Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Giannis Antetokounmpo, 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.

Giannis Antetokounmpo played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Giannis Antetokounmpo had the first of his seasons in 2013-14, 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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1956-57
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	77	24.6	6.8	1.0	3.4	4.4	1.9	0.8	0.8	1.6	2.2	2.2	5.4	.414	0.5	1.5	.347	1.8	2.6	.683
difference:	+29	+10.7	+7.9			+15.2	+0.1				-0.8	+3.6	+8.1	+.013				+1.4	+3.8	+.191
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1957-58
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	81	31.4	12.7	1.2	5.5	6.7	2.6	0.9	1.0	2.1	3.1	4.7	9.6	.491	0.1	0.5	.159	3.2	4.3	.741
difference:	+12	+6.9	+3.9			+16.0	+0.3				-0.5	+1.9	+5.4	+.049				+0.1	+2.1	+.222
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	6	33.5	11.5	2.0	5.0	7.0	2.7	0.5	1.5	1.8	3.0	4.3	11.8	.366	0.0	0.2	.000	2.8	3.8	.739
difference:	+3	+5.9	+3.6			+17.6					-0.3	+1.0	+3.0	+.005				+1.6	+3.5	+.133
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1958-59
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	80	35.3	16.9	1.4	6.2	7.7	4.3	1.2	1.4	2.6	3.2	6.4	12.7	.506	0.4	1.4	.257	3.7	5.1	.724
difference:	+10	+7.3	+0.2			+15.3	+1.1				-0.9	+0.1	+1.5	+.049					+1.0	+.126
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1959-60
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	80	35.6	22.9	1.8	7.0	8.8	5.4	1.6	1.9	2.9	3.1	8.2	15.7	.521	0.6	2.3	.272	5.9	7.7	.770
difference:	+6	+6.9	+4.7			+15.2	+1.7				-0.3	+0.7	+0.4	+.054				+2.7	+2.4	+.158
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	6	40.5	24.8	1.7	7.8	9.5	4.0	2.2	1.7	3.3	3.5	10.0	18.7	.536	0.7	1.7	.400	4.2	7.7	.543
difference:	+7	+3.5	+6.3			+16.3	+1.1				-0.6	+2.8	+2.9	+.080				+0.1	+1.9	+.164
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1960-61
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	75	36.7	26.9	2.1	8.0	10.0	4.8	1.5	1.4	3.0	3.1	9.9	18.7	.529	0.6	1.9	.307	6.5	8.5	.760
difference:	+3	+7.6	+10.0			+13.9	+1.4				-1.1	+3.1	+2.7	+.103				+3.2	+2.5	+.210
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	7	40.0	25.7	1.1	8.4	9.6	6.3	1.4	0.9	2.4	4.0	9.9	17.3	.570	0.6	2.0	.286	5.4	7.9	.691
difference:	+3	+6.2	+6.6			+20.3	+1.5				-1.6	+2.6	+0.2	+.143				+0.9	+0.7	+.168
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1961-62
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	72	32.8	27.7	2.2	10.3	12.5	5.9	1.3	1.5	3.7	3.2	10.0	17.3	.578	0.7	2.8	.256	6.9	9.5	.729
difference:	+4	+12.4	+8.8			+11.1	+1.4				-0.5	+2.4	+0.7	+.121				+3.1	+3.2	+.134
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	15	34.3	25.5	2.4	9.8	12.2	4.9	1.2	2.0	3.3	3.2	8.6	17.4	.494	1.2	3.7	.327	7.1	11.2	.637
difference:	+1	+13.7	+3.1			+14.2	+0.1				-0.3	+0.3	+0.7	+.036				+1.2	+3.1	+.089
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1962-63
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	63	30.4	29.5	2.2	11.4	13.6	5.6	1.0	1.0	3.7	3.1	10.9	19.7	.553	1.4	4.7	.304	6.3	10.0	.633
difference:	+15	+14.5	+12.7			+10.0	+1.1				-0.7	+4.3	+4.5	+.121				+2.6	+3.4	+.078
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	9	30.8	26.7	3.0	10.8	13.8	5.7	0.7	0.9	3.3	3.4	10.0	17.9	.559	1.4	4.4	.325	5.2	9.0	.580
difference:	+4	+16.7	+6.4			+11.3	+0.6				-0.6	+2.6	+1.6	+.106				+0.3	+0.6	+.081
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1963-64
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	61	33.0	28.1	1.6	9.4	11.0	5.9	1.2	1.2	3.4	2.8	10.3	18.0	.569	1.1	3.6	.303	6.5	9.5	.685
difference:	+17	+11.6	+13.1			+13.7	+1.2				-0.4	+4.3	+4.2	+.136				+3.5	+4.0	+.135
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	21	38.1	30.2	2.8	10.0	12.8	5.1	1.0	1.2	3.0	2.9	11.9	20.9	.569	0.6	3.3	.186	5.8	9.8	.587
difference:	+11	+7.0	+17.1			+14.4	+0.7				-0.4	+7.2	+7.7	+.213				+2.1	+3.1	+.035
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	1964-65
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	67	32.9	29.9	2.0	9.6	11.6	5.8	1.1	1.4	3.3	3.2	10.3	18.6	.553	1.1	3.6	.293	8.3	11.4	.722
difference:	+11	+11.5	+15.8			+12.5	+0.5				-0.6	+4.8	+6.0	+.115				+5.2	+5.9	+.149
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	12	37.3	31.7	2.2	12.0	14.2	6.8	0.7	1.3	4.5	3.6	11.7	23.8	.491	0.8	3.4	.220	7.6	11.2	.679
difference:		+9.5	+15.2			+11.0	+0.5					+5.1	+11.3	+.036				+4.3	+4.9	+.153
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	1965-66
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	63	32.1	31.1	2.2	9.6	11.8	5.7	0.8	0.8	3.9	3.1	11.2	20.3	.553	0.7	2.7	.275	7.9	12.3	.645
difference:	+15	+11.3	+18.2			+11.0	+0.9				-0.3	+6.2	+8.2	+.138				+5.0	+7.1	+.094
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	3	30.3	23.3	2.7	8.3	11.0	5.3	0.3	0.7	4.7	3.0	9.3	17.7	.528	0.0	1.0	.000	4.7	10.3	.452
difference:	+14	+17.6	+4.2			+14.2	+0.3				-0.5	+2.0	+2.3	+.053				+0.2	+3.1	+.166
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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	1966-67
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Cup All-Tournament 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	73	35.2	30.4	2.7	8.8	11.5	6.5	1.2	1.1	3.4	2.9	11.5	18.8	.611	0.5	1.7	.274	7.0	10.7	.657
difference:	+8	+5.5	+17.1			+9.5	+0.7				-0.3	+6.6	+8.1	+.157				+3.5	+4.9	+.047
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	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
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Bill Russell
Season	2024-25	1967-68
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Cup MVP	-
	Cup All-Tournament Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion
Others	NBA Cup 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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	67	34.2	30.4	2.2	9.7	11.9	6.5	0.9	1.2	3.1	2.3	11.8	19.7	.601	0.2	0.9	.222	6.5	10.6	.617
difference:	+11	+3.7	+17.9			+6.7	+1.9				-0.8	+7.1	+8.7	+.176				+3.3	+4.7	+.080
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		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	5	37.6	33.0	3.8	11.6	15.4	6.6	1.0	1.0	4.6	2.4	12.0	19.8	.606	0.2	1.0	.200	8.8	12.6	.698
difference:	+14	+8.1	+18.6			+7.4	+1.4				-1.4	+6.8	+7.1	+.197				+4.8	+5.8	+.113
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585

Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 1 season more than Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA. In that period—his season 13 in 1969—Bill Russell played in the Playoffs and won the NBA Championship. In that extra year over Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Star Game