Vinnie Johnson vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Vinnie Johnson, 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.

Vinnie Johnson and Bill Russell both played 13 years in the NBA. Vinnie Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, 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
Vinnie Johnson	13	10	1979-80 to 1991-92
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1979-80	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	38	8.6	3.2	0.5	0.9	1.4	1.4	0.5	0.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	3.0	.391	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.0	.795
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1957-58
Team	Seattle Supersonics	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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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	81	28.5	13.0	2.4	2.1	4.5	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.4	5.2	9.7	.534	0.0	0.1	.200	2.6	3.3	.793
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1958-59
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	74	17.5	7.4	1.1	1.0	2.1	2.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.4	2.9	6.0	.489	0.0	0.2	.250	1.4	1.9	.754
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1959-60
Team	Detroit Pistons	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	30.6	15.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	3.7	1.1	0.6	1.9	3.2	6.3	12.4	.513	0.1	0.5	.275	3.0	3.8	.778
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1960-61
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.3	13.0	1.6	1.3	2.9	3.3	0.5	0.2	1.6	2.4	5.2	11.0	.473	0.0	0.2	.211	2.5	3.4	.753
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	26.4	10.2	1.0	1.8	2.8	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	3.4	9.2	.370	0.0	0.2	.000	3.4	3.8	.895
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1961-62
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.5	12.8	1.6	1.4	3.1	4.0	0.9	0.2	1.6	2.5	5.2	11.5	.454	0.1	0.3	.185	2.3	3.0	.769
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	9	26.1	14.2	1.7	1.3	3.0	3.2	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.9	11.4	.515	0.0	0.3	.000	2.4	3.1	.786
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1962-63
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	79	25.0	13.9	1.5	1.4	2.9	3.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	2.3	5.9	12.6	.467	0.0	0.2	.154	2.1	2.7	.771
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	4	21.3	12.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	2.8	0.8	0.0	1.3	2.3	5.5	12.3	.449	0.0	0.3	.000	1.8	3.3	.538
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1963-64
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	78	27.8	15.7	1.6	1.7	3.3	3.8	1.2	0.2	1.7	2.0	6.8	14.8	.462	0.1	0.2	.286	2.0	2.6	.786
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	25.9	14.7	1.3	1.6	2.9	4.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	2.2	6.3	13.8	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	2.4	.861
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1964-65
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.6	12.2	1.1	1.7	2.8	3.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	2.0	5.2	11.7	.443	0.1	0.3	.208	1.8	2.6	.677
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	23	20.7	10.3	1.5	1.7	3.3	1.9	0.7	0.2	0.9	2.1	4.4	10.4	.423	0.0	0.3	.143	1.4	2.2	.660
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1965-66
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.3	13.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.0	0.9	0.2	1.3	1.9	5.6	12.1	.464	0.2	0.5	.295	2.4	3.2	.734
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	17	21.9	14.1	0.9	1.7	2.6	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.9	5.4	11.8	.455	0.6	1.4	.417	2.8	3.6	.758
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1966-67
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	24.0	9.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.1	0.9	0.2	1.5	1.7	4.1	9.5	.431	0.1	0.4	.147	1.6	2.4	.668
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	20	23.2	10.3	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.7	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.9	4.3	9.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.286	1.7	2.2	.791
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1967-68
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	29.1	11.7	1.3	2.1	3.4	3.3	0.9	0.2	1.4	2.0	5.0	11.4	.434	0.1	0.4	.324	1.6	2.5	.646
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	29.2	15.2	2.5	2.6	5.1	2.9	0.7	0.3	1.1	2.2	6.8	14.7	.464	0.1	0.9	.154	1.5	2.1	.710
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
	Vinnie Johnson	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1968-69
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	60	22.5	8.0	1.1	1.9	3.0	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.6	3.4	8.3	.405	0.3	1.0	.317	0.9	1.4	.647
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	3	23.0	8.3	1.0	1.7	2.7	2.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	2.3	3.7	8.0	.458	0.7	1.3	.500	0.3	0.7	.500
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Vinnie Johnson vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Vinnie Johnson, 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