Kevin McHale vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kevin McHale, 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 McHale and Bill Russell both played 13 years in the NBA. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, 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 McHale	13	13	1980-81 to 1992-93
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1956-57
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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 McHale	82	20.1	10.0	1.9	2.5	4.4	0.7	0.3	1.8	1.3	3.2	4.3	8.1	.533	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.9	.679
difference:	+34	+15.2	+4.7			+15.2	+1.1				-0.2	+1.5	+5.4	+.106				+1.9	+4.5	+.187
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 McHale	17	17.4	8.5	1.7	1.8	3.5	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.9	3.0	3.6	6.6	.540	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.1	.639
difference:	+7	+23.5	+5.4			+20.9	+2.4				-1.1	+1.8	+8.2	+.175				+1.7	+4.0	+.131
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Kevin McHale	82	28.4	13.6	2.3	4.5	6.8	1.1	0.4	2.3	1.7	3.2	5.7	10.7	.531	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.754
difference:	+13	+9.9	+3.0			+15.9	+1.8				-0.6	+0.9	+4.3	+.089				+1.0	+3.4	+.235
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 McHale	12	28.7	16.2	3.4	3.7	7.1	0.9	0.4	2.3	1.3	3.7	6.4	11.2	.575	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.4	.755
difference:	+3	+10.7	+1.1			+17.5	+1.8				-1.0	+1.1	+3.6	+.214				+1.1	+2.9	+.149
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Kevin McHale	82	28.6	14.1	2.6	4.1	6.7	1.3	0.4	2.3	1.9	2.9	5.9	10.9	.541	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.3	.717
difference:	+12	+14.0	+2.6			+16.3	+1.9				-0.6	+0.6	+3.3	+.084				+1.3	+2.8	+.119
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 McHale	7	25.3	11.1	2.1	3.9	6.0	0.7	0.4	1.0	1.4	2.3	4.9	8.9	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.4	2.6	.556
difference:	+4	+19.8	+4.4			+21.7	+2.9				-0.2	+1.0	+5.6	+.139				+2.3	+3.5	+.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
	Kevin McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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 McHale	82	31.4	18.4	2.5	4.9	7.4	1.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	3.0	7.2	12.9	.556	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	5.4	.765
difference:	+8	+11.1	+0.2			+16.6	+2.4				-0.2	+0.3	+3.2	+.089				+0.9	+0.1	+.153
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 McHale	23	30.5	14.8	2.7	3.5	6.2	1.2	0.1	1.5	1.7	3.3	5.3	10.6	.504	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.3	.777
difference:	+10	+13.5	+3.7			+19.6	+1.7				-0.4	+1.9	+5.2	+.048					+0.5	+.070
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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 McHale	79	33.6	19.8	2.9	6.1	9.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.0	3.0	7.7	13.4	.570	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	5.9	.760
difference:	+1	+10.7	+2.9			+14.9	+1.6				-1.0	+0.9	+2.6	+.144				+1.2	+0.1	+.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		%
Kevin McHale	21	39.9	22.1	3.5	6.4	9.9	1.5	0.6	2.2	2.9	3.5	8.2	14.4	.568	0.0	0.0	-	5.8	7.1	.807
difference:	+11	+6.3	+3.0			+20.0	+3.3				-1.1	+0.9	+2.7	+.141				+1.3	+1.5	+.284
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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 McHale	68	35.3	21.3	2.5	5.6	8.1	2.7	0.4	2.0	2.2	2.8	8.3	14.4	.574	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	6.2	.776
difference:	+8	+9.9	+2.4			+15.5	+1.8				-0.1	+0.7	+2.2	+.117				+1.0	+0.1	+.181
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 McHale	18	39.7	24.9	2.8	5.8	8.6	2.7	0.4	2.4	2.7	3.6	9.3	16.1	.579	0.0	0.1	.000	6.2	7.8	.794
difference:	+4	+8.3	+2.5			+17.8	+2.3				-0.1	+1.0	+2.0	+.121				+0.3	+0.3	+.068
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics 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 McHale	77	39.7	26.1	3.2	6.7	9.9	2.6	0.5	2.2	2.6	3.1	10.3	17.0	.604	0.0	0.1	.000	5.6	6.6	.836
difference:	+1	+5.2	+9.3			+13.7	+1.9				-0.7	+3.7	+1.8	+.172				+1.9		+.281
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 McHale	21	39.4	21.1	3.1	6.1	9.2	1.9	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.4	8.3	14.2	.584	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.0	.762
difference:	+8	+8.1	+0.8			+15.9	+3.2				-0.6	+0.9	+2.1	+.131				+0.9	+2.4	+.101
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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 McHale	64	37.3	22.6	2.5	5.9	8.4	2.7	0.4	1.4	2.2	2.8	8.6	14.2	.604	0.0	0.0	-	5.4	6.8	.797
difference:	+14	+7.3	+7.6			+16.3	+2.0				-0.4	+2.6	+0.4	+.171				+2.4	+1.3	+.247
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 McHale	17	42.1	25.4	3.2	4.8	8.0	2.4	0.4	1.8	2.3	3.8	9.3	15.4	.603	0.1	0.1	1.000	6.8	8.1	.839
difference:	+7	+3.0	+12.3			+19.2	+2.0				-0.5	+4.6	+2.2	+.247				+3.1	+1.4	+.287
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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 McHale	78	36.9	22.5	2.9	5.3	8.2	2.2	0.3	1.2	2.5	2.9	8.5	15.5	.546	0.0	0.1	.000	5.6	6.8	.818
difference:		+7.5	+8.4			+15.9	+3.1				-0.3	+3.0	+2.9	+.108				+2.5	+1.3	+.245
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 McHale	3	38.3	19.0	2.3	5.7	8.0	3.0	0.3	0.7	1.3	4.3	6.7	13.7	.488	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.7	.739
difference:	+9	+8.5	+2.5			+17.2	+3.3				-0.7	+0.1	+1.2	+.039				+2.4	+1.4	+.213
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Kevin McHale	82	33.2	20.9	2.5	5.8	8.3	2.1	0.4	1.9	2.2	3.0	7.9	14.4	.549	0.3	0.8	.333	4.8	5.4	.893
difference:	+4	+10.2	+8.0			+14.5	+2.7				-0.2	+2.9	+2.3	+.134				+1.9	+0.2	+.342
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 McHale	5	38.4	22.0	1.6	6.2	7.8	2.6	0.4	2.0	2.8	3.4	8.4	13.8	.609	0.2	0.6	.333	5.0	5.8	.862
difference:	+12	+9.5	+2.9			+17.4	+2.4				-0.1	+1.1	+1.6	+.134				+0.5	+1.4	+.244
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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 McHale	68	30.4	18.4	2.1	4.9	7.1	1.9	0.4	2.1	2.1	2.9	7.4	13.4	.553	0.2	0.5	.405	3.4	4.0	.829
difference:	+13	+10.3	+5.1			+13.9	+3.9				-0.3	+2.5	+2.7	+.099				+0.1	+1.8	+.219
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 McHale	11	34.2	20.7	1.6	4.9	6.5	1.8	0.5	1.3	1.3	3.8	7.1	13.5	.527	0.5	1.0	.545	6.0	7.3	.825
difference:	+2	+9.1	+10.1			+15.5	+3.8				-0.2	+3.7	+3.9	+.167				+2.3	+1.5	+.190
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Kevin McHale	56	25.0	13.9	2.1	3.8	5.9	1.5	0.2	1.1	1.5	2.0	5.8	11.3	.509	0.0	0.2	.000	2.4	2.9	.822
difference:	+22	+12.9	+1.4			+12.7	+3.1				-1.1	+1.1	+0.3	+.084				+0.8	+3.0	+.285
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 McHale	10	30.6	16.5	2.1	4.6	6.7	1.3	0.5	0.5	0.9	3.4	6.5	12.6	.516	0.0	0.1	.000	3.5	4.4	.795
difference:	+9	+15.1	+2.1			+16.1	+3.9				-0.4	+1.3	+0.1	+.107				+0.5	+2.4	+.210
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 McHale	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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 McHale	71	23.3	10.7	1.3	3.7	5.0	1.0	0.2	0.8	1.3	1.8	4.2	9.1	.459	0.0	0.3	.111	2.3	2.7	.841
difference:	+6	+19.4	+0.8			+14.3	+3.9				-1.2	+0.6	+0.7	+.026				+0.3	+2.3	+.315
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 McHale	4	28.3	19.0	2.3	5.0	7.3	0.8	0.5	1.8	1.3	1.5	8.0	13.8	.582	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.5	.857
difference:	+14	+17.8	+8.2			+13.2	+4.6				-2.1	+3.7	+3.7	+.159				+0.7	+1.0	+.351
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Kevin McHale vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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