Jakob Poeltl vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Jakob Poeltl, 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

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.

Jakob Poeltl played 9 years in the NBA, 4 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Jakob Poeltl had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Jakob Poeltl	9	3	2016-17 to 2024-25
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

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


Rookie Season
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1956-57
Team	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	54	11.6	3.1	1.4	1.6	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	2.1	1.2	2.1	.583	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.544
difference:	+6	+23.7	+11.6			+16.5	+1.6				-0.9	+4.6	+11.4	+.156				+2.6	+5.3	+.052
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	6	4.3	1.7	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.5	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.3	.000
difference:	+4	+36.6	+12.2			+22.4	+3.2				-3.6	+4.6	+13.0	+.090				+3.1	+5.8	+.508
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1957-58
Team	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	82	18.6	6.9	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.5	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.1	4.7	.659	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.2	.594
difference:	+13	+19.7	+9.7			+17.9	+2.2					+3.5	+10.3	+.217				+2.6	+5.2	+.075
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	9	15.6	5.4	1.7	2.3	4.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.9	2.8	1.9	3.4	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.1	.789
difference:		+23.8	+9.7			+20.6	+2.0				-0.1	+3.4	+11.4	+.187				+2.7	+5.2	+.183
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1958-59
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	77	16.5	5.5	2.3	3.0	5.3	1.2	0.4	0.9	0.6	1.6	2.4	3.8	.645	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.2	.533
difference:	+7	+26.1	+11.2			+17.7	+2.0				-0.7	+4.1	+10.4	+.188				+3.1	+4.9	+.065
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	7	25.3	7.3	3.6	4.1	7.7	1.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.1	.639	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.3	.556
difference:	+4	+19.8	+8.2			+20.0	+1.9				-1.2	+2.6	+9.4	+.230				+3.0	+4.8	+.056
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1959-60
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	66	17.7	5.6	2.0	3.7	5.7	1.8	0.6	1.4	0.8	1.9	2.5	4.0	.624	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.3	.465
difference:	+8	+24.8	+12.6			+18.3	+1.9				-0.9	+5.0	+12.1	+.157				+2.6	+4.0	+.147
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1960-61
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	69	26.7	8.6	3.2	4.8	7.9	1.9	0.7	1.8	1.2	2.5	3.8	6.2	.616	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.508
difference:	+9	+17.6	+8.3			+16.0	+1.5				-0.5	+3.0	+9.8	+.190				+2.4	+4.2	+.042
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	1961-62
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	68	29.0	13.5	3.9	5.5	9.3	2.8	0.7	1.7	1.6	3.1	6.0	9.8	.618	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.8	.495
difference:	+8	+16.2	+5.4			+14.3	+1.7				-0.4	+1.6	+6.8	+.161				+2.4	+3.5	+.100
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	1962-63
Team	San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	72	26.5	12.5	3.3	5.8	9.1	2.7	0.9	1.2	1.7	2.7	5.4	8.6	.629	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.592
difference:	+6	+18.4	+4.3			+14.5	+1.8				-0.3	+1.2	+6.6	+.197				+2.0	+3.8	+.037
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	1963-64
Team	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	50	26.4	11.1	2.9	5.7	8.6	2.5	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.0	5.0	7.6	.656	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.1	.551
difference:	+28	+18.2	+3.9			+16.1	+2.2				-0.6	+1.0	+6.2	+.223				+1.8	+3.4	+.001
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	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
	Jakob Poeltl	Bill Russell
Season	2024-25	1964-65
Team	Toronto Raptors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jakob Poeltl	57	29.6	14.5	3.3	6.3	9.6	2.8	1.2	1.2	1.9	3.1	6.4	10.2	.627	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.5	.674
difference:	+21	+14.8	+0.4			+14.5	+2.5				-0.5	+0.9	+2.4	+.189				+1.4	+3.0	+.101
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		%
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526


Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 4 seasons more than Jakob Poeltl in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1966 to 1969—Bill Russell played in 4 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those 4 extra years over Jakob Poeltl, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game

Jakob Poeltl vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Jakob Poeltl, 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

Additional Years