Kevin McHale vs. D'Angelo Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of D'Angelo 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.

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 played 13 years in the NBA, 3 more than D'Angelo Russell, who played 10. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while D'Angelo Russell had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1980-81	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+2	+8.1	+3.2	+1.3	+0.3	+1.0	+2.6	+0.9	+1.6	-1.2	-1.4	+0.6	+3.9	+.123	+1.6	+4.6		+0.5	+0.5	+.058
D'Angelo Russell	80	28.2	13.2	0.6	2.8	3.4	3.3	1.2	0.2	2.5	1.8	4.9	12.0	.410	1.6	4.6	.351	1.8	2.4	.737
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
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1982-83	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+34	+2.9	+1.4	+2.0	+0.8	+2.8	+3.9	+0.4	+1.9	-1.2	-1.0	+0.1	+3.1	+.127	+1.9	+5.8		+0.4	+0.6	+.023
D'Angelo Russell	48	25.7	15.5	0.6	3.3	3.9	5.2	0.8	0.4	3.1	1.9	5.8	14.0	.414	1.9	5.8	.324	2.0	2.7	.740
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
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1983-84	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+1	+1.2	+2.7	+1.8	+1.7	+3.5	+5.7	+0.9	+1.3	-1.3	-1.3	+0.9	+5.8	+.122	+2.9	+7.8		+2.1	+2.9	+.015
D'Angelo Russell	81	30.2	21.1	0.7	3.2	3.9	7.0	1.2	0.2	3.1	1.7	8.1	18.7	.434	2.9	7.8	.369	2.0	2.5	.780
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:	+18	+0.9	+4.6	+2.3	+0.3	+2.6	+2.4	+1.3	+1.3	-1.1	-0.9	+2.1	+10.0	+.145	+2.4	+7.3	+.324	+1.9	+2.7	+.069
D'Angelo Russell	5	29.6	19.4	0.4	3.2	3.6	3.6	1.4	0.2	2.8	2.4	7.4	20.6	.359	2.4	7.4	.324	2.2	2.6	.846

Season 5
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1984-85	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+34	+1.3	+3.3	+2.5	+2.5	+5.1	+4.5	+0.7	+1.2	-1.3	-1.1	+0.3	+5.4	+.144	+3.5	+9.5	+.367	+0.9	+1.5	+.049
D'Angelo Russell	45	32.3	23.1	0.4	3.6	3.9	6.3	1.1	0.3	3.3	1.9	8.0	18.8	.426	3.5	9.6	.367	3.6	4.4	.809
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
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1985-86	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+26	+6.8	+2.3	+2.1	+3.3	+5.5	+3.1	+0.7	+1.6	-0.5	-1.2	+1.6	+1.1	+.143	+2.9	+7.4		+2.1	+2.7	+.011
D'Angelo Russell	42	28.5	19.0	0.4	2.3	2.6	5.8	1.1	0.4	2.7	1.6	6.7	15.5	.431	2.9	7.4	.387	2.7	3.5	.765
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
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1986-87	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+12	+7.7	+8.0	+2.8	+3.8	+6.6	+4.5	+0.5	+1.9	-0.1	-1.1	+4.1	+2.0	+.193	+2.7	+7.9	+.340	+2.6	+2.9	+.011
D'Angelo Russell	65	32.0	18.1	0.4	2.9	3.3	7.1	1.0	0.3	2.5	2.0	6.2	15.0	.411	2.7	8.0	.340	3.0	3.7	.825
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:	+15	+6.7	+9.1	+3.1	+3.6	+6.7	+4.8	+1.2	+1.4	-0.2	-0.6	+4.3	+2.2	+.251	+2.0	+5.2		+2.6	+3.3	+.012
D'Angelo Russell	6	32.7	12.0	0.0	2.5	2.5	6.7	1.5	0.0	2.8	2.8	4.0	12.0	.333	2.0	5.2	.387	2.0	2.7	.750

Season 8
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1987-88	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+7	+4.8	+4.8	+2.0	+3.4	+5.4	+3.5	+0.6	+1.0	-0.4	-0.8	+2.3	+0.8	+.135	+2.7	+6.9		+2.9	+3.8	+.032
D'Angelo Russell	71	32.5	17.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.2	1.0	0.4	2.6	2.0	6.3	13.4	.469	2.7	6.9	.396	2.5	3.0	.829
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:	+1	+12.5	+12.1	+2.6	+2.5	+5.1	+2.2	+0.3	+1.5	-0.5	-1.8	+4.1	+3.2	+.177	+1.6	+5.3	+.690	+5.5	+6.5	+.070
D'Angelo Russell	16	29.6	13.3	0.6	2.3	2.9	4.6	0.7	0.3	1.8	2.0	5.2	12.2	.426	1.7	5.4	.310	1.3	1.6	.769

Season 9
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1988-89	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
Others	-	NBA Cup 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:	+2	+4.2	+4.5	+2.5	+2.6	+5.1	+4.1	+0.6	+0.7	-0.4	-0.8	+2.0	+1.3	+.090	+3.0	+7.1	+.415	+3.5	+4.3	+.010
D'Angelo Russell	76	32.7	18.0	0.4	2.7	3.1	6.3	0.9	0.5	2.1	2.1	6.5	14.2	.456	3.0	7.2	.415	2.1	2.5	.828
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:	+2	+1.3	+4.8	+2.1	+3.1	+5.2	+1.2	+0.5	+0.5	-0.5	-3.1	+1.1	+0.9	+.104	+2.8	+8.8		+5.5	+7.3	+.239
D'Angelo Russell	5	37.0	14.2	0.2	2.6	2.8	4.2	0.8	0.2	1.8	1.2	5.6	14.6	.384	2.8	8.8	.318	0.2	0.4	.500

Season 10
	Kevin McHale	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1989-90	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+24	+7.7	+8.3	+2.2	+3.4	+5.5	+3.0	+0.6	+1.5	-0.3	-1.0	+3.6	+3.4	+.159	+1.6	+5.4	+.019	+2.7	+2.9	+.059
D'Angelo Russell	58	25.5	12.6	0.3	2.4	2.8	5.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	2.0	4.3	11.0	.390	1.9	6.2	.314	2.1	2.5	.834
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
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Kevin McHale played 3 seasons more than D'Angelo Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 1991 to 1993—Kevin McHale played in 3 Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over D'Angelo Russell, Kevin McHale got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game