David Robinson vs. Bill Russell: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare David Robinson 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 David Robinson, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1990 to 2003, 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.

David Robinson vs. Bill Russell
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
David Robinson Bill Russell David Robinson Bill Russell
Points
45th
175th
55th
41st
Rebounds
35th
2nd
31st
1st
Assists
+300th
122nd
159th
30th
Steals
67th
n/a
53rd
n/a
Blocks
6th
n/a
5th
n/a
Years14131213

David Robinson vs. Bill Russell
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
David Robinson Bill Russell David Robinson Bill Russell
Points
51st
278th
151st
196th
Rebounds
38th
2nd
41st
1st
Assists
+300th
200th
+300th
129th
Steals
107th
n/a
159th
n/a
Blocks
4th
n/a
6th
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:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
45th
175th
130 20,790 vs. 14,5226,268
Rebounds
35th
2nd
33 10,497 vs. 21,62011,123
Assists
+300th
122nd
+178 2,441 vs. 4,1001,659
Steals
67th
n/a
1,388 vs. 0
Blocks
6th
n/a
2,954 vs. 0
Offensive Rebounds
29th
n/a
3,083 vs. 0
Defensive Rebounds
24th
n/a
7,414 vs. 0
Field Goals Made
61st
162nd
101 7,365 vs. 5,6871,678
Field Goals Attempted
93rd
130th
37 14,221 vs. 12,9301,291
3-Pointers Made
+300th
n/a
25 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
n/a
100 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
22nd
155th
133 6,035 vs. 3,1482,887
Free Throws Attempted
19th
62nd
43 8,201 vs. 5,6142,587

Games and Years:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
162nd
195th
33 987 vs. 96324
Seasons
194th
300th
106 14 vs. 131

Triple-Doubles:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
49th
38th
11 14 vs. 173

Rankings by Points Scored:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
54th
-
22 vs. 022
50+ point games
40th
-
3 vs. 03
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
2nd
-
1 vs. 01

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
55th
41st
14 2,221 vs. 2,673452
Rebounds
31st
1st
30 1,301 vs. 4,1042,803
Assists
159th
30th
129 280 vs. 770490
Steals
53rd
n/a
151 vs. 0
Blocks
5th
n/a
312 vs. 0
Offensive Rebounds
21st
n/a
367 vs. 0
Defensive Rebounds
22nd
n/a
934 vs. 0
Field Goals Made
63rd
37th
26 768 vs. 1,003235
Field Goals Attempted
71st
30th
41 1,604 vs. 2,335731
3-Pointers Made
+300th
n/a
1 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
n/a
10 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
34th
37th
3 684 vs. 66717
Free Throws Attempted
26th
15th
11 966 vs. 1,106140

Games and Years:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
100th
35th
65 123 vs. 16542
Playoffs
76th
45th
31 12 vs. 131

Triple-Doubles:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
39th
20th
19 1 vs. 32

Rankings by Points Scored:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
78th
-
1 vs. 01
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
51st
278th
227 21.06 vs. 15.085.98
Rebounds per game
38th
2nd
36 10.64 vs. 22.4511.82
Assists per game
+300th
200th
+100 2.47 vs. 4.261.78
Steals per game
107th
n/a
1.41 vs. 0.00
Blocks per game
4th
n/a
2.99 vs. 0.00
Offensive Rebounds per game
24th
n/a
3.12 vs. 0.00
Defensive Rebounds per game
28th
n/a
7.51 vs. 0.00
Field Goals Made per game
78th
252nd
174 7.46 vs. 5.911.56
Field Goals Attempted per game
159th
209th
50 14.41 vs. 13.430.98
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
n/a
0.03 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
n/a
0.10 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
20th
218th
198 6.11 vs. 3.272.85
Free Throws Attempted per game
16th
84th
68 8.31 vs. 5.832.48

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

David Robinson Bill Russell Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
151st
196th
45 18.06 vs. 16.201.86
Rebounds per game
41st
1st
40 10.58 vs. 24.8714.30
Assists per game
+300th
129th
+171 2.28 vs. 4.672.39
Steals per game
159th
n/a
1.23 vs. 0.00
Blocks per game
6th
n/a
2.54 vs. 0.00
Offensive Rebounds per game
52nd
n/a
2.98 vs. 0.00
Defensive Rebounds per game
28th
n/a
7.59 vs. 0.00
Field Goals Made per game
185th
206th
21 6.24 vs. 6.080.17
Field Goals Attempted per game
236th
179th
57 13.04 vs. 14.151.11
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
n/a
0.01 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
n/a
0.08 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
53rd
162nd
109 5.56 vs. 4.041.52
Free Throws Attempted per game
31st
69th
38 7.85 vs. 6.701.15

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 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 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.