Kevin McHale vs. Jeff Ruland Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeff Ruland 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 / Games against each other

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, 5 more than Jeff Ruland, who played 8. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while Jeff Ruland had his rookie season in 1981-82. 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
Kevin McHale	13	13	1980-81 to 1992-93
Jeff Ruland	8	4	1981-82 to 1992-93

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


Rookie Season
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1980-81	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis

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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	.000	1.3	1.9	.679
Jeff Ruland	82	27.0	14.4	3.1	6.2	9.3	1.6	0.5	0.7	2.9	3.9	5.1	9.1	.561	0.0	0.0	.333	4.2	5.5	.752

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
Jeff Ruland	7	33.9	17.0	4.1	5.3	9.4	0.7	0.4	0.6	3.3	3.4	5.4	11.3	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	8.0	.768


Season 2
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1981-82	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Jeff Ruland	79	36.2	19.4	3.7	7.3	11.0	3.0	0.9	1.0	3.8	3.9	7.3	13.3	.552	0.0	0.0	.333	4.7	6.9	.689

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1982-83	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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	.000	2.4	3.3	.717
Jeff Ruland	75	41.1	22.2	3.5	8.8	12.3	3.9	0.9	1.0	4.6	3.8	8.0	13.8	.579	0.0	0.1	.143	6.2	8.5	.733

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
Jeff Ruland	4	46.8	24.0	4.0	8.8	12.8	7.8	0.5	0.8	4.8	3.8	9.3	17.8	.521	0.0	0.3	.000	5.5	6.8	.815


Season 4
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1983-84	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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	.333	4.1	5.4	.765
Jeff Ruland	37	38.8	18.9	3.4	7.6	11.1	4.4	0.8	0.7	4.8	3.5	6.8	11.9	.569	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.9	.685

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
Jeff Ruland	4	40.5	17.5	3.0	5.5	8.5	5.3	2.3	1.0	5.8	3.8	7.0	11.8	.596	0.0	0.5	.000	3.5	5.0	.700


Season 5
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1984-85	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Jeff Ruland	30	37.1	19.0	3.6	7.1	10.7	5.3	0.8	0.8	4.0	3.3	7.1	12.8	.554	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.7	.725

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
Jeff Ruland	2	27.0	14.0	2.5	3.5	6.0	5.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	3.0	3.5	7.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	7.0	8.5	.824


Season 6
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1985-86	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Jeff Ruland	5	23.2	9.4	2.4	3.2	5.6	2.0	0.0	0.8	2.0	2.6	3.8	5.6	.679	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.4	.750

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Jeff Ruland didn't play in 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91.


Season 7
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1986-87	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Jeff Ruland	13	16.1	3.9	1.2	2.4	3.6	0.4	0.5	0.3	1.5	3.5	1.5	2.9	.526	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.2	.688

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1987-88	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Jeff Ruland	11	5.0	1.1	0.8	0.8	1.6	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.5	1.5	0.5	1.0	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.4	.500

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1988-89	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1990-91	-
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		%
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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
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		%
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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Kevin McHale	Jeff Ruland
Season	1992-93	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jeff Ruland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Kevin McHale vs. Jeff Ruland Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeff Ruland 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13