Kevin Love vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kevin Love, 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 / 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.

Kevin Love played 17 years in the NBA, 4 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Kevin Love had the first of his seasons in 2008-09, 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
Kevin Love	17	6	2008-09 to 2024-25
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

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


Rookie Season
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1956-57
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	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		%
Kevin Love	81	25.3	11.1	3.4	5.7	9.1	1.0	0.4	0.6	1.5	2.5	3.9	8.5	.459	0.0	0.2	.105	3.3	4.1	.789
difference:	+33	+10.0	+3.6			+10.5	+0.8				-0.5	+1.9	+5.0	+.032				+0.1	+2.3	+.297
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1957-58
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Love	60	28.6	14.0	3.8	7.2	11.0	2.3	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.3	4.9	10.8	.450	0.6	1.8	.330	3.8	4.6	.815
difference:	+9	+9.7	+2.6			+11.7	+0.6				-0.3	+1.7	+4.2	+.008				+0.5	+1.8	+.296
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		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1958-59
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	Most Improved Player	-
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	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		%
Kevin Love	73	35.8	20.2	4.5	10.7	15.2	2.5	0.6	0.4	2.1	2.0	6.6	14.1	.470	1.2	2.9	.417	5.8	6.8	.850
difference:	+3	+6.8	+3.5			+7.8	+0.7				-0.3	+0.1	+0.1	+.013				+2.1	+0.7	+.252
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1959-60
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
Kevin Love	55	39.0	26.0	4.1	9.2	13.3	2.0	0.9	0.5	2.3	2.8	8.6	19.3	.448	1.9	5.1	.372	6.9	8.4	.824
difference:	+19	+3.5	+7.8			+10.7	+1.7					+1.1	+3.2	+.019				+3.7	+3.1	+.212
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1960-61
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	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		%
Kevin Love	18	34.3	18.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.3	0.7	0.5	2.2	1.9	5.8	16.6	.352	1.1	5.1	.217	5.6	7.9	.704
difference:	+60	+10.0	+1.4			+9.9	+1.1				-0.1	+1.0	+0.6	+.074				+2.3	+1.9	+.154
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1961-62
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	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		%
Kevin Love	77	36.3	26.1	2.9	9.6	12.5	4.4	0.8	0.5	2.5	1.8	8.4	18.5	.457	2.5	6.6	.376	6.8	8.2	.821
difference:	+1	+8.9	+7.2			+11.1	+0.1				-0.9	+0.8	+1.9					+3.0	+1.9	+.226
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1962-63
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kevin Love	75	33.8	16.4	1.9	7.9	9.7	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	1.9	5.5	12.7	.434	1.9	5.2	.367	3.4	4.3	.804
difference:	+3	+11.1	+0.4			+13.9	+2.3				-0.5	+1.1	+2.5	+.002				+0.3	+2.3	+.249
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		%
Kevin Love	4	26.8	14.3	1.5	5.5	7.0	2.5	0.3	0.5	1.5	3.0	4.3	10.3	.415	2.3	5.3	.429	3.5	4.8	.737
difference:	+9	+20.7	+6.0			+18.1	+2.6				-0.2	+3.1	+6.0	+.038				+2.0	+3.6	+.076
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1963-64
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Kevin Love	77	31.5	16.0	1.9	8.0	9.9	2.4	0.8	0.5	1.8	2.1	5.3	12.7	.419	2.1	5.7	.360	3.4	4.1	.822
difference:	+1	+13.1	+1.0			+14.8	+2.3				-0.3	+0.7	+1.1	+.014				+0.4	+1.4	+.272
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		%
Kevin Love	20	30.7	14.7	1.7	7.1	8.8	2.1	0.5	0.4	1.4	1.7	4.6	12.0	.385	2.3	5.6	.414	3.2	3.8	.840
difference:	+10	+14.4	+1.6			+18.4	+2.3				-1.6	+0.1	+1.2	+.029				+0.5	+2.9	+.288
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1964-65
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kevin Love	60	31.4	19.0	2.5	8.6	11.1	1.9	0.9	0.4	2.0	2.1	6.2	14.5	.427	2.4	6.5	.373	4.3	4.9	.871
difference:	+18	+13.0	+4.9			+13.0	+3.4				-0.5	+0.7	+1.9	+.011				+1.2	+0.6	+.298
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		%
Kevin Love	18	32.1	16.8	2.0	8.6	10.6	1.7	1.2	0.9	1.7	2.6	5.3	12.1	.436	2.8	6.2	.450	3.5	4.2	.840
difference:	+6	+14.7	+0.3			+14.6	+4.6				-1.0	+1.3	+0.4	+.091				+0.2	+2.1	+.314
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1965-66
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kevin Love	59	28.0	17.6	1.7	7.5	9.3	1.7	0.7	0.4	1.5	2.0	5.7	12.4	.458	2.3	5.6	.415	4.0	4.5	.880
difference:	+19	+15.4	+4.7			+13.5	+3.1				-0.8	+0.7	+0.3	+.043				+1.1	+0.7	+.329
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		%
Kevin Love	21	31.4	14.9	2.3	7.9	10.2	1.6	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.8	5.2	13.2	.392	1.7	5.0	.340	2.8	3.0	.922
difference:	+4	+16.5	+4.2			+15.0	+3.4				-0.7	+2.1	+2.2	+.083				+1.7	+4.2	+.304
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1966-67
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Kevin Love	22	27.2	17.0	1.5	9.4	10.9	2.2	0.3	0.2	1.9	2.5	5.0	12.9	.385	2.4	6.7	.361	4.7	5.2	.904
difference:	+59	+13.5	+3.7			+10.1	+3.6				-0.7	+0.1	+2.2	+.069				+1.2	+0.6	+.294
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		%
Kevin Love	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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1967-68
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Love	56	31.8	17.6	1.0	8.8	9.8	3.2	0.6	0.3	2.5	1.6	5.8	13.0	.450	2.6	7.0	.374	3.3	3.9	.854
difference:	+22	+6.1	+5.1			+8.8	+1.4				-1.5	+1.1	+2.0	+.025				+0.1	+2.0	+.317
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		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kevin Love	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1968-69
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Love	25	24.9	12.2	0.7	6.8	7.4	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.5	1.0	4.1	10.1	.409	2.3	6.2	.365	1.7	2.0	.824
difference:	+52	+17.8	+2.3			+11.9	+2.4				-2.0	+0.5	+1.7	+.024				+0.9	+3.0	+.298
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		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

* Kevin Love played 4 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2022 to 2025—Kevin Love played in two Playoffs.

Kevin Love vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kevin Love, 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

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years