+2	+9.7	+4.8			+20.6	+0.9				-0.3	+0.8	+2.0	+.005				+1.5	+0.9	+.100
Bill Russell	14	48.0	22.4	-	-	26.4	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.3	18.1	.458	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.726

Season 7
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1962-63
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	69	38.2	28.2	2.2	4.4	6.6	3.2	1.3	0.4	3.0	3.3	10.0	21.8	.458	0.9	2.7	.316	7.4	8.9	.830
difference:	+9	+6.7	+11.4			+17.0	+1.3				-0.9	+3.4	+6.6	+.026				+3.7	+2.3	+.275
Bill Russell	78	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	6	42.3	30.7	2.3	6.2	8.5	3.3	2.0	0.5	3.5	4.3	10.7	23.0	.464	1.0	3.2	.316	8.3	9.5	.877
difference:	+7	+5.2	+10.4			+16.6	+1.8				-1.5	+3.3	+6.7	+.011				+2.8	+1.1	+.216
Bill Russell	13	47.5	20.3	-	-	25.1	5.1	-	-	-	2.8	7.4	16.3	.453	-	-	-	5.5	8.4	.661

Season 8
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1963-64
Team	Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	77	35.7	25.6	1.5	5.8	7.3	2.9	0.9	0.6	2.7	2.9	8.9	19.5	.455	1.2	3.3	.378	6.6	7.9	.838
difference:	+1	+8.9	+10.6			+17.4	+1.8				-0.5	+2.9	+5.7	+.022				+3.6	+2.4	+.288
Bill Russell	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	4	39.0	26.0	3.3	7.0	10.3	4.8	1.3	0.8	3.3	4.0	8.3	22.0	.375	2.3	6.5	.346	7.3	8.5	.853
difference:	+6	+6.1	+12.9			+16.9	+0.4				-0.7	+3.6	+8.8	+.019				+3.6	+1.8	+.301
Bill Russell	10	45.1	13.1	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	13.2	.356	-	-	-	3.7	6.7	.552

Season 9
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	55	34.1	22.6	1.6	4.7	6.3	3.6	1.1	0.4	2.6	2.8	8.0	18.6	.430	1.2	3.7	.335	5.4	6.7	.804
difference:	+23	+10.3	+8.5			+17.8	+1.7				-0.2	+2.5	+6.0	+.008				+2.3	+1.2	+.231
Bill Russell	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	5	40.8	27.8	2.6	5.6	8.2	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.8	4.2	10.4	24.8	.419	0.8	3.6	.222	6.2	8.2	.756
difference:	+7	+6.0	+11.3			+17.0	+4.1				-0.6	+3.8	+12.3	+.108				+2.9	+1.9	+.230
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526

Season 10
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1965-66
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	67	37.0	28.7	2.0	4.9	6.9	2.6	0.8	0.5	2.6	3.1	10.0	22.2	.449	2.3	6.2	.379	6.3	7.6	.830
difference:	+11	+6.4	+15.8			+15.9	+2.2				-0.3	+5.0	+10.1	+.034				+3.4	+2.4	+.279
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	12	40.1	28.8	0.9	5.7	6.6	1.6	1.1	0.2	2.6	3.8	10.5	25.8	.406	1.4	4.8	.298	6.4	7.3	.885
difference:	+5	+7.8	+9.7			+18.6	+3.4				-0.3	+3.2	+10.4	+.069				+1.9	+0.1	+.267
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618

Season 11
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1966-67
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	77	38.7	27.4	1.9	6.2	8.1	3.1	1.2	0.7	2.6	2.9	9.6	21.3	.452	2.2	5.4	.402	6.0	7.0	.848
difference:	+4	+2.0	+14.1			+12.9	+2.7				-0.3	+4.7	+10.6	+.002				+2.5	+1.2	+.238
Bill Russell	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635

Season 12
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1967-68
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	40	35.7	24.2	1.8	4.8	6.6	3.1	1.0	0.4	2.2	2.2	9.0	20.2	.444	1.5	4.5	.341	4.7	5.9	.797
difference:	+38	+2.2	+11.7			+12.0	+1.5				-0.9	+4.3	+9.2	+.019				+1.5		+.260
Bill Russell	78	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585

Season 13
	Carmelo Anthony	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1968-69
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Carmelo Anthony	72	35.1	21.8	1.4	6.4	7.7	4.2	0.9	0.5	2.4	2.5	7.9	18.2	.434	1.5	4.3	.339	4.6	5.6	.829
difference:	+5	+7.6	+11.9			+11.6	+0.7				-0.5	+4.3	+9.8	+.001				+2.0	+0.6	+.303
Bill Russell	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Carmelo Anthony	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Additional Years
* Carmelo Anthony played 6 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2017 to 2022—Carmelo Anthony played in 3 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Bill Russell, Carmelo Anthony got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game