Paul Pierce vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Paul Pierce, 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.

Paul Pierce played 19 years in the NBA, 6 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Paul Pierce had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, 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
Paul Pierce	19	14	1998-99 to 2016-17
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	1998-99	1956-57
Team	Boston Celtics	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		%
Paul Pierce	48	34.0	16.5	2.4	4.0	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.9	5.9	13.5	.439	1.8	4.3	.412	2.9	4.1	.713
difference:		+1.3	+1.8			+13.2	+0.6				-0.1	+0.1		+.012				+0.3	+2.3	+.221
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		%
Paul Pierce	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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	1999-00	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	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		%
Paul Pierce	73	35.4	19.5	1.1	4.3	5.4	3.0	2.1	0.8	2.4	3.2	6.7	15.1	.442	1.3	3.8	.343	4.9	6.2	.798
difference:	+4	+2.9	+2.9			+17.3	+0.1				-0.6	+0.1	+0.1					+1.6	+0.2	+.279
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		%
Paul Pierce	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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2000-01	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	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		%
Paul Pierce	82	38.0	25.3	1.1	5.2	6.4	3.1	1.7	0.8	3.2	3.1	8.4	18.5	.454	1.8	4.7	.383	6.7	9.0	.745
difference:	+12	+4.6	+8.6			+16.6	+0.1				-0.8	+1.9	+4.3	+.003				+3.0	+2.9	+.147
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		%
Paul Pierce	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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2001-02	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Paul Pierce	82	40.3	26.1	1.0	5.9	6.9	3.2	1.9	1.0	2.9	2.9	8.6	19.5	.442	2.6	6.3	.404	6.3	7.8	.809
difference:	+8	+2.2	+7.9			+17.1	+0.5				-0.1	+1.1	+3.4	+.025				+3.1	+2.5	+.197
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		%
Paul Pierce	16	42.0	24.6	1.7	6.9	8.6	4.1	1.7	1.3	3.8	3.3	7.6	18.9	.403	1.9	6.5	.288	7.5	9.8	.764
difference:	+3	+2.0	+6.1			+17.2	+1.2				-0.4	+0.4	+3.1	+.053				+3.4	+4.0	+.057
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2002-03	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Paul Pierce	79	39.2	25.9	1.3	6.0	7.3	4.4	1.8	0.8	3.6	2.9	8.4	20.2	.416	1.5	4.9	.302	7.6	9.5	.802
difference:	+1	+5.1	+9.0			+16.6	+1.0				-0.9	+1.6	+4.2	+.010				+4.3	+3.5	+.252
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		%
Paul Pierce	10	44.5	27.1	1.1	7.9	9.0	6.7	2.1	0.8	4.4	3.8	7.7	19.3	.399	1.6	4.5	.356	10.1	11.7	.863
difference:		+1.7	+8.0			+20.9	+1.9				-1.4	+0.4	+2.2	+.028				+5.6	+3.1	+.340
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2003-04	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Paul Pierce	80	38.7	23.0	0.9	5.7	6.5	5.1	1.6	0.7	3.8	2.9	7.5	18.7	.402	1.4	4.8	.299	6.5	7.9	.819
difference:	+4	+6.5	+4.1			+17.1	+0.6				-0.2	+0.1	+2.1	+.055				+2.7	+1.6	+.224
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		%
Paul Pierce	4	40.8	20.8	1.5	7.3	8.8	2.5	1.3	1.0	6.3	3.0	6.5	19.0	.342	1.3	4.3	.294	6.5	7.8	.839
difference:	+10	+7.2	+1.6			+17.6	+2.5				-0.5	+1.8	+0.9	+.116				+0.6	+0.3	+.113
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2004-05	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Paul Pierce	82	36.1	21.6	1.0	5.6	6.6	4.2	1.6	0.5	2.8	3.1	6.8	14.9	.455	1.3	3.6	.370	6.7	8.1	.822
difference:	+4	+8.8	+4.8			+17.0	+0.3				-0.7	+0.2	+0.3	+.023				+3.0	+1.5	+.267
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		%
Paul Pierce	7	39.7	22.9	1.0	6.7	7.7	4.6	1.9	1.4	2.7	2.6	6.7	13.3	.505	1.0	3.9	.259	8.4	9.7	.868
difference:	+6	+7.8	+2.6			+17.4	+0.5				-0.2	+0.7	+3.0	+.052				+2.9	+1.3	+.207
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2005-06	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Paul Pierce	79	39.0	26.8	1.0	5.7	6.7	4.7	1.4	0.4	3.5	2.8	8.7	18.5	.471	1.4	4.0	.354	7.9	10.3	.772
difference:	+1	+5.6	+11.8			+18.0					-0.4	+2.7	+4.7	+.038				+4.9	+4.8	+.222
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		%
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2006-07	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Paul Pierce	47	37.0	25.0	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.1	1.0	0.3	3.2	2.6	7.9	18.1	.439	2.3	5.9	.389	6.8	8.6	.796
difference:	+31	+7.4	+10.9			+18.2	+1.2					+2.4	+5.5	+.001				+3.7	+3.1	+.223
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		%
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third 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		%
Paul Pierce	80	35.9	19.6	0.7	4.5	5.1	4.5	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.5	6.4	13.7	.464	1.8	4.6	.392	5.1	6.1	.843
difference:	+2	+7.5	+6.7			+17.7	+0.3				-0.3	+1.4	+1.6	+.049				+2.2	+0.9	+.292
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		%
Paul Pierce	26	38.1	19.7	0.8	4.2	5.0	4.6	1.1	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.3	14.2	.441	1.7	4.6	.361	5.5	6.8	.802
difference:	+9	+9.8	+0.6			+20.2	+0.4					+1.0	+1.2	+.034				+1.0	+0.4	+.184
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Paul Pierce	81	37.5	20.5	0.7	5.0	5.6	3.6	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.7	6.7	14.6	.457	1.5	3.8	.391	5.7	6.8	.830
difference:		+3.2	+7.2			+15.4	+2.2				-0.5	+1.8	+3.9	+.003				+2.2	+1.0	+.220
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		%
Paul Pierce	14	39.7	21.0	0.3	5.5	5.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	2.4	3.1	6.8	15.8	.430	1.4	4.1	.333	6.1	7.2	.842
difference:	+5	+3.6	+10.4			+16.2	+2.5				-0.5	+3.4	+6.2	+.070				+2.4	+1.4	+.207
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Paul Pierce	71	34.0	18.3	0.5	3.8	4.4	3.1	1.2	0.4	2.3	2.8	5.8	12.2	.472	1.5	3.7	.414	5.2	6.1	.852
difference:	+7	+3.9	+5.8			+14.2	+1.5				-0.3	+1.1	+1.2	+.047				+2.0	+0.2	+.315
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		%
Paul Pierce	24	38.8	18.8	0.8	5.1	6.0	3.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	3.3	6.1	14.0	.438	1.7	4.3	.392	4.9	5.9	.824
difference:	+5	+6.9	+4.4			+16.8	+1.8				-0.5	+0.9	+1.3	+.029				+0.9	+0.9	+.239
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
	Paul Pierce	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Paul Pierce	80	34.7	18.9	0.4	5.0	5.4	3.3	1.0	0.6	2.1	2.9	6.3	12.8	.497	1.4	3.7	.374	4.8	5.6	.860
difference:	+3	+8.0	+9.0			+13.9	+1.6				-0.1	+2.7	+4.4	+.064				+2.2	+0.6	+.334
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		%
Paul Pierce	9	38.1	20.8	0.6	4.4	5.0	2.8	1.3	0.4	2.7	3.3	7.6	16.4	.459	2.3	5.2	.447	3.3	3.8	.882
difference:	+9	+8.0	+10.0			+15.5	+2.6				-0.3	+3.3	+6.3	+.036				+1.0	+0.7	+.376
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
* Paul Pierce played 6 seasons more than Bill Russell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2012 to 2017—Paul Pierce played in 6 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Bill Russell, Paul Pierce got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game

Paul Pierce vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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