LeBron James vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and LeBron James, 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.

LeBron James played 22 years in the NBA, 9 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, 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
LeBron James	22	18	2003-04 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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2003-04	1956-57
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First 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		%
LeBron James	79	39.5	20.9	1.3	4.2	5.5	5.9	1.6	0.7	3.5	1.9	7.9	18.9	.417	0.8	2.7	.290	4.4	5.8	.754
difference:	+31	+4.2	+6.2			+14.1	+4.1				-1.1	+2.1	+5.4	+.010				+1.2	+0.6	+.262
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		%
LeBron James	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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2004-05	1957-58
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	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		%
LeBron James	80	42.4	27.2	1.4	6.0	7.4	7.2	2.2	0.7	3.3	1.8	9.9	21.1	.472	1.4	3.9	.351	6.0	8.0	.750
difference:	+11	+4.1	+10.6			+15.3	+4.3				-0.8	+3.3	+6.1	+.030				+2.7	+1.6	+.231
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		%
LeBron James	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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2005-06	1958-59
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
LeBron James	79	42.5	31.4	0.9	6.1	7.0	6.6	1.6	0.8	3.3	2.3	11.1	23.1	.480	1.6	4.8	.335	7.6	10.3	.738
difference:	+9	+0.1	+14.7			+16.0	+3.4					+4.6	+8.9	+.023				+3.9	+4.2	+.140
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		%
LeBron James	13	46.5	30.8	1.7	6.4	8.1	5.8	1.4	0.7	5.0	3.4	11.2	23.6	.476	1.6	4.8	.333	6.7	9.1	.737
difference:	+2	+1.4	+15.3			+19.6	+2.2				-0.9	+5.3	+9.1	+.067				+3.0	+3.0	+.125
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2006-07	1959-60
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
LeBron James	78	40.9	27.3	1.1	5.7	6.7	6.0	1.6	0.7	3.2	2.2	9.9	20.8	.476	1.3	4.0	.319	6.3	9.0	.698
difference:	+4	+1.6	+9.1			+17.3	+2.3				-0.6	+2.4	+4.7	+.009				+3.1	+3.7	+.086
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		%
LeBron James	20	44.7	25.1	1.3	6.8	8.1	8.0	1.7	0.5	3.3	2.0	8.3	20.0	.416	1.1	3.8	.280	7.4	9.8	.755
difference:	+7	+0.7	+6.6			+17.7	+5.1				-0.9	+1.1	+4.2	+.040				+3.3	+4.0	+.048
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	1960-61
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
LeBron James	75	40.4	30.0	1.8	6.1	7.9	7.2	1.8	1.1	3.4	2.2	10.6	21.9	.484	1.5	4.8	.315	7.3	10.3	.712
difference:	+3	+3.9	+13.1			+16.0	+3.8				-0.2	+3.8	+5.9	+.058				+4.0	+4.3	+.162
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		%
LeBron James	13	42.5	28.2	1.2	6.6	7.8	7.6	1.8	1.3	4.2	2.5	8.7	21.2	.411	1.4	5.4	.257	9.4	12.8	.731
difference:	+3	+3.7	+9.1			+22.1	+2.8				-0.1	+1.4	+4.1	+.016				+4.9	+4.2	+.208
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1961-62
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
LeBron James	81	37.7	28.4	1.3	6.3	7.6	7.2	1.7	1.1	3.0	1.7	9.7	19.9	.489	1.6	4.7	.344	7.3	9.4	.780
difference:	+5	+7.5	+9.5			+16.0	+2.7				-1.0	+2.1	+3.3	+.032				+3.5	+3.1	+.185
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		%
LeBron James	14	41.4	35.3	1.4	7.8	9.1	7.3	1.6	0.9	2.7	2.1	11.4	22.3	.510	1.9	5.8	.333	10.6	14.2	.749
difference:		+6.6	+12.9			+17.3	+2.3				-1.4	+3.1	+4.2	+.052				+4.7	+6.1	+.023
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1962-63
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	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	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
LeBron James	76	39.0	29.7	0.9	6.4	7.3	8.6	1.6	1.0	3.4	1.6	10.1	20.1	.503	1.7	5.1	.333	7.8	10.2	.767
difference:	+2	+5.9	+12.9			+16.3	+4.1				-0.8	+3.5	+4.9	+.071				+4.1	+3.6	+.212
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		%
LeBron James	11	41.8	29.1	1.4	7.9	9.3	7.6	1.7	1.8	3.8	2.1	9.6	19.2	.502	1.8	4.5	.400	8.0	10.9	.733
difference:	+2	+5.7	+8.8			+15.8	+2.5				-0.7	+2.2	+2.9	+.049				+2.5	+2.5	+.072
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1963-64
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA 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		%
LeBron James	79	38.8	26.7	1.0	6.5	7.5	7.0	1.6	0.6	3.6	2.1	9.6	18.8	.510	1.2	3.5	.330	6.4	8.4	.759
difference:	+1	+5.8	+11.7			+17.2	+2.3				-0.3	+3.6	+5.0	+.077				+3.4	+2.9	+.209
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		%
LeBron James	21	43.9	23.7	1.6	6.8	8.4	5.9	1.7	1.2	3.1	2.7	8.3	17.8	.466	1.4	4.0	.353	5.7	7.4	.763
difference:	+11	+1.2	+10.6			+18.8	+1.5				-0.6	+3.6	+4.6	+.110				+2.0	+0.7	+.211
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1964-65
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
LeBron James	62	37.5	27.1	1.5	6.4	7.9	6.2	1.9	0.8	3.4	1.5	10.0	18.9	.531	0.9	2.4	.362	6.2	8.1	.771
difference:	+16	+6.9	+13.0			+16.2	+0.9				-1.1	+4.5	+6.3	+.093				+3.1	+2.6	+.198
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		%
LeBron James	23	42.7	30.3	2.3	7.4	9.7	5.6	1.9	0.7	3.5	2.0	10.9	21.8	.500	1.0	3.7	.259	7.5	10.2	.739
difference:	+11	+4.1	+13.8			+15.5	+0.7				-1.6	+4.3	+9.3	+.027				+4.2	+3.9	+.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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1965-66
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
LeBron James	76	37.9	26.8	1.3	6.8	8.0	7.3	1.7	0.9	3.0	1.4	10.1	17.8	.565	1.4	3.3	.406	5.3	7.0	.753
difference:	+2	+5.5	+13.9			+14.8	+2.5				-1.4	+5.1	+5.7	+.150				+2.4	+1.8	+.202
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		%
LeBron James	23	41.7	25.9	1.6	6.8	8.4	6.6	1.8	0.8	3.0	1.9	9.2	18.8	.491	1.6	4.2	.375	5.9	7.6	.777
difference:	+6	+6.2	+6.8			+16.8	+1.6				-1.6	+1.9	+3.4	+.016				+1.4	+0.4	+.159
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1966-67
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	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		%
LeBron James	77	37.7	27.1	1.1	5.9	6.9	6.3	1.6	0.3	3.5	1.6	10.0	17.6	.567	1.5	4.0	.379	5.7	7.6	.750
difference:	+4	+3.0	+13.8			+14.1	+0.5				-1.6	+5.1	+6.9	+.113				+2.2	+1.8	+.140
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		%
LeBron James	20	38.2	27.4	0.7	6.4	7.1	4.8	1.8	0.6	3.1	2.3	9.6	17.0	.565	1.8	4.3	.407	6.5	8.0	.806
difference:	+11	+5.1	+16.8			+14.9	+0.8				-1.3	+6.2	+7.4	+.205				+2.8	+2.2	+.171
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1967-68
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
LeBron James	69	36.1	25.3	0.7	5.3	6.0	7.4	1.6	0.7	3.9	2.0	9.0	18.5	.488	1.7	4.9	.354	5.4	7.7	.710
difference:	+9	+1.8	+12.8			+12.6	+2.8				-1.1	+4.3	+7.5	+.063				+2.2	+1.8	+.173
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		%
LeBron James	20	42.2	30.1	1.9	9.5	11.3	8.5	1.7	1.1	4.1	2.9	11.4	27.2	.417	1.3	5.5	.227	6.1	8.4	.731
difference:	+1	+3.5	+15.7			+11.5	+3.3				-0.9	+6.2	+14.5	+.008				+2.1	+1.6	+.146
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
	LeBron James	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1968-69
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
LeBron James	76	35.6	25.3	1.5	6.0	7.4	6.8	1.4	0.6	3.3	1.9	9.7	18.6	.520	1.1	3.7	.309	4.7	6.5	.731
difference:	+1	+7.1	+15.4			+11.9	+1.9				-1.1	+6.1	+10.2	+.087				+2.1	+1.5	+.205
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		%
LeBron James	21	39.1	26.3	2.0	7.5	9.5	7.6	2.3	1.3	3.6	2.6	10.4	19.9	.525	1.5	4.5	.340	3.9	5.9	.661
difference:	+3	+7.0	+15.5			+11.0	+2.2				-1.0	+6.1	+9.8	+.102				+1.6	+1.4	+.155
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
* LeBron James played 9 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 22, from 2017 to 2025—LeBron James played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship and one NBA Cup. In those 9 extra years over Bill Russell, LeBron James got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 1 Cup MVP 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 9 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

LeBron James vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and LeBron James, 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