Bill Russell vs. Ish Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ish Smith and Bill Russell, 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.

Bill Russell played 13 years in the NBA, 1 less than Ish Smith, who played 14. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Ish Smith had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69
Ish Smith	14	6	2010-11 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1956-57	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Grizzlies Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
Ish Smith	43	10.3	2.3	0.2	0.9	1.1	1.8	0.4	0.0	0.8	0.9	1.0	2.7	.374	0.1	0.2	.300	0.3	0.5	.571

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	40.9	13.9	-	-	24.4	3.2	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	14.8	.365	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	.508
Ish Smith	5	2.0	0.8	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.6	.667	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1957-58	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519
Ish Smith	26	9.0	2.8	0.3	1.1	1.3	1.6	0.6	0.1	0.5	0.6	1.2	3.1	.383	0.1	0.3	.333	0.3	0.4	.700

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606
Ish Smith	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1958-59	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598
Ish Smith	52	9.9	2.4	0.2	0.9	1.2	1.7	0.4	0.2	0.7	0.5	1.1	3.1	.352	0.2	0.5	.296	0.1	0.1	.429

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	11	45.1	15.5	-	-	27.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	14.5	.409	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.612
Ish Smith	4	2.8	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1959-60	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
Ish Smith	70	14.4	3.7	0.4	1.4	1.8	2.6	0.7	0.2	0.9	0.9	1.7	4.0	.423	0.0	0.3	.043	0.3	0.6	.564

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	13	44.0	18.5	-	-	25.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	7.2	15.8	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.8	.707
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1960-61	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Ish Smith	55	15.1	6.1	0.3	1.5	1.8	3.3	0.7	0.1	1.4	0.9	2.6	6.7	.390	0.3	1.1	.300	0.6	1.0	.596

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	46.2	19.1	-	-	29.9	4.8	-	-	-	2.4	7.3	17.1	.427	-	-	-	4.5	8.6	.523
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1961-62	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
Ish Smith	77	29.1	12.6	0.6	3.4	4.0	6.5	1.1	0.3	2.3	1.7	5.2	12.6	.411	0.7	2.2	.329	1.6	2.3	.693

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	14	48.0	22.4	-	-	26.4	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.3	18.1	.458	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.726
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1962-63	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Ish Smith	81	24.1	9.4	0.3	2.6	2.9	5.2	0.8	0.4	1.4	1.6	4.1	9.2	.439	0.3	1.3	.267	0.9	1.3	.706

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	13	47.5	20.3	-	-	25.1	5.1	-	-	-	2.8	7.4	16.3	.453	-	-	-	5.5	8.4	.661
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1963-64	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Ish Smith	82	24.9	10.9	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.4	0.8	0.2	1.3	1.7	4.7	9.8	.486	0.4	1.2	.347	1.0	1.4	.698

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	10	45.1	13.1	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	13.2	.356	-	-	-	3.7	6.7	.552
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1964-65	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
Ish Smith	56	22.3	8.9	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.6	0.5	0.2	1.1	1.9	3.7	8.7	.419	0.8	2.4	.326	0.8	1.1	.758

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526
Ish Smith	4	20.3	6.0	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.5	0.8	0.3	1.0	2.0	2.5	9.5	.263	0.3	1.8	.143	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1965-66	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
Ish Smith	68	26.3	10.9	0.4	2.8	3.2	4.9	0.9	0.4	1.4	1.6	4.5	10.1	.447	0.9	2.5	.367	0.9	1.3	.721

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1966-67	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Wizards Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Ish Smith	44	21.0	6.7	0.5	2.9	3.4	3.9	0.7	0.3	0.9	1.4	2.9	6.8	.434	0.4	1.1	.367	0.4	0.8	.576

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635
Ish Smith	5	22.2	6.8	0.2	3.0	3.2	2.8	1.4	0.4	1.0	2.2	3.2	8.6	.372	0.4	1.4	.286	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1967-68	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	78	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
Ish Smith	65	17.3	6.3	0.4	1.8	2.2	3.8	0.7	0.4	1.2	1.2	2.8	6.6	.430	0.4	1.0	.373	0.2	0.4	.625

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	19	45.7	14.4	-	-	22.8	5.2	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	12.7	.409	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	.585
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	1968-69	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First 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		%
Bill Russell	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
Ish Smith	43	9.3	2.5	0.1	1.1	1.3	2.3	0.2	0.2	1.0	0.8	1.2	3.0	.397	0.0	0.3	.167	0.0	0.1	.500

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506
Ish Smith	4	3.0	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.3	0.5	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 14
	Bill Russell	Ish Smith
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ish Smith	43	17.2	3.2	0.3	1.5	1.8	3.4	0.4	0.1	1.1	1.1	1.5	3.7	.418	0.1	0.2	.500	0.1	0.1	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ish Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. Ish Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ish Smith and Bill Russell, 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

Season 14