Allen Iverson vs. Bill Russell: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Allen Iverson and Bill Russell all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Allen Iverson, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1997 to 2010, and Bill Russell, with 13 seasons played from 1957 to 1969, stand among the league's historical elite.

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Allen Iverson vs. Bill Russell
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Allen Iverson Bill Russell Allen Iverson Bill Russell
Points
30th
175th
60th
41st
Rebounds
+300th
2nd
+300th
1st
Assists
54th
122nd
82nd
30th
Steals
15th
n/a
58th
n/a
Blocks
+300th
n/a
+300th
n/a
Years1413813

Allen Iverson vs. Bill Russell
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Allen Iverson Bill Russell Allen Iverson Bill Russell
Points
9th
280th
3rd
196th
Rebounds
+300th
2nd
+300th
1st
Assists
56th
200th
64th
129th
Steals
7th
n/a
12th
n/a
Blocks
+300th
n/a
+300th
n/a

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
30th
175th
145 24,368 vs. 14,5229,846
Rebounds
+300th
2nd
+298 3,394 vs. 21,62018,226
Assists
54th
122nd
68 5,624 vs. 4,1001,524
Steals
15th
n/a
1,983 vs. 0
Blocks
+300th
n/a
164 vs. 0
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
n/a
745 vs. 0
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
n/a
2,649 vs. 0
Field Goals Made
33rd
162nd
129 8,467 vs. 5,6872,780
Field Goals Attempted
20th
130th
110 19,906 vs. 12,9306,976
3-Pointers Made
149th
n/a
1,059 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
97th
n/a
3,383 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
16th
155th
139 6,375 vs. 3,1483,227
Free Throws Attempted
20th
62nd
42 8,168 vs. 5,6142,554

Games and Years:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
253rd
196th
57 914 vs. 96349
Seasons
194th
300th
106 14 vs. 131

Triple-Doubles:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
276th
38th
238 1 vs. 1716

Rankings by Points Scored:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
-
79 vs. 079
50+ point games
10th
-
11 vs. 011
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
60th
41st
19 2,111 vs. 2,673562
Rebounds
+300th
1st
+299 273 vs. 4,1043,831
Assists
82nd
30th
52 425 vs. 770345
Steals
58th
n/a
147 vs. 0
Blocks
+300th
n/a
14 vs. 0
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
n/a
59 vs. 0
Defensive Rebounds
300th
n/a
214 vs. 0
Field Goals Made
66th
37th
29 755 vs. 1,003248
Field Goals Attempted
52nd
30th
22 1,882 vs. 2,335453
3-Pointers Made
85th
n/a
123 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
73rd
n/a
376 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
60th
37th
23 478 vs. 667189
Free Throws Attempted
56th
15th
41 626 vs. 1,106480

Games and Years:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
35th
+265 71 vs. 16594
Playoffs
+300th
45th
+255 8 vs. 135

Triple-Doubles:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
20th
0 vs. 33

Rankings by Points Scored:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
-
10 vs. 010
50+ point games
3rd
-
3 vs. 03
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
9th
280th
271 26.66 vs. 15.0811.58
Rebounds per game
+300th
2nd
+298 3.71 vs. 22.4518.74
Assists per game
56th
200th
144 6.15 vs. 4.261.90
Steals per game
7th
n/a
2.17 vs. 0.00
Blocks per game
+300th
n/a
0.18 vs. 0.00
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
n/a
0.82 vs. 0.00
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
n/a
2.90 vs. 0.00
Field Goals Made per game
15th
254th
239 9.26 vs. 5.913.36
Field Goals Attempted per game
4th
211st
207 21.78 vs. 13.438.35
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
n/a
1.16 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
174th
n/a
3.70 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
9th
222nd
213 6.97 vs. 3.273.71
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
84th
78 8.94 vs. 5.833.11

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Allen Iverson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
3rd
196th
193 29.73 vs. 16.2013.53
Rebounds per game
+300th
1st
+299 3.85 vs. 24.8721.03
Assists per game
64th
129th
65 5.99 vs. 4.671.32
Steals per game
12th
n/a
2.07 vs. 0.00
Blocks per game
+300th
n/a
0.20 vs. 0.00
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
n/a
0.83 vs. 0.00
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
n/a
3.01 vs. 0.00
Field Goals Made per game
4th
206th
202 10.63 vs. 6.084.56
Field Goals Attempted per game
1st
179th
178 26.51 vs. 14.1512.36
3-Pointers Made per game
103rd
n/a
1.73 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
78th
n/a
5.30 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
15th
162nd
147 6.73 vs. 4.042.69
Free Throws Attempted per game
15th
69th
54 8.82 vs. 6.702.11

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.