Thurl Bailey vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Thurl Bailey, 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.

Thurl Bailey played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Thurl Bailey had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, 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
Thurl Bailey	12	9	1983-84 to 1998-99
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1956-57
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	81	24.8	8.5	1.4	4.3	5.7	1.6	0.5	1.5	1.3	2.4	3.7	7.3	.512	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.4	.752
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		%
Thurl Bailey	11	30.9	10.6	1.4	4.2	5.5	0.9	0.2	1.0	1.5	3.0	4.5	8.8	.515	0.0	0.2	.000	1.5	1.9	.810
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1957-58
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Thurl Bailey	80	31.0	15.2	1.9	4.7	6.6	1.7	0.6	1.3	1.9	2.7	6.3	12.9	.490	0.0	0.0	1.000	2.5	2.9	.842
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		%
Thurl Bailey	10	37.5	16.9	2.1	7.1	9.2	2.7	0.5	1.8	2.1	3.0	6.2	15.2	.408	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	5.5	.818
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1958-59
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	82	28.8	14.6	1.8	4.2	6.0	1.9	0.5	1.4	1.8	2.0	5.9	13.1	.448	0.0	0.1	.000	2.8	3.4	.830
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		%
Thurl Bailey	4	36.8	16.0	2.8	5.3	8.0	3.3	0.5	0.5	1.3	3.3	7.0	19.3	.364	0.0	0.3	.000	2.0	2.8	.727
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1959-60
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	81	26.6	13.8	1.8	3.5	5.3	1.3	0.5	1.1	1.5	1.9	5.7	12.8	.447	0.0	0.0	.000	2.3	2.9	.805
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		%
Thurl Bailey	5	30.2	15.6	2.8	3.2	6.0	1.8	0.6	1.2	2.4	2.4	6.0	12.6	.476	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	3.6	1.000
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1960-61
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	82	34.2	19.6	1.6	4.8	6.5	1.9	0.6	1.5	2.3	2.3	7.7	15.7	.492	0.0	0.0	.333	4.1	5.0	.826
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		%
Thurl Bailey	11	40.8	23.2	1.9	3.8	5.7	1.6	0.5	2.1	1.9	2.9	9.0	18.5	.488	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.2	.838
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1961-62
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	82	33.9	19.5	1.4	4.0	5.5	1.7	0.6	1.1	2.5	2.3	7.5	15.5	.483	0.0	0.1	.400	4.4	5.4	.825
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		%
Thurl Bailey	3	40.7	12.0	3.3	5.0	8.3	1.0	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.7	4.0	11.3	.353	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	5.0	.800
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1962-63
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Thurl Bailey	82	31.5	14.2	1.4	3.6	5.0	1.7	0.4	1.2	1.7	2.1	5.7	11.9	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	3.5	.779
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		%
Thurl Bailey	5	38.0	21.0	1.6	4.8	6.4	1.4	1.0	1.2	1.0	3.8	8.6	17.6	.489	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	4.8	.792
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1963-64
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West 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		%
Thurl Bailey	82	30.3	12.4	1.2	3.7	5.0	1.5	0.6	1.1	1.6	2.0	4.9	10.6	.458	0.0	0.0	.000	2.7	3.3	.808
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		%
Thurl Bailey	9	25.3	7.6	1.2	2.3	3.6	1.0	0.3	0.7	1.3	3.0	2.6	7.1	.359	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	2.8	.880
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1964-65
Team	Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves	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		%
Thurl Bailey	84	25.0	11.3	1.5	4.3	5.8	0.9	0.4	1.4	1.3	1.9	4.4	10.0	.440	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.2	.796
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		%
Thurl Bailey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1965-66
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	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		%
Thurl Bailey	70	18.2	7.5	0.8	2.3	3.1	0.9	0.3	0.7	0.9	1.3	2.9	6.4	.455	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.0	.838
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		%
Thurl Bailey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1966-67
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Thurl Bailey	79	16.4	7.4	0.8	1.9	2.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.7	1.2	2.9	5.8	.510	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	1.9	.799
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		%
Thurl Bailey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635

Note: Thurl Bailey didn't play in 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98.


Season 12
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	1998-99	1967-68
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West 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		%
Thurl Bailey	43	12.6	4.2	0.8	1.3	2.2	0.6	0.2	0.7	0.6	1.8	1.8	4.1	.446	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	0.8	.735
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		%
Thurl Bailey	11	10.5	3.4	0.5	0.9	1.4	0.2	0.3	0.5	0.7	1.7	1.5	3.0	.515	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.4	.750
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
	Thurl Bailey	Bill Russell
Season	-	1968-69
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Thurl Bailey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Thurl Bailey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Thurl Bailey vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

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