John Havlicek vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and John Havlicek, 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.

John Havlicek played 16 years in the NBA, 3 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. John Havlicek had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
John Havlicek	16	13	1962-63 to 1977-78
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1962-63	1956-57
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	27.5	14.3	-	-	6.7	2.2	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.6	.445	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.728
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		%
John Havlicek	11	23.1	11.8	-	-	4.8	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	5.1	11.4	.448	-	-	-	1.6	2.5	.667
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1963-64	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	32.3	19.9	-	-	5.4	3.0	-	-	-	2.8	8.0	19.2	.417	-	-	-	3.9	5.3	.746
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		%
John Havlicek	10	28.9	15.7	-	-	4.3	3.2	-	-	-	2.6	6.1	15.9	.384	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.795
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1964-65	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	75	28.9	18.3	-	-	4.9	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	18.9	.401	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.744
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		%
John Havlicek	12	33.8	18.5	-	-	7.3	2.4	-	-	-	3.7	7.3	20.8	.352	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.836
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1965-66	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	71	30.6	18.8	-	-	6.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.5	18.7	.399	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.785
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		%
John Havlicek	17	42.3	23.6	-	-	9.1	4.1	-	-	-	4.1	9.0	22.0	.409	-	-	-	5.6	6.6	.841
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1966-67	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	32.1	21.4	-	-	6.6	3.4	-	-	-	2.6	8.4	19.0	.444	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.828
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		%
John Havlicek	9	36.7	27.4	-	-	8.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.6	.448	-	-	-	6.3	7.9	.803
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1967-68	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	35.6	20.7	-	-	6.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.9	8.1	18.9	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.812
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		%
John Havlicek	19	45.4	25.9	-	-	8.6	7.5	-	-	-	3.5	9.7	21.4	.452	-	-	-	6.6	7.9	.828
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1968-69	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	38.7	21.6	-	-	7.0	5.4	-	-	-	3.0	8.4	20.8	.405	-	-	-	4.7	6.0	.780
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		%
John Havlicek	18	47.2	25.4	-	-	9.9	5.6	-	-	-	3.2	9.4	21.2	.445	-	-	-	6.6	7.7	.855
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1969-70	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	41.6	24.2	-	-	7.8	6.8	-	-	-	2.6	9.1	19.6	.464	-	-	-	6.0	7.1	.844
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		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1970-71	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	81	45.4	28.9	-	-	9.0	7.5	-	-	-	2.5	11.0	24.5	.450	-	-	-	6.8	8.4	.818
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		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1971-72	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	45.1	27.5	-	-	8.2	7.5	-	-	-	2.2	10.9	23.9	.458	-	-	-	5.6	6.7	.834
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		%
John Havlicek	11	47.0	27.4	-	-	8.4	6.4	-	-	-	3.2	9.8	21.4	.460	-	-	-	7.7	9.0	.859
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	80	42.1	23.8	-	-	7.1	6.6	-	-	-	2.4	9.6	21.3	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.858
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		%
John Havlicek	12	39.9	23.8	-	-	5.2	5.4	-	-	-	2.0	9.3	19.6	.477	-	-	-	5.1	6.2	.824
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1973-74	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	76	40.7	22.6	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.9	1.3	0.4	-	2.6	9.0	19.8	.456	-	-	-	4.6	5.5	.832
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		%
John Havlicek	18	45.1	27.1	1.6	4.9	6.4	6.0	1.3	0.3	-	2.4	11.1	22.8	.484	-	-	-	4.9	5.6	.881
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
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1974-75	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	38.2	19.2	1.9	4.0	5.9	5.3	1.3	0.2	-	2.8	7.8	17.2	.455	-	-	-	3.5	4.0	.870
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		%
John Havlicek	11	42.2	21.1	1.6	3.5	5.2	4.6	1.5	0.1	-	3.5	7.5	17.5	.432	-	-	-	6.0	6.9	.868
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506


Season 14
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1975-76	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	76	34.2	17.0	1.5	2.6	4.1	3.7	1.3	0.4	-	2.7	6.6	14.8	.450	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.844
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	15	33.7	13.2	1.2	2.5	3.7	3.4	0.8	0.3	-	2.1	5.3	12.0	.444	-	-	-	2.5	3.1	.809
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1976-77	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	79	36.9	17.7	1.4	3.5	4.8	5.1	1.1	0.2	-	2.6	7.3	16.2	.452	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	.816
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	9	41.7	18.3	1.7	3.8	5.4	6.9	0.9	0.4	-	3.7	6.9	18.6	.371	-	-	-	4.6	5.6	.820
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	John Havlicek	Bill Russell
Season	1977-78	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	82	34.1	16.1	1.1	2.9	4.0	4.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	2.3	6.7	14.8	.449	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.855
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Havlicek	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

John Havlicek vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and John Havlicek, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16