Moses Malone vs. D'Angelo Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of D'Angelo Russell and Moses Malone, 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.

Moses Malone played 19 years in the NBA, 8 more than D'Angelo Russell, who played 11. Moses Malone had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, 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
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1976-77	2015-16
Team	Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Moses Malone	82	30.6	13.2	5.3	7.7	13.1	1.1	0.8	2.2	-	3.4	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	3.7	5.4	.693
difference:	+2	+2.4		+4.7	+4.9	+9.7	+2.2	+0.4	+2.0		-1.6	+0.2	+2.1	+.070				+1.9	+3.0	+.044
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		%
Moses Malone	12	43.2	18.8	7.0	9.9	16.9	0.6	1.1	1.8	-	3.5	6.8	13.5	.500	-	-	-	5.3	7.6	.692
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1977-78	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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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		%
Moses Malone	59	35.7	19.4	6.4	8.6	15.0	0.5	0.8	1.3	3.7	3.0	7.0	14.0	.499	-	-	-	5.4	7.5	.718
difference:	+4	+7.0	+3.8	+5.9	+5.6	+11.5	+4.3	+0.6	+1.0	-0.9	-0.9	+1.4	+0.2	+.094				+3.1	+4.5	+.064
D'Angelo Russell	63	28.7	15.6	0.5	3.0	3.5	4.8	1.4	0.3	2.8	2.1	5.6	13.8	.405	2.1	6.1	.352	2.3	3.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Moses Malone nor D'Angelo Russell played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1978-79	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Moses Malone	82	41.3	24.8	7.2	10.5	17.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	4.0	2.7	8.7	16.2	.540	-	-	-	7.3	9.9	.739
difference:	+34	+15.6	+9.3	+6.6	+7.2	+13.7	+3.4	+0.2	+1.1	-0.9	-0.8	+2.9	+2.2	+.126				+5.3	+7.2	+.001
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		%
Moses Malone	2	39.0	24.5	12.5	8.0	20.5	1.0	0.5	4.0	4.0	2.5	9.0	20.5	.439	-	-	-	6.5	9.0	.722
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1979-80	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Moses Malone	82	38.3	25.8	7.0	7.5	14.5	1.8	1.0	1.3	3.7	2.6	9.5	18.9	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	6.9	9.5	.719
difference:	+1	+8.1	+4.7	+6.3	+4.3	+10.6	+5.2	+0.2	+1.1	-0.6	-0.9	+1.4	+0.2	+.068	+2.9	+7.7	+.369	+4.9	+7.0	+.061
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		%
Moses Malone	7	39.3	25.9	6.0	7.9	13.9	1.0	0.6	2.3	3.1	2.6	10.6	19.7	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.7	6.1	.767
difference:	+2	+9.7	+6.5	+5.6	+4.7	+10.3	+2.6	+0.8	+2.1	-0.3	-0.2	+3.2	+0.9	+.177	+2.4	+7.3	+.324	+2.5	+3.5	+.079
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
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1980-81	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
Moses Malone	80	40.6	27.8	5.9	8.8	14.8	1.8	1.0	1.9	3.9	2.8	10.1	19.3	.522	0.0	0.0	-	7.6	10.1	.757
difference:	+35	+8.3	+4.7	+5.5	+5.2	+10.9	+4.5	+0.1	+1.6	-0.6	-0.9	+2.1	+0.5	+.096	+3.5	+9.6		+4.0	+5.7	+.052
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		%
Moses Malone	21	45.5	26.8	6.0	8.6	14.5	1.7	0.6	1.6	2.8	2.6	9.9	20.6	.479	0.0	0.1	.000	7.0	9.9	.712
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1981-82	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Moses Malone	81	42.0	31.1	6.9	7.8	14.7	1.8	0.9	1.5	3.6	2.6	11.7	22.5	.519	0.0	0.1	.000	7.8	10.2	.762
difference:	+39	+13.5	+12.1	+6.5	+5.5	+12.1	+4.0	+0.2	+1.1	-0.9	-1.0	+5.0	+7.0	+.088	+2.9	+7.3	+.387	+5.1	+6.7	+.003
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		%
Moses Malone	3	45.3	24.0	9.3	7.7	17.0	3.3	0.7	0.7	2.0	2.7	9.7	22.3	.433	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	5.0	.933
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1982-83	2021-22
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Moses Malone	78	37.5	24.5	5.7	9.6	15.3	1.3	1.1	2.0	3.4	2.6	8.4	16.7	.501	0.0	0.0	-	7.7	10.1	.761
difference:	+13	+5.5	+6.4	+5.3	+6.7	+12.0	+5.8	+0.1	+1.7	-0.9	-0.6	+2.2	+1.7	+.090	+2.7	+8.0		+4.7	+6.4	+.064
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		%
Moses Malone	13	40.3	26.0	5.4	10.5	15.8	1.5	1.5	1.9	3.1	3.1	9.7	18.1	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	6.6	9.2	.717
difference:	+7	+7.6	+14.0	+5.4	+8.0	+13.3	+5.2		+1.9	-0.3	-0.3	+5.7	+6.1	+.203	+2.0	+5.1	+.387	+4.6	+6.5	+.033
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
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1983-84	2022-23
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Moses Malone	71	36.8	22.7	5.0	8.4	13.4	1.4	1.0	1.5	3.5	2.6	7.5	15.5	.483	0.0	0.1	.000	7.7	10.2	.750
difference:		+4.3	+4.9	+4.5	+5.9	+10.4	+4.8		+1.1	-0.9	-0.6	+1.2	+2.1	+.014	+2.7	+6.8	+.396	+5.2	+7.2	+.079
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		%
Moses Malone	5	42.4	21.4	4.0	9.8	13.8	1.4	0.6	2.2	4.2	3.0	7.6	16.6	.458	0.0	0.0	-	6.2	6.4	.969
difference:	+11	+12.8	+8.1	+3.4	+7.5	+10.9	+3.2	+0.1	+1.9	-2.4	-1.0	+2.4	+4.4	+.032	+1.7	+5.4		+4.9	+4.8	+.200
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
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1984-85	2023-24
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Moses Malone	79	37.4	24.6	4.9	8.2	13.1	1.6	0.8	1.6	3.6	2.7	7.6	16.3	.469	0.0	0.0	-	9.3	11.4	.815
difference:	+3	+4.7	+6.6	+4.5	+5.5	+10.0	+4.7	+0.1	+1.1	-1.5	-0.6	+1.1	+2.1	+.013	+3.0	+7.2		+7.2	+8.9	+.013
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		%
Moses Malone	13	38.8	20.2	2.8	7.8	10.6	1.8	1.3	1.7	1.8	3.0	6.9	16.3	.425	0.0	0.1	.000	6.3	7.9	.796
difference:	+8	+1.8	+6.0	+2.6	+5.2	+7.8	+2.4	+0.5	+1.5		-1.8	+1.3	+1.7	+.041	+2.8	+8.7	+.318	+6.1	+7.5	+.296
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
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1985-86	2024-25
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Moses Malone	74	36.6	23.8	4.6	7.2	11.8	1.2	0.9	1.0	3.5	2.6	7.7	16.8	.458	0.0	0.0	-	8.3	10.6	.787
difference:	+16	+11.1	+11.2	+4.3	+4.8	+9.0	+3.9	+0.1	+0.6	-1.6	-0.6	+3.4	+5.8	+.068	+1.9	+6.2		+6.2	+8.1	+.047
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
* Neiher Moses Malone nor D'Angelo Russell played in the postseason in their season 10

Season 11
	Moses Malone	D'Angelo Russell
Season	1986-87	2025-26
Team	Washington Bullets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did not play (season in progress)

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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		%
Moses Malone	73	34.1	24.1	4.7	6.6	11.3	1.6	0.8	1.3	2.8	1.9	8.2	18.0	.454	0.0	0.2	.000	7.8	9.5	.824
difference:	+48	+15.1	+13.9	+4.4	+4.6	+8.9	+2.4	+0.3	+1.2	-0.9	-0.7	+4.6	+9.1	+.049	+1.3	+4.2	+.300	+6.1	+7.1	+.107
D'Angelo Russell	25	19.0	10.2	0.3	2.0	2.4	4.0	0.5	0.1	1.9	1.2	3.6	8.9	.405	1.3	4.4	.300	1.7	2.4	.717
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	3	38.0	20.7	5.0	7.7	12.7	1.7	0.0	1.0	2.7	1.7	7.0	15.7	.447	0.0	0.0	-	6.7	7.0	.952
D'Angelo Russell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Moses Malone played 8 seasons more than D'Angelo Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 19, from 1988 to 1995—Moses Malone played in 3 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over D'Angelo Russell, Moses Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game