Gary Payton vs. D'Angelo Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of D'Angelo Russell and Gary Payton, 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 / Stats Rankings

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.

Gary Payton played 17 years in the NBA, 6 more than D'Angelo Russell, who played 11. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Gary Payton	17	15	1990-91 to 2006-07
D'Angelo Russell	11	4	2015-16 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1990-91	2015-16
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Gary Payton	82	27.4	7.2	1.3	1.6	3.0	6.4	2.0	0.2	2.2	3.0	3.2	7.0	.450	0.0	0.2	.077	0.8	1.2	.711
difference:	+2	+0.8	+6.0	+0.7	+1.2	+0.4	+3.1	+0.8		-0.3	-1.2	+1.7	+5.0	+.040	+1.6	+4.4	+.274	+1.0	+1.2	+.026
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		%
Gary Payton	5	27.0	4.8	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.4	1.6	0.2	1.8	3.2	2.2	5.4	.407	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.4	1.000
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1991-92	2016-17
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Gary Payton	81	31.5	9.4	1.5	2.1	3.6	6.2	1.8	0.3	2.1	3.1	4.1	9.1	.451	0.0	0.3	.130	1.2	1.8	.669
difference:	+18	+2.8	+6.2	+1.0	+0.9	+0.1	+1.4	+0.4		-0.7	-1.0	+1.5	+4.7	+.046	+2.1	+5.8	+.222	+1.1	+1.2	+.113
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	8	27.6	7.6	0.8	1.9	2.6	4.8	1.0	0.3	1.3	3.3	3.4	7.3	.466	0.0	0.3	.000	0.9	1.5	.583
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1992-93	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Gary Payton	82	31.1	13.5	1.2	2.3	3.4	4.9	2.2	0.3	1.8	3.0	5.8	11.7	.494	0.1	0.4	.206	1.8	2.4	.770
difference:	+34	+5.4	+2.0	+0.6	+1.0	+0.5	+0.3	+1.4	+0.1	-1.3	-1.1		+2.3	+.080	+1.8	+5.4	+.118	+0.2	+0.3	+.030
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	19	31.8	12.3	1.2	2.2	3.3	3.7	1.8	0.2	1.8	3.4	5.5	12.4	.443	0.1	0.3	.167	1.3	1.9	.676
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1993-94	2018-19
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Gary Payton	82	35.1	16.5	1.3	2.0	3.3	6.0	2.3	0.2	2.1	2.8	7.1	14.1	.504	0.2	0.7	.278	2.0	3.4	.595
difference:	+1	+4.9	+4.6	+0.6	+1.2	+0.6	+1.0	+1.1		-1.0	-1.1	+1.0	+4.6	+.070	+2.7	+7.1	+.091		+0.9	+.185
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		%
Gary Payton	5	36.2	15.8	1.2	2.2	3.4	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.6	3.0	6.8	13.8	.493	0.6	1.8	.333	1.6	3.8	.421
difference:		+6.6	+3.6	+0.8	+1.0	+0.2	+2.0	+0.2	+0.2	-1.2	-0.6	+0.6	+6.8	+.134	+1.8	+5.6	+.009	+0.6	+1.2	+.425
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
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1994-95	2019-20
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Gary Payton	82	36.8	20.6	1.3	2.1	3.4	7.1	2.5	0.2	2.5	2.5	8.4	16.4	.509	0.9	2.8	.302	3.0	4.2	.716
difference:	+37	+4.5	+2.5	+0.9	+1.5	+0.5	+0.8	+1.4	+0.1	-0.8	-0.6	+0.4	+2.4	+.083	+2.6	+6.8	+.065	+0.6	+0.2	+.093
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		%
Gary Payton	4	43.0	17.8	1.5	1.0	2.5	5.3	1.3	0.0	2.0	3.3	8.0	16.8	.478	0.5	2.5	.200	1.3	3.0	.417
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1995-96	2020-21
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Gary Payton	81	39.0	19.3	1.3	2.9	4.2	7.5	2.9	0.2	3.2	2.7	7.6	15.8	.484	1.2	3.7	.328	2.8	3.8	.748
difference:	+39	+10.5	+0.3	+0.9	+0.6	+1.6	+1.7	+1.8	+0.2	-0.5	-1.1	+0.9	+0.3	+.053	+1.7	+3.7	+.059	+0.1	+0.3	+.017
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		%
Gary Payton	21	43.4	20.7	0.9	4.2	5.1	6.8	1.8	0.3	3.0	3.3	7.7	15.9	.485	2.0	4.8	.410	3.3	5.2	.633
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1996-97	2021-22
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Gary Payton	82	39.2	21.8	1.3	3.3	4.6	7.1	2.4	0.2	2.6	2.5	8.6	18.1	.476	1.5	4.6	.313	3.1	4.3	.715
difference:	+17	+7.2	+3.7	+0.9	+0.4	+1.3		+1.4	+0.1	-0.1	-0.5	+2.4	+3.1	+.065	+1.2	+3.4	+.027	+0.1	+0.6	+.110
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		%
Gary Payton	12	45.6	23.8	1.7	3.8	5.4	8.7	2.2	0.3	2.9	2.2	8.8	21.3	.412	2.1	6.3	.333	4.2	5.1	.820
difference:	+6	+12.9	+11.8	+1.7	+1.3	+2.9	+2.0	+0.7	+0.3	-0.1	-0.6	+4.8	+9.3	+.079	+0.1	+1.1	+.054	+2.2	+2.4	+.070
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
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1997-98	2022-23
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West 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		%
Gary Payton	82	38.4	19.2	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.3	2.3	0.2	2.8	2.4	7.1	15.6	.453	1.6	4.8	.338	3.4	4.6	.744
difference:	+11	+5.9	+1.4	+0.4	+1.1	+1.6	+2.1	+1.3	+0.2	-0.2	-0.4	+0.8	+2.2	+.016	+1.1	+2.1	+.058	+0.9	+1.6	+.085
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		%
Gary Payton	10	42.7	24.0	0.9	2.5	3.4	7.0	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.1	8.7	18.3	.475	1.9	5.0	.380	4.7	5.0	.940
difference:	+6	+13.1	+10.7	+0.3	+0.2	+0.5	+2.4	+1.1	+0.2	-0.8	-1.1	+3.5	+6.1	+.049	+0.2	+0.4	+.070	+3.4	+3.4	+.171
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
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1998-99	2023-24
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Gary Payton	50	40.2	21.7	1.2	3.6	4.9	8.7	2.2	0.2	3.1	2.3	8.0	18.5	.434	1.7	5.6	.295	4.0	5.5	.721
difference:	+26	+7.5	+3.7	+0.8	+0.9	+1.8	+2.4	+1.3	+0.3	-1.0	-0.2	+1.5	+4.3	+.022	+1.3	+1.6	+.120	+1.9	+3.0	+.107
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		%
Gary Payton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1999-00	2024-25
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did not play

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	41.8	24.2	1.2	5.2	6.5	8.9	1.9	0.2	2.7	2.2	9.1	20.3	.448	2.2	6.3	.340	3.8	5.2	.735
difference:	+24	+16.3	+11.6	+0.9	+2.8	+3.7	+3.8	+0.9	+0.2	-0.8	-0.2	+4.8	+9.3	+.058	+0.3	+0.1	+.026	+1.7	+2.7	+.099
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		%
Gary Payton	5	44.2	25.8	1.6	6.0	7.6	7.4	1.8	0.2	3.6	3.2	10.0	22.6	.442	1.8	4.6	.391	4.0	5.2	.769
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Gary Payton	D'Angelo Russell
Season	2000-01	2025-26
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play (season in progress)

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	79	41.1	23.1	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.1	1.6	0.3	2.6	2.3	9.2	20.1	.456	1.3	3.4	.375	3.4	4.5	.766
difference:	+54	+22.1	+12.9	+0.6	+1.6	+2.2	+4.1	+1.1	+0.2	-0.7	-1.1	+5.6	+11.2	+.051		+1.0	+.075	+1.7	+2.1	+.049
D'Angelo Russell	25	19.0	10.2	0.3	2.0	2.4	4.0	0.5	0.1	1.9	1.2	3.6	8.9	.405	1.3	4.4	.300	1.7	2.4	.717

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Gary Payton nor D'Angelo Russell played in the postseason in their season 11


Additional Years
* Gary Payton played 6 seasons more than D'Angelo Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 17, from 2002 to 2007—Gary Payton played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 6 extra years over D'Angelo Russell, Gary Payton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Star Game

Gary Payton vs. D'Angelo Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of D'Angelo Russell and Gary Payton, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years