Gar Heard vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Gar Heard, 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.

Gar Heard played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Gar Heard had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13
Rookie Season
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1970-71	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Gar Heard	65	15.8	5.9	-	-	5.0	0.7	-	-	-	1.9	2.3	6.1	.381	-	-	-	1.3	1.9	.656
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1971-72	1957-58
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Gar Heard	58	25.8	7.9	-	-	7.6	0.9	-	-	-	2.2	3.3	8.2	.401	-	-	-	1.4	2.2	.617
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	1958-59
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Gar Heard	81	19.2	10.1	-	-	5.6	0.7	-	-	-	2.1	4.3	10.2	.425	-	-	-	1.4	2.2	.652
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		%
Gar Heard	2	4.5	2.0	-	-	1.5	0.0	-	-	-	2.0	1.0	2.0	.500	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1973-74	1959-60
Team	Buffalo Braves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Braves Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Gar Heard	81	35.7	15.3	3.3	8.4	11.7	2.2	1.7	2.8	-	3.7	6.5	14.9	.435	-	-	-	2.4	3.6	.650
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		%
Gar Heard	6	40.0	16.8	3.7	11.0	14.7	2.5	1.5	2.0	-	3.3	7.0	15.3	.457	-	-	-	2.8	4.0	.708
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1974-75	1960-61
Team	Buffalo Braves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Braves Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Gar Heard	67	32.1	11.1	2.8	7.2	9.9	2.8	1.6	1.8	-	3.6	4.7	12.2	.388	-	-	-	1.6	2.8	.564
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		%
Gar Heard	7	35.7	11.7	3.4	7.4	10.9	2.6	1.3	1.1	-	4.0	5.4	13.7	.396	-	-	-	0.9	2.0	.429
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1975-76	1961-62
Team	Buffalo Braves, Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Gar Heard	86	31.9	11.0	2.9	7.2	10.1	2.2	1.4	1.1	-	3.5	4.6	10.5	.435	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	.637
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		%
Gar Heard	19	37.9	13.9	2.8	7.6	10.4	1.7	2.1	1.9	-	2.9	5.5	12.5	.441	-	-	-	2.9	4.3	.679
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1976-77	1962-63
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
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		%
Gar Heard	46	29.6	9.7	2.6	7.0	9.6	1.9	1.2	1.2	-	3.0	3.8	9.9	.379	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.725
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1977-78	1963-64
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Gar Heard	80	26.2	7.8	2.1	6.1	8.2	1.7	1.6	1.3	1.5	2.7	3.3	7.8	.424	-	-	-	1.1	1.8	.612
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		%
Gar Heard	2	31.0	6.5	2.0	6.0	8.0	2.5	1.0	2.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	8.5	.353	-	-	-	0.5	1.0	.500
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1978-79	1964-65
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Gar Heard	63	19.3	6.3	1.6	4.0	5.6	1.0	0.8	0.9	1.0	2.2	2.6	5.8	.441	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.689
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		%
Gar Heard	15	21.3	5.5	1.6	5.5	7.1	0.9	0.8	1.7	1.4	2.6	2.1	5.7	.372	-	-	-	1.2	2.0	.600
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1979-80	1965-66
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Gar Heard	82	17.1	5.0	1.4	3.2	4.6	1.2	1.0	0.6	1.1	2.2	2.1	5.0	.417	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.0	.744
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		%
Gar Heard	8	27.9	6.9	2.4	4.0	6.4	1.5	1.1	1.4	1.0	2.9	2.8	7.0	.393	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.9	.733
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1966-67
Team	San Diego Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Gar Heard	78	20.9	4.8	1.5	2.9	4.5	1.6	1.3	0.9	1.0	2.5	1.9	5.1	.376	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	1.3	.782
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	-	1967-68
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gar Heard	Bill Russell
Season	-	1968-69
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Gar Heard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506