Danny Ainge vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Danny Ainge, 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.

Danny Ainge played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Danny Ainge had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, 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 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
Danny Ainge	14	12	1981-82 to 1994-95
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1956-57
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	53	10.6	4.1	0.5	0.6	1.1	1.6	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	1.5	4.2	.357	0.1	0.3	.294	1.1	1.2	.862
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		%
Danny Ainge	10	12.9	5.0	0.6	0.7	1.3	1.1	0.2	0.1	1.1	2.1	1.9	4.5	.422	0.2	0.4	.500	1.0	1.3	.769
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	25.6	9.9	1.0	1.6	2.7	3.1	1.4	0.1	1.2	3.2	4.5	9.0	.496	0.1	0.4	.172	0.9	1.2	.742
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		%
Danny Ainge	7	28.7	9.4	0.3	1.7	2.0	3.6	0.7	0.1	0.9	3.4	4.0	10.3	.389	0.3	0.7	.400	1.1	1.6	.727
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
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		%
Danny Ainge	71	16.3	5.4	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.3	0.6	0.1	1.0	2.0	2.3	5.1	.460	0.1	0.3	.273	0.6	0.8	.821
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		%
Danny Ainge	19	13.3	4.8	0.2	0.6	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.1	0.7	1.9	2.2	4.7	.456	0.1	0.5	.222	0.4	0.5	.700
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	75	34.2	12.9	1.0	2.6	3.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.0	3.0	5.6	10.6	.529	0.2	0.7	.268	1.6	1.8	.868
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		%
Danny Ainge	21	32.7	11.0	1.0	1.8	2.8	5.8	1.5	0.0	1.5	3.6	4.6	9.9	.466	0.3	0.8	.438	1.4	1.9	.769
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	30.1	10.7	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.1	1.2	0.1	1.6	2.6	4.4	8.8	.504	0.3	0.9	.356	1.5	1.7	.904
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		%
Danny Ainge	18	36.2	15.6	1.2	3.0	4.2	5.2	2.3	0.1	1.7	3.2	5.9	10.7	.554	0.8	1.9	.412	2.9	3.3	.867
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	71	35.2	14.8	0.7	2.7	3.4	5.6	1.4	0.2	2.0	2.7	5.8	11.9	.486	1.2	2.7	.443	2.1	2.3	.897
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		%
Danny Ainge	20	38.1	14.8	0.7	2.0	2.6	4.6	1.2	0.2	2.1	3.1	5.8	11.9	.487	1.6	3.7	.438	1.6	1.8	.861
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	81	37.3	15.7	0.7	2.3	3.1	6.2	1.4	0.2	1.9	2.5	6.0	12.1	.491	1.8	4.4	.415	2.0	2.2	.878
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		%
Danny Ainge	17	39.4	11.6	0.9	2.2	3.1	6.4	0.5	0.1	2.4	3.8	4.2	10.8	.386	1.1	3.4	.328	2.2	2.5	.881
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Danny Ainge	73	32.6	17.5	1.0	2.5	3.5	5.5	1.3	0.1	2.0	2.5	6.6	14.4	.457	1.6	4.2	.380	2.8	3.3	.854
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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1964-65
Team	Sacramento Kings	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Danny Ainge	75	36.4	17.9	0.9	3.4	4.3	6.0	1.5	0.2	2.5	3.2	6.7	15.4	.438	1.4	3.9	.374	3.0	3.6	.831
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		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1965-66
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	21.4	11.1	0.6	2.0	2.6	3.6	0.8	0.2	1.3	2.4	4.2	8.9	.472	1.3	3.1	.406	1.4	1.7	.826
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		%
Danny Ainge	16	17.3	8.0	0.1	1.7	1.8	1.9	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.1	2.9	6.6	.448	0.7	2.3	.306	1.4	1.8	.821
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1966-67
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Danny Ainge	81	19.7	9.7	0.5	1.3	1.8	2.5	0.9	0.2	0.9	1.8	3.7	8.3	.442	1.0	2.8	.339	1.3	1.6	.824
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		%
Danny Ainge	21	21.4	10.6	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	2.8	3.9	8.0	.479	1.0	2.5	.404	1.9	2.2	.830
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1967-68
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	27.0	11.8	0.6	2.1	2.7	3.3	0.9	0.1	1.4	2.2	4.2	9.1	.462	1.9	4.7	.403	1.5	1.8	.848
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		%
Danny Ainge	24	24.6	8.1	0.8	1.7	2.5	2.3	0.5	0.1	0.9	2.5	2.7	7.1	.376	1.4	3.3	.413	1.4	1.6	.872
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
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1968-69
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	68	22.9	8.9	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.6	0.8	0.1	1.2	2.1	3.3	7.9	.417	1.2	3.6	.328	1.1	1.4	.830
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		%
Danny Ainge	10	23.0	8.6	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.1	0.6	0.1	0.5	2.6	2.7	5.9	.458	1.7	4.0	.425	1.5	2.1	.714
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506


Season 14
	Danny Ainge	Bill Russell
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Danny Ainge	74	18.6	7.7	0.3	1.1	1.5	2.8	0.6	0.1	1.1	2.1	2.6	5.7	.460	1.1	2.9	.364	1.4	1.8	.808
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	10	13.7	6.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.0	0.6	1.5	1.9	3.8	.500	1.2	2.6	.462	1.0	1.1	.909
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Danny Ainge vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Danny Ainge, 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

Season 14