Malik Beasley vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Malik Beasley, 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.

Malik Beasley played 9 years in the NBA, 4 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Malik Beasley had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, 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.

Rookie Season
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1956-57
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Malik Beasley	22	7.5	3.8	0.2	0.5	0.8	0.5	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.5	1.5	3.3	.452	0.4	1.3	.321	0.4	0.5	.800
difference:	+26	+27.8	+10.9			+18.8	+1.3				-2.5	+4.3	+10.2	+.025				+2.8	+5.9	+.308
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		%
Malik Beasley	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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1957-58
Team	Denver Nuggets	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		%
Malik Beasley	62	9.4	3.2	0.2	0.9	1.1	0.5	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.6	1.2	2.9	.410	0.5	1.3	.341	0.4	0.5	.667
difference:	+7	+28.9	+13.4			+21.6	+2.4				-2.0	+5.4	+12.1	+.032				+2.9	+5.9	+.148
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		%
Malik Beasley	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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1958-59
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Malik Beasley	81	23.2	11.3	0.4	2.0	2.5	1.2	0.7	0.1	0.7	1.4	4.3	9.1	.474	2.0	5.0	.402	0.7	0.8	.848
difference:	+11	+19.4	+5.4			+20.5	+2.0				-0.9	+2.2	+5.1	+.017				+3.0	+5.3	+.250
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		%
Malik Beasley	14	20.1	8.1	0.8	2.6	3.4	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.5	1.4	2.6	6.6	.387	1.4	3.4	.404	1.6	2.2	.710
difference:	+3	+25.0	+7.4			+24.3	+2.6				-1.1	+3.3	+7.9	+.022				+2.1	+3.9	+.098
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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1959-60
Team	Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Malik Beasley	55	22.0	11.2	0.3	2.4	2.7	1.4	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.4	4.1	9.7	.425	1.9	5.0	.388	1.0	1.2	.818
difference:	+19	+20.5	+7.0			+21.3	+2.3				-1.4	+3.4	+6.4	+.042				+2.2	+4.1	+.206
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		%
Malik Beasley	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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	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		%
Malik Beasley	37	32.8	19.6	0.8	3.6	4.4	2.4	0.8	0.2	1.6	1.7	7.1	16.2	.440	3.5	8.7	.399	1.8	2.2	.850
difference:	+41	+11.5	+2.7			+19.5	+1.0				-0.3	+0.3	+0.2	+.014				+1.5	+3.8	+.300
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		%
Malik Beasley	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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	1961-62
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Malik Beasley	79	25.0	12.1	0.3	2.5	2.9	1.5	0.5	0.2	0.5	1.1	4.2	10.8	.391	3.0	8.1	.377	0.6	0.8	.817
difference:	+3	+20.2	+6.8			+20.7	+3.0				-1.6	+3.4	+5.8	+.066				+3.2	+5.5	+.222
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		%
Malik Beasley	6	19.8	8.5	0.3	3.0	3.3	0.7	0.3	0.2	1.2	1.5	3.2	7.3	.432	1.3	4.2	.320	0.8	1.0	.833
difference:	+8	+28.2	+13.9			+23.1	+4.3				-2.0	+5.1	+10.8	+.026				+5.1	+7.1	+.107
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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	1962-63
Team	Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 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		%
Malik Beasley	81	25.8	12.7	0.4	3.1	3.5	1.5	0.8	0.1	1.1	1.3	4.6	11.6	.395	2.9	8.1	.357	0.6	0.8	.769
difference:	+3	+19.1	+4.1			+20.1	+3.0				-1.1	+2.0	+3.6	+.037				+3.1	+5.8	+.214
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		%
Malik Beasley	11	8.3	3.0	0.3	0.5	0.7	0.2	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.5	0.9	3.1	.294	0.6	2.4	.269	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+2	+39.2	+17.3			+24.4	+4.9				-2.3	+6.5	+13.2	+.159				+5.0	+7.9	+.339
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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	1963-64
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Malik Beasley	79	29.6	11.3	0.5	3.2	3.7	1.4	0.7	0.1	0.7	2.0	4.1	9.1	.443	2.8	6.9	.413	0.3	0.4	.714
difference:	+1	+15.0	+3.7			+21.0	+3.3				-0.4	+1.9	+4.7	+.010				+2.7	+5.1	+.164
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		%
Malik Beasley	6	21.8	8.8	0.2	2.3	2.5	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.5	1.5	3.5	6.8	.512	1.8	4.2	.440	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+4	+23.3	+4.3			+24.7	+3.7				-1.8	+1.2	+6.4	+.156				+3.7	+6.7
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
	Malik Beasley	Bill Russell
Season	2024-25	1964-65
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Malik Beasley	82	27.8	16.3	0.6	2.0	2.6	1.7	0.9	0.1	1.0	1.5	5.6	13.1	.430	3.9	9.3	.416	1.2	1.7	.679
difference:	+4	+16.6	+2.2			+21.5	+3.6				-1.1	+0.1	+0.5	+.008				+1.9	+3.8	+.106
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		%
Malik Beasley	6	27.2	14.0	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.2	0.5	0.2	1.2	1.7	4.7	12.5	.373	3.3	9.8	.339	1.3	1.3	1.000
difference:	+6	+19.6	+2.5			+22.7	+5.1				-1.9	+1.9		+.154				+2.0	+5.0	+.474
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526

Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 4 seasons more than Malik Beasley in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1966 to 1969—Bill Russell played in 4 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those 4 extra years over Malik Beasley, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game