Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Hakeem Olajuwon, 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.

Hakeem Olajuwon played 18 years in the NBA, 5 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Hakeem Olajuwon had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, 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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1956-57
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613
difference:	+34	+0.2	+5.9			+7.7	+0.4				-1.2	+2.5	+1.8	+.111				+0.9	+0.3	+.121
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478
difference:	+5	+3.5	+7.3			+11.4	+1.8				-0.3	+3.0	+2.8	+.112				+1.3	+3.1	+.030
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1957-58
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645
difference:	+1	+2.0	+6.9			+11.2	+0.9				-1.4	+2.6	+2.5	+.084				+1.8	+1.5	+.126
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638
difference:	+11	+1.1	+11.8			+12.8	+0.7				-1.7	+5.0	+4.6	+.169				+2.0	+2.7	+.032
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1958-59
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702
difference:	+5	+5.8	+6.7			+11.6	+0.3				-1.6	+2.5	+3.6	+.051				+1.6	+1.5	+.104
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742
difference:	+1	+6.2	+13.7			+16.4	+1.1				-1.9	+5.1	+3.4	+.206				+3.5	+3.6	+.130
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1959-60
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695
difference:	+5	+6.7	+4.6			+11.9	+1.6				-1.3	+1.5	+1.4	+.047				+1.6	+1.6	+.083
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884
difference:	+9	+3.5	+19.0			+9.0	+1.1				-0.6	+6.8	+8.7	+.115				+5.4	+5.0	+.177
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1960-61
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696
difference:	+4	+7.4	+7.9			+10.4	+1.6				-2.0	+2.8	+3.0	+.082				+2.2	+2.0	+.146
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680
difference:	+6	+5.7	+6.2			+16.9	+1.8				-1.9	+3.2	+3.2	+.092				+0.2	+2.3	+.157
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1961-62
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713
difference:	+6	+7.1	+5.4			+9.6	+1.6				-1.1	+2.2	+3.0	+.044				+0.9	+0.2	+.118
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706
difference:	+10	+7.7	+3.9			+14.9	+3.0				-1.3	+0.5	+0.6	+.015				+2.9	+3.8	+.020
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1962-63
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769
difference:	+22	+8.1	+4.4			+9.8	+2.2				-1.5	+2.1	+1.9	+.076				+0.1	+1.7	+.214
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824
difference:	+10	+4.5	+1.7			+10.4	+3.1				-0.9	+1.3	+1.3	+.125				+0.8	+2.7	+.163
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1963-64
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766
difference:	+8	+6.9	+6.6			+12.6	+2.5				-1.4	+2.4	+3.0	+.069				+1.7	+0.6	+.216
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1964-65
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	39.5	26.1	3.5	9.6	13.0	3.5	1.8	4.2	3.2	3.7	10.3	19.5	.529	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.0	.779
difference:	+4	+4.9	+12.0			+11.1	+1.8				-1.1	+4.8	+6.9	+.091				+2.3	+1.5	+.206
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	12	43.2	25.7	4.3	9.7	14.0	4.8	1.8	4.9	3.8	3.1	10.3	19.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.3	.827
difference:		+3.6	+9.2			+11.2	+1.5				-0.5	+3.7	+7.3	+.010				+1.9		+.301
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1965-66
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	80	41.0	27.3	2.9	9.1	11.9	3.6	1.6	3.7	3.4	3.6	11.2	21.2	.528	0.1	0.2	.421	4.9	6.8	.716
difference:	+2	+2.4	+14.4			+10.9	+1.2				-0.8	+6.2	+9.1	+.113				+2.0	+1.6	+.165
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	23	43.0	28.9	2.4	8.7	11.0	4.3	1.7	4.0	3.6	3.6	11.6	22.3	.519	0.1	0.2	.500	5.6	7.0	.795
difference:	+6	+4.9	+9.8			+14.2	+0.7				-0.1	+4.3	+6.9	+.044				+1.1	+0.2	+.177
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1994-95	1966-67
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	72	39.6	27.8	2.4	8.4	10.8	3.5	1.8	3.4	3.3	3.5	11.1	21.5	.517	0.0	0.2	.188	5.6	7.5	.756
difference:	+9	+1.1	+14.5			+10.2	+2.3				-0.3	+6.2	+10.8	+.063				+2.1	+1.7	+.146
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	22	42.2	33.0	2.0	8.3	10.3	4.5	1.2	2.8	3.1	4.3	13.9	26.2	.531	0.1	0.2	.500	5.0	7.4	.681
difference:	+13	+1.1	+22.4			+11.7	+1.1				-0.7	+10.5	+16.6	+.171				+1.3	+1.6	+.046
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1995-96	1967-68
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	72	38.8	26.9	2.4	8.4	10.9	3.6	1.6	2.9	3.4	3.4	10.7	20.8	.514	0.0	0.2	.214	5.5	7.6	.724
difference:	+6	+0.9	+14.4			+7.7	+1.0				-0.3	+6.0	+9.8	+.089				+2.3	+1.7	+.187
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	8	41.1	22.4	2.1	7.0	9.1	3.9	1.9	2.1	3.6	3.5	9.4	18.4	.510	0.0	0.1	.000	3.6	5.0	.725
difference:	+11	+4.6	+8.0			+13.7	+1.3				-0.3	+4.2	+5.7	+.101				+0.4	+1.8	+.140
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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Bill Russell
Season	1996-97	1968-69
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	78	36.6	23.2	2.2	7.0	9.2	3.0	1.5	2.2	3.6	3.2	9.3	18.3	.510	0.1	0.2	.313	4.5	5.7	.787
difference:	+1	+6.1	+13.3			+10.1	+1.9				-0.2	+5.7	+9.9	+.077				+1.9	+0.7	+.261
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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	16	39.4	23.1	2.9	8.0	10.9	3.4	2.1	2.6	2.9	3.8	9.2	15.6	.590	0.0	0.2	.000	4.8	6.5	.731
difference:	+2	+6.7	+12.3			+9.6	+2.0				-0.2	+4.9	+5.5	+.167				+2.5	+2.0	+.225
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 5 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 18, from 1998 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 3 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team