Nikola Jokic vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Nikola Jokic, 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.

Nikola Jokic played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, 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
Nikola Jokic	10	7	2015-16 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


Rookie Season
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1956-57
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
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		%
Nikola Jokic	80	21.7	10.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.8	7.5	.512	0.4	1.1	.333	1.9	2.4	.811
difference:	+32	+13.6	+4.7			+12.6	+0.6				-0.4	+2.0	+6.0	+.085				+1.3	+4.0	+.319
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		%
Nikola Jokic	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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	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		%
Nikola Jokic	73	27.9	16.7	2.9	6.9	9.8	4.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	2.9	6.8	11.7	.578	0.6	1.9	.324	2.6	3.1	.825
difference:	+4	+10.4	+0.1			+12.9	+2.0				-0.3	+0.2	+3.3	+.136				+0.7	+3.3	+.306
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		%
Nikola Jokic	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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1958-59
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Nikola Jokic	75	32.6	18.5	2.6	8.1	10.7	6.1	1.2	0.8	2.8	2.8	6.7	13.5	.499	1.5	3.7	.396	3.5	4.2	.850
difference:	+5	+10.0	+1.8			+12.3	+2.9				-0.5	+0.2	+0.7	+.042				+0.2	+1.9	+.252
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		%
Nikola Jokic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1959-60
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	80	31.3	20.1	2.9	8.0	10.8	7.3	1.4	0.7	3.1	2.9	7.7	15.1	.511	1.0	3.4	.307	3.6	4.4	.821
difference:	+6	+11.2	+1.9			+13.2	+3.6				-0.1	+0.2	+1.0	+.044				+0.4	+0.9	+.209
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		%
Nikola Jokic	14	39.8	25.1	3.9	9.1	13.0	8.4	1.1	0.9	2.6	3.9	9.4	18.6	.506	1.6	4.0	.393	4.7	5.6	.846
difference:	+1	+4.2	+6.6			+12.8	+5.5				-1.0	+2.2	+2.8	+.050				+0.6	+0.2	+.139
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1960-61
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Nikola Jokic	73	32.0	19.9	2.3	7.5	9.7	7.0	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.0	7.7	14.7	.528	1.1	3.5	.314	3.4	4.1	.817
difference:	+5	+12.3	+3.0			+14.2	+3.6				-1.0	+0.9	+1.3	+.102				+0.1	+1.9	+.267
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		%
Nikola Jokic	19	36.5	24.4	1.9	7.9	9.8	5.7	1.1	0.8	3.3	3.6	9.4	18.1	.519	2.2	5.2	.429	3.5	4.2	.835
difference:	+9	+9.7	+5.3			+20.1	+0.9				-1.2	+2.1	+1.0	+.092				+1.0	+4.4	+.312
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1961-62
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	72	34.6	26.4	2.8	8.0	10.8	8.3	1.3	0.7	3.1	2.7	10.2	18.0	.566	1.3	3.3	.388	4.8	5.5	.868
difference:	+4	+10.6	+7.5			+12.8	+3.8					+2.6	+1.4	+.109				+1.0	+0.8	+.273
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		%
Nikola Jokic	10	34.5	29.8	3.7	7.9	11.6	5.0	0.6	0.9	2.4	2.3	11.6	22.8	.509	2.0	5.3	.377	4.6	5.5	.836
difference:	+4	+13.5	+7.4			+14.8					-1.2	+3.3	+4.7	+.051				+1.3	+2.6	+.110
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	1962-63
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Nikola Jokic	74	33.5	27.1	2.8	11.0	13.8	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.8	2.6	10.3	17.7	.583	1.3	3.9	.337	5.1	6.3	.810
difference:	+4	+11.4	+10.3			+9.8	+3.4				-0.2	+3.7	+2.5	+.151				+1.4	+0.3	+.255
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		%
Nikola Jokic	5	34.2	31.0	3.4	9.8	13.2	5.8	1.6	1.0	4.8	4.0	12.2	21.2	.575	1.0	3.6	.278	5.6	6.6	.848
difference:	+8	+13.3	+10.7			+11.9	+0.7				-1.2	+4.8	+4.9	+.122				+0.1	+1.8	+.187
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	1963-64
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Nikola Jokic	69	33.7	24.5	2.4	9.4	11.8	9.8	1.3	0.7	3.6	2.5	9.4	14.8	.632	0.8	2.2	.383	4.9	6.0	.822
difference:	+9	+10.9	+9.5			+12.9	+5.1				-0.1	+3.4	+1.0	+.199				+1.9	+0.5	+.272
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		%
Nikola Jokic	20	39.5	30.0	3.5	10.0	13.5	9.5	1.1	1.0	3.5	3.5	11.4	20.7	.548	1.8	3.8	.461	5.6	7.0	.799
difference:	+10	+5.6	+16.9			+13.7	+5.1				-0.2	+6.7	+7.5	+.192				+1.9	+0.3	+.247
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	1964-65
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	79	34.6	26.4	2.8	9.5	12.4	9.0	1.4	0.9	3.0	2.5	10.4	17.9	.583	1.1	2.9	.359	4.5	5.5	.817
difference:	+1	+9.8	+12.3			+11.7	+3.7				-0.1	+4.9	+5.3	+.145				+1.4		+.244
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		%
Nikola Jokic	12	40.2	28.7	3.6	9.8	13.4	8.7	1.4	0.7	3.3	2.7	11.1	20.3	.545	1.2	4.4	.264	5.3	5.9	.901
difference:		+6.6	+12.2			+11.8	+2.4				-0.9	+4.5	+7.8	+.018				+2.0	+0.4	+.375
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
	Nikola Jokic	Bill Russell
Season	2024-25	1965-66
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	70	36.7	29.6	2.9	9.9	12.7	10.2	1.8	0.6	3.3	2.3	11.2	19.5	.576	2.0	4.7	.417	5.2	6.4	.800
difference:	+8	+6.7	+16.7			+10.1	+5.4				-0.5	+6.2	+7.4	+.161				+2.3	+1.2	+.249
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		%
Nikola Jokic	14	40.2	26.2	2.1	10.6	12.7	8.0	2.0	0.9	3.9	3.4	9.4	19.1	.489	1.9	5.1	.380	5.6	7.2	.772
difference:	+3	+7.7	+7.1			+12.5	+3.0				-0.1	+2.1	+3.7	+.014				+1.1		+.154
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618


Additional Years
* Bill Russell played 3 seasons more than Nikola Jokic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 1967 to 1969—Bill Russell played in 3 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 3 extra years over Nikola Jokic, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 3 All-Star Game

Nikola Jokic vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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

Additional Years