Sam Cassell vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Sam Cassell, 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.

Sam Cassell played 15 years in the NBA, 2 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. Sam Cassell had the first of his seasons in 1993-94, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15
Rookie Season
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1956-57
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Cassell	66	17.0	6.7	0.4	1.7	2.0	2.9	0.9	0.1	1.4	2.1	2.5	5.9	.418	0.4	1.3	.295	1.4	1.6	.841
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		%
Sam Cassell	22	21.7	9.4	0.9	1.8	2.7	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.1	2.8	2.9	7.3	.394	0.8	2.0	.378	2.9	3.4	.865
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1994-95	1957-58
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Cassell	82	23.0	9.5	0.5	2.1	2.6	4.9	1.1	0.2	2.0	2.5	3.1	7.2	.427	0.8	2.3	.330	2.6	3.1	.843
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		%
Sam Cassell	22	22.0	11.0	0.4	1.5	1.9	4.0	1.0	0.1	1.5	3.0	3.4	7.7	.438	1.1	2.7	.400	3.2	3.9	.835
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1995-96	1958-59
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Sam Cassell	61	27.6	14.5	0.8	2.2	3.1	4.6	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.7	4.7	10.8	.439	1.2	3.4	.348	3.9	4.7	.825
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		%
Sam Cassell	8	25.8	10.4	0.1	2.0	2.1	4.3	0.8	0.1	2.3	2.5	3.3	10.1	.321	1.0	3.6	.276	2.9	3.6	.793
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1996-97	1959-60
Team	Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Sam Cassell	61	28.1	15.9	0.8	2.2	3.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	2.8	3.3	5.5	12.8	.430	1.3	3.8	.351	3.5	4.1	.845
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		%
Sam Cassell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1997-98	1960-61
Team	New Jersey Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East 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		%
Sam Cassell	75	34.7	19.6	1.0	2.1	3.0	8.0	1.6	0.3	3.6	3.5	6.8	15.4	.441	0.2	1.1	.188	5.8	6.8	.860
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		%
Sam Cassell	3	9.0	2.0	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.7	2.3	1.0	3.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1998-99	1961-62
Team	New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Sam Cassell	8	24.9	15.9	0.6	1.3	1.9	4.5	1.1	0.0	2.5	2.8	4.9	11.6	.419	0.3	1.3	.200	5.9	6.3	.940
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		%
Sam Cassell	3	34.3	15.3	0.0	2.0	2.0	8.7	1.0	0.0	2.3	4.7	5.3	10.7	.500	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.3	.875
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	1999-00	1962-63
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Sam Cassell	81	35.8	18.6	0.9	2.9	3.7	9.0	1.3	0.1	3.3	3.1	6.7	14.4	.466	0.3	1.1	.289	4.8	5.5	.876
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		%
Sam Cassell	5	35.6	15.8	0.0	3.4	3.4	9.0	0.8	0.0	1.8	3.8	6.0	14.4	.417	0.2	1.0	.200	3.6	4.2	.857
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2000-01	1963-64
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Sam Cassell	76	35.6	18.2	0.6	3.2	3.8	7.6	1.2	0.1	2.9	2.8	7.1	14.9	.474	0.4	1.3	.306	3.6	4.3	.858
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		%
Sam Cassell	18	37.9	17.4	0.7	3.9	4.6	6.7	1.1	0.2	2.9	4.2	6.1	15.4	.396	0.6	1.7	.333	4.7	5.4	.866
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2001-02	1964-65
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	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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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	74	35.2	19.7	0.7	3.5	4.2	6.7	1.2	0.2	2.4	2.8	7.5	16.2	.463	1.0	2.8	.348	3.8	4.4	.860
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		%
Sam Cassell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2002-03	1965-66
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East 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		%
Sam Cassell	78	34.6	19.7	0.7	3.7	4.4	5.8	1.1	0.2	2.3	2.8	7.0	14.9	.470	0.8	2.1	.362	4.9	5.7	.861
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		%
Sam Cassell	6	36.2	17.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.7	0.5	0.2	2.8	3.3	6.5	13.8	.470	1.8	3.5	.524	2.3	2.5	.933
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2003-04	1966-67
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Sam Cassell	81	35.0	19.8	0.5	2.8	3.3	7.3	1.3	0.2	2.7	3.0	7.7	15.7	.488	0.9	2.3	.398	3.6	4.1	.873
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		%
Sam Cassell	16	31.1	16.6	0.2	2.3	2.5	4.4	0.8	0.2	2.7	3.3	5.9	12.6	.465	1.6	3.8	.417	3.3	3.8	.852
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2004-05	1967-68
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Sam Cassell	59	25.8	13.5	0.4	2.2	2.7	5.1	0.6	0.2	1.8	2.7	5.4	11.6	.464	0.5	1.7	.262	2.3	2.6	.865
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		%
Sam Cassell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2005-06	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West 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		%
Sam Cassell	78	34.0	17.2	0.5	3.2	3.7	6.3	0.9	0.1	2.2	2.9	6.3	14.3	.443	0.9	2.4	.368	3.7	4.3	.863
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		%
Sam Cassell	12	33.7	18.0	0.8	3.3	4.0	5.8	0.7	0.2	2.3	2.9	6.1	13.9	.437	1.3	3.6	.349	4.6	5.7	.809
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Season 15
	Sam Cassell	Bill Russell
Season	2007-08	-
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
Sam Cassell	55	23.2	11.2	0.3	2.2	2.5	3.9	0.7	0.1	1.8	1.8	4.2	9.7	.438	0.4	1.4	.303	2.3	2.6	.882
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	21	12.6	4.5	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.4	0.0	0.6	1.4	1.8	5.3	.333	0.3	1.3	.214	0.7	0.8	.824
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-