Rick Barry vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Rick Barry, 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.

Rick Barry played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Rick Barry had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, 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
Rick Barry	10	7	1965-66 to 1979-80
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1965-66	1956-57
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Rick Barry	80	37.4	25.7	-	-	10.6	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	9.3	21.2	.439	-	-	-	7.1	8.3	.862
difference:	+32	+2.1	+11.0			+9.0	+0.4				-0.7	+3.5	+7.7	+.012				+3.9	+1.9	+.370
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		%
Rick Barry	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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1966-67	1957-58
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rick Barry	78	40.7	35.6	-	-	9.2	3.6	-	-	-	3.3	13.0	28.7	.451	-	-	-	9.7	10.9	.884
difference:	+9	+2.4	+19.0			+13.5	+0.7				-0.7	+6.4	+13.7	+.009				+6.4	+4.5	+.365
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		%
Rick Barry	15	40.9	34.7	-	-	7.5	3.9	-	-	-	3.3	13.1	32.6	.403	-	-	-	8.5	10.5	.809
difference:	+6	+1.5	+19.6			+17.1	+1.2				-0.6	+7.8	+17.8	+.042				+4.1	+3.2	+.203
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606

Note: Rick Barry didn't play in 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72.


Season 3
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1972-73	1958-59
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Rick Barry	82	37.5	22.3	-	-	8.9	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	9.0	19.9	.452	-	-	-	4.4	4.8	.902
difference:	+12	+5.1	+5.6			+14.1	+1.7				-0.7	+2.5	+5.7	+.005				+0.7	+1.3	+.304
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		%
Rick Barry	11	26.5	16.4	-	-	4.9	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	5.9	14.9	.396	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.909
difference:		+18.6	+0.9			+22.8	+1.4				-1.2		+0.4	+.013				+0.8	+1.1	+.297
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1973-74	1959-60
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	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		%
Rick Barry	80	36.5	25.1	1.3	5.5	6.8	6.1	2.1	0.5	-	3.3	10.0	21.8	.456	-	-	-	5.2	5.8	.899
difference:	+6	+6.0	+6.9			+17.2	+2.4				-0.5	+2.5	+5.7	+.011				+2.0	+0.5	+.287
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		%
Rick Barry	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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1974-75	1960-61
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Rick Barry	80	40.4	30.6	1.2	4.6	5.7	6.2	2.9	0.4	-	2.8	12.9	27.7	.464	-	-	-	4.9	5.5	.904
difference:	+2	+3.9	+13.7			+18.2	+2.8				-0.8	+6.1	+11.7	+.038				+1.6	+0.5	+.354
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		%
Rick Barry	17	42.7	28.2	1.3	4.2	5.5	6.1	2.9	0.9	-	3.0	11.1	25.1	.444	-	-	-	5.9	6.5	.918
difference:	+7	+3.5	+9.1			+24.4	+1.3				-0.6	+3.8	+8.0	+.017				+1.4	+2.1	+.395
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1975-76	1961-62
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Rick Barry	81	38.5	21.0	0.9	5.2	6.1	6.1	2.5	0.3	-	2.7	8.7	20.0	.435	-	-	-	3.5	3.8	.923
difference:	+5	+6.7	+2.1			+17.5	+1.6					+1.1	+3.4	+.022				+0.3	+2.5	+.328
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		%
Rick Barry	13	40.9	24.0	1.5	4.9	6.5	6.5	2.9	1.1	-	3.1	9.7	22.2	.436	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	.882
difference:	+1	+7.1	+1.6			+19.9	+1.5				-0.4	+1.4	+4.1	+.022				+1.3	+2.9	+.156
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1976-77	1962-63
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Rick Barry	79	36.8	21.8	0.9	4.4	5.3	6.0	2.2	0.7	-	2.5	8.6	19.6	.440	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.916
difference:	+1	+8.1	+5.0			+18.3	+1.5				-0.1	+2.0	+4.4	+.008				+0.8	+1.6	+.361
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		%
Rick Barry	10	41.5	28.4	2.5	3.4	5.9	4.7	1.7	0.7	-	3.2	12.2	26.2	.466	-	-	-	4.0	4.4	.909
difference:	+3	+6.0	+8.1			+19.2	+0.4				-0.4	+4.8	+9.9	+.013				+1.5	+4.0	+.248
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1977-78	1963-64
Team	Golden State Warriors	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		%
Rick Barry	82	36.9	23.1	0.9	4.6	5.5	5.4	1.9	0.5	2.7	2.3	9.3	20.6	.451	-	-	-	4.6	5.0	.924
difference:	+4	+7.7	+8.1			+19.2	+0.7				-0.1	+3.3	+6.8	+.018				+1.6	+0.5	+.374
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		%
Rick Barry	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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1978-79	1964-65
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
Rick Barry	80	32.1	13.5	0.5	3.0	3.5	6.3	1.2	0.5	2.5	2.4	5.8	12.5	.461	-	-	-	2.0	2.1	.947
difference:	+2	+12.3	+0.6			+20.6	+1.0				-0.2	+0.3	+0.1	+.023				+1.1	+3.4	+.374
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		%
Rick Barry	2	32.5	12.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	4.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	4.0	12.5	.320	-	-	-	4.0	4.0	1.000
difference:	+10	+14.3	+4.5			+21.2	+1.8				-0.4	+2.6		+.207				+0.7	+2.3	+.474
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
	Rick Barry	Bill Russell
Season	1979-80	1965-66
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East 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		%
Rick Barry	72	25.2	12.0	0.7	2.5	3.3	3.7	1.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	4.5	10.7	.422	1.0	3.1	.330	2.0	2.1	.935
difference:	+6	+18.2	+0.9			+19.5	+1.1				-0.3	+0.5	+1.4	+.007				+0.9	+3.1	+.384
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		%
Rick Barry	6	13.2	5.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.7	1.8	2.0	5.5	.364	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+11	+34.7	+13.6			+24.2	+2.5				-1.7	+5.3	+9.9	+.111				+3.5	+6.2	+.382
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 Rick Barry 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 Rick Barry, Bill Russell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 3 All-Star Game

Rick Barry vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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