Nene vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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

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.

Nene played 17 years in the NBA, 4 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Nene had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, 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 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
Nene	17	12	2002-03 to 2018-19
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2002-03	1956-57
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	80	28.2	10.5	2.6	3.5	6.1	1.9	1.6	0.8	2.3	3.7	4.0	7.7	.519	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	4.3	.578
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		%
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2003-04	1957-58
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	77	32.5	11.8	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.2	1.5	0.5	2.4	3.6	4.3	8.2	.530	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	4.6	.682
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		%
Nene	5	26.6	7.8	2.4	2.6	5.0	3.0	1.0	0.6	1.8	4.4	3.2	7.2	.444	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.6	.538
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2004-05	1958-59
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	55	23.9	9.6	1.9	4.0	5.9	1.5	0.9	0.9	1.7	3.0	3.5	7.0	.503	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.9	.660
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		%
Nene	5	20.0	6.6	1.8	3.2	5.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.0	3.2	1.8	4.2	.429	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.6	.652
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2005-06	1959-60
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	1	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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		%
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2006-07	1960-61
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	64	26.8	12.2	2.3	4.7	7.0	1.2	1.0	0.9	2.0	3.3	4.6	8.1	.570	0.0	0.0	.000	3.0	4.4	.689
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		%
Nene	5	35.8	15.2	4.4	3.4	7.8	2.4	0.6	0.6	2.6	4.2	6.2	10.6	.585	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.6	.778
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	1961-62
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	16	16.6	5.3	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.9	0.6	0.9	1.3	2.9	1.8	4.4	.408	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	3.1	.551
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		%
Nene	3	10.0	4.3	1.0	1.3	2.3	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.7	1.7	3.0	.556	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.0	1.000
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1962-63
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	77	32.6	14.6	2.4	5.4	7.8	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.9	3.6	5.6	9.2	.604	0.0	0.1	.200	3.5	4.8	.723
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		%
Nene	16	32.8	11.5	2.3	5.2	7.5	2.6	1.3	0.6	1.9	4.1	4.3	7.9	.548	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.4	.657
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1963-64
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	82	33.6	13.8	2.0	5.6	7.6	2.5	1.4	1.0	1.5	3.4	5.1	8.7	.587	0.0	0.0	.000	3.6	5.1	.704
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		%
Nene	5	33.8	11.4	1.6	4.2	5.8	2.2	1.2	0.2	0.8	3.4	3.6	5.8	.621	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	7.2	.583
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1964-65
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	75	30.5	14.5	1.9	5.7	7.6	2.0	1.1	1.0	1.8	3.2	5.4	8.7	.615	0.0	0.1	.200	3.8	5.4	.711
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		%
Nene	5	32.4	14.2	2.8	6.2	9.0	1.6	1.0	0.8	1.6	3.4	4.4	9.2	.478	0.0	0.0	-	5.4	9.6	.563
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1965-66
Team	Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	39	28.5	13.7	1.6	5.8	7.5	2.1	1.1	1.0	2.5	2.4	5.4	10.1	.537	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	4.3	.673
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		%
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1966-67
Team	Washington Wizards	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	61	27.2	12.6	1.7	5.0	6.7	2.9	0.9	0.6	2.3	2.8	4.7	9.7	.480	0.0	0.0	.000	3.2	4.4	.729
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		%
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1967-68
Team	Washington Wizards	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Wizards Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	53	29.4	14.2	1.2	4.3	5.5	2.9	1.2	0.9	2.2	3.1	5.6	11.2	.503	0.0	0.1	.200	2.9	5.0	.583
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		%
Nene	10	32.5	13.7	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.6	0.9	1.1	1.7	3.6	6.4	13.8	.464	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	2.6	.346
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
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1968-69
Team	Washington Wizards	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Wizards Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	67	25.3	11.0	1.3	3.9	5.1	1.8	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.7	4.6	9.0	.511	0.0	0.1	.200	1.8	3.0	.604
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		%
Nene	10	25.7	7.9	2.5	4.1	6.6	1.5	0.9	0.3	1.4	3.2	3.4	7.6	.447	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	2.3	.478
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506


Season 14
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	-
Team	Washington Wizards	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Nene	57	19.2	9.2	0.9	3.6	4.5	1.7	0.9	0.5	1.3	2.7	3.7	6.7	.544	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	3.2	.578
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Nene	67	17.9	9.1	1.4	2.8	4.2	1.0	0.8	0.6	1.1	2.4	3.7	5.9	.617	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.9	.589
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	9	17.9	10.0	1.2	3.4	4.7	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.0	2.7	4.0	5.7	.706	0.0	0.1	.000	2.0	3.4	.581
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	52	14.6	6.5	1.0	2.3	3.4	0.9	0.5	0.3	0.7	2.4	2.6	4.6	.569	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.636
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	11	9.7	2.8	0.5	2.0	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.7	1.6	1.1	1.8	.600	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.0	.636
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 17
	Nene	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	42	13.0	3.6	0.8	2.1	2.9	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.3	2.1	1.4	2.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.1	.660
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nene	7	7.6	3.9	1.3	0.7	2.0	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.4	1.0	1.4	1.4	1.000	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.3	.778
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Nene vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17