Elvin Hayes vs. D'Angelo Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of D'Angelo Russell and Elvin Hayes, 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.

Elvin Hayes played 16 years in the NBA, 6 more than D'Angelo Russell, who played 10. Elvin Hayes had the first of his seasons in 1968-69, while D'Angelo Russell had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1968-69	2015-16
Team	San Diego Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Div Semis	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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	45.1	28.4	-	-	17.1	1.4	-	-	-	3.2	11.3	25.4	.447	-	-	-	5.7	9.1	.626
difference:	+2	+16.9	+15.2			+13.7	+1.9				-1.4	+6.4	+13.4	+.037				+3.9	+6.7	+.111
D'Angelo Russell	80	28.2	13.2	0.6	2.8	3.4	3.3	1.2	0.2	2.5	1.8	4.9	12.0	.410	1.6	4.6	.351	1.8	2.4	.737
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	6	46.3	25.8	-	-	13.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	10.0	19.0	.526	-	-	-	5.8	8.8	.660
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1969-70	2016-17
Team	San Diego Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.7	27.5	-	-	16.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	11.1	24.6	.452	-	-	-	5.2	7.6	.688
difference:	+19	+16.0	+11.9			+13.4	+2.8				-1.2	+5.5	+10.8	+.047				+2.9	+4.6	+.094
D'Angelo Russell	63	28.7	15.6	0.5	3.0	3.5	4.8	1.4	0.3	2.8	2.1	5.6	13.8	.405	2.1	6.1	.352	2.3	3.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Elvin Hayes nor D'Angelo Russell played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1970-71	2017-18
Team	San Diego Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.3	28.7	-	-	16.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	11.6	27.0	.428	-	-	-	5.5	8.2	.672
difference:	+34	+18.6	+13.2			+12.7	+2.9				-0.8	+5.8	+13.0	+.014				+3.5	+5.5	+.068
D'Angelo Russell	48	25.7	15.5	0.6	3.3	3.9	5.2	0.8	0.4	3.1	1.9	5.8	14.0	.414	1.9	5.8	.324	2.0	2.7	.740
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Elvin Hayes nor D'Angelo Russell played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1971-72	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nets 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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.2	25.2	-	-	14.6	3.3	-	-	-	2.8	10.1	23.4	.434	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.649
difference:	+1	+12.0	+4.1			+10.7	+3.7				-1.1	+2.0	+4.7					+2.9	+5.0	+.131
D'Angelo Russell	81	30.2	21.1	0.7	3.2	3.9	7.0	1.2	0.2	3.1	1.7	8.1	18.7	.434	2.9	7.8	.369	2.0	2.5	.780
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
D'Angelo Russell	5	29.6	19.4	0.4	3.2	3.6	3.6	1.4	0.2	2.8	2.4	7.4	20.6	.359	2.4	7.4	.324	2.2	2.6	.846

Season 5
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1972-73	2019-20
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Elvin Hayes	81	41.3	21.2	-	-	14.5	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.671
difference:	+36	+9.0	+1.9			+10.6	+4.7				-1.0	+0.8	+1.0	+.018					+1.0	+.138
D'Angelo Russell	45	32.3	23.1	0.4	3.6	3.9	6.3	1.1	0.3	3.3	1.9	8.0	18.8	.426	3.5	9.6	.367	3.6	4.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	5	45.6	25.8	-	-	11.4	1.0	-	-	-	3.2	10.6	21.0	.505	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.697
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1973-74	2020-21
Team	Capital Bullets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	81	44.5	21.4	4.4	13.7	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	-	3.1	8.5	20.1	.423	-	-	-	4.4	6.1	.721
difference:	+39	+16.0	+2.4	+4.0	+11.4	+15.5	+3.8		+2.6		-1.5	+1.8	+4.6	+.008				+1.7	+2.6	+.044
D'Angelo Russell	42	28.5	19.0	0.4	2.3	2.6	5.8	1.1	0.4	2.7	1.6	6.7	15.5	.431	2.9	7.4	.387	2.7	3.5	.765
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	46.1	25.9	4.4	11.4	15.9	3.0	0.7	2.1	-	3.3	10.9	20.4	.531	-	-	-	4.1	5.9	.707
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1974-75	2021-22
Team	Washington Bullets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost NBA Finals	Timberwolves Lost West 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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.3	23.0	2.7	9.5	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	-	2.9	9.0	20.3	.443	-	-	-	5.0	6.5	.766
difference:	+17	+10.3	+4.9	+2.3	+6.6	+8.9	+4.6	+0.9	+2.0		-0.9	+2.8	+5.3	+.032				+2.0	+2.8	+.059
D'Angelo Russell	65	32.0	18.1	0.4	2.9	3.3	7.1	1.0	0.3	2.5	2.0	6.2	15.0	.411	2.7	8.0	.340	3.0	3.7	.825
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	17	44.2	25.5	2.7	8.2	10.9	2.2	1.5	2.3	-	4.1	10.2	21.9	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.677
difference:	+11	+11.5	+13.5	+2.7	+5.7	+8.4	+4.5		+2.3		-1.3	+6.2	+9.9	+.135				+3.1	+4.8	+.073
D'Angelo Russell	6	32.7	12.0	0.0	2.5	2.5	6.7	1.5	0.0	2.8	2.8	4.0	12.0	.333	2.0	5.2	.387	2.0	2.7	.750

Season 8
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1975-76	2022-23
Team	Washington Bullets	Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf 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		%
Elvin Hayes	80	37.2	19.8	2.6	8.4	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	-	3.7	8.1	17.3	.470	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	.628
difference:	+9	+4.7	+2.0	+2.1	+5.9	+8.0	+4.7	+0.3	+2.1		-1.7	+1.8	+3.9	+.001				+1.1	+2.7	+.201
D'Angelo Russell	71	32.5	17.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.2	1.0	0.4	2.6	2.0	6.3	13.4	.469	2.7	6.9	.396	2.5	3.0	.829
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	43.6	20.0	2.3	10.3	12.6	1.4	0.7	4.0	-	3.4	7.7	17.4	.443	-	-	-	4.6	7.9	.582
difference:	+9	+14.0	+6.7	+1.7	+8.0	+9.7	+3.2		+3.7		-1.4	+2.5	+5.2	+.017				+3.3	+6.3	+.187
D'Angelo Russell	16	29.6	13.3	0.6	2.3	2.9	4.6	0.7	0.3	1.8	2.0	5.2	12.2	.426	1.7	5.4	.310	1.3	1.6	.769

Season 9
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1976-77	2023-24
Team	Washington Bullets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
Others	-	NBA Cup 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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	41.0	23.7	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	-	3.8	9.3	18.5	.501	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.687
difference:	+6	+8.3	+5.7	+3.1	+6.3	+9.4	+4.4	+0.2	+2.2		-1.7	+2.8	+4.3	+.045				+3.0	+5.0	+.141
D'Angelo Russell	76	32.7	18.0	0.4	2.7	3.1	6.3	0.9	0.5	2.1	2.1	6.5	14.2	.456	3.0	7.2	.415	2.1	2.5	.828
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	9	45.0	21.0	3.2	10.3	13.6	1.9	1.1	2.4	-	4.3	8.2	19.2	.428	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.695
difference:	+4	+8.0	+6.8	+3.0	+7.7	+10.8	+2.3	+0.3	+2.2		-3.1	+2.6	+4.6	+.044				+4.4	+6.2	+.195
D'Angelo Russell	5	37.0	14.2	0.2	2.6	2.8	4.2	0.8	0.2	1.8	1.2	5.6	14.6	.384	2.8	8.8	.318	0.2	0.4	.500

Season 10
	Elvin Hayes	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1977-78	2024-25
Team	Washington Bullets	Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets
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		%
Elvin Hayes	81	40.1	19.7	4.1	9.1	13.3	1.8	1.2	2.0	2.8	3.9	7.9	17.4	.451	-	-	-	4.0	6.3	.634
difference:	+23	+14.6	+7.1	+3.8	+6.7	+10.5	+3.3	+0.2	+1.6	-0.9	-1.9	+3.6	+6.4	+.061				+1.9	+3.8	+.200
D'Angelo Russell	58	25.5	12.6	0.3	2.4	2.8	5.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	2.0	4.3	11.0	.390	1.9	6.2	.314	2.1	2.5	.834
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	21	41.3	21.8	4.9	8.4	13.3	2.0	1.5	2.5	2.8	4.1	9.0	18.3	.491	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.594
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Elvin Hayes played 6 seasons more than D'Angelo Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 16, from 1979 to 1984—Elvin Hayes played in 3 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over D'Angelo Russell, Elvin Hayes got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-Star Game