Bill Russell vs. Mychal Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mychal Thompson 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 more than Mychal Thompson, who played 12. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Mychal Thompson had his rookie season in 1978-79. 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
Mychal Thompson	12	11	1978-79 to 1990-91

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1956-57	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
Mychal Thompson	73	29.4	14.7	2.7	5.6	8.3	2.4	0.9	1.8	2.8	3.7	6.3	12.8	.490	-	-	-	2.1	3.7	.572

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
Mychal Thompson	3	40.3	19.7	3.0	7.3	10.3	2.0	0.7	1.7	1.7	3.7	9.0	18.0	.500	-	-	-	1.7	3.3	.500

Note: Mychal Thompson didn't play in 1979-80.


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1957-58	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West 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
Mychal Thompson	79	35.3	17.0	2.8	5.9	8.7	3.6	0.8	2.2	3.1	3.3	7.2	14.6	.494	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	4.1	.641

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
Mychal Thompson	3	44.0	25.0	1.7	6.0	7.7	1.3	1.0	3.0	2.3	3.3	10.3	17.0	.608	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.0	.722


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1958-59	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First 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	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598
Mychal Thompson	79	39.6	20.8	3.3	8.4	11.7	4.0	0.9	1.4	3.1	2.9	8.6	16.5	.523	0.0	0.0	-	3.5	5.6	.628

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
Mychal Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1959-60	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
Mychal Thompson	80	37.7	15.7	2.3	7.1	9.4	4.8	0.9	1.4	3.5	2.7	6.3	12.9	.489	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	5.0	.621

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
Mychal Thompson	7	40.6	15.0	2.3	5.7	8.0	5.6	0.9	1.1	4.0	3.4	5.7	12.1	.471	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	5.4	.658


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1960-61	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Mychal Thompson	79	33.5	15.7	3.0	5.7	8.7	3.9	1.1	1.4	3.0	3.0	6.2	11.8	.524	0.0	0.0	.000	3.4	5.1	.667

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
Mychal Thompson	4	30.3	15.3	2.3	5.0	7.3	3.8	1.3	0.8	1.5	2.8	5.5	11.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.5	.773


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1961-62	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
Mychal Thompson	79	33.1	18.4	2.7	5.2	7.8	2.6	1.0	1.3	2.9	2.7	7.2	14.1	.515	0.0	0.0	-	3.9	5.7	.684

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
Mychal Thompson	9	27.8	14.8	2.8	5.2	8.0	1.6	0.8	1.3	2.1	3.6	5.6	11.3	.490	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.4	.673


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1962-63	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Mychal Thompson	82	31.3	14.7	2.2	5.2	7.4	2.1	0.9	0.4	2.4	3.3	6.1	12.3	.498	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.8	.641

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
Mychal Thompson	4	35.0	19.0	2.8	5.5	8.3	3.5	0.3	0.8	2.5	3.3	7.8	13.5	.574	0.0	0.0	-	3.5	6.5	.538


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1963-64	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	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	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Mychal Thompson	82	23.0	11.4	1.7	3.3	5.0	1.4	0.5	0.9	1.6	2.5	4.4	9.7	.450	0.0	0.0	.500	2.7	3.6	.737

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
Mychal Thompson	18	22.3	8.8	1.6	3.3	4.9	0.5	0.4	0.9	0.9	2.8	3.4	7.6	.453	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	2.8	.680


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1964-65	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	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	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
Mychal Thompson	80	25.1	11.6	2.5	3.6	6.1	0.8	0.5	1.0	1.4	3.1	4.6	9.0	.512	0.0	0.0	.000	2.3	3.7	.634

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
Mychal Thompson	24	25.6	9.7	2.6	4.5	7.1	0.5	0.7	0.9	1.4	2.9	4.1	8.0	.513	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.6	.581


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1965-66	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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		%
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551
Mychal Thompson	80	24.9	9.2	2.0	3.9	5.8	0.6	0.7	0.7	1.2	2.8	3.6	6.5	.559	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.678

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
Mychal Thompson	15	25.1	11.4	2.6	2.5	5.1	0.7	0.4	0.8	0.9	3.5	4.3	8.5	.508	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	4.0	.683


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1966-67	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Lakers 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	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Mychal Thompson	70	26.9	10.1	2.5	4.3	6.8	0.6	0.5	1.0	1.1	3.0	4.0	8.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.9	.706

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
Mychal Thompson	9	25.0	6.4	1.7	2.7	4.3	0.2	0.2	1.4	1.9	2.9	2.3	4.9	.477	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.9	.615


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
Season	1967-68	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

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
Mychal Thompson	72	15.0	4.0	1.0	2.1	3.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.6	1.6	3.2	.496	0.0	0.0	.000	0.9	1.2	.705

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
Mychal Thompson	8	5.3	0.5	0.4	0.8	1.1	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.1	1.3	0.3	0.9	.286	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Mychal Thompson
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		%
Bill Russell	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
Mychal Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Mychal Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. Mychal Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mychal Thompson 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