Bill Russell vs. Rudy Tomjanovich Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rudy Tomjanovich 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, 2 more than Rudy Tomjanovich, who played 11. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Rudy Tomjanovich had his rookie season in 1970-71. 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
Rudy Tomjanovich	11	5	1970-71 to 1980-81

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


Rookie Season
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1956-57	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards
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	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
Rudy Tomjanovich	77	13.8	5.3	-	-	4.9	0.9	-	-	-	1.6	2.2	5.7	.383	-	-	-	0.9	1.5	.652

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1957-58	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519
Rudy Tomjanovich	78	34.5	15.0	-	-	11.8	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	6.4	12.9	.495	-	-	-	2.2	3.1	.723

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1958-59	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
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
Rudy Tomjanovich	81	36.7	19.3	-	-	11.6	2.2	-	-	-	2.8	8.1	16.9	.478	-	-	-	3.1	4.1	.746

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1959-60	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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
Rudy Tomjanovich	80	40.3	24.5	2.9	6.1	9.0	3.1	1.1	0.8	-	2.9	9.9	18.4	.536	-	-	-	4.8	5.7	.848

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1960-61	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost East 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	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Rudy Tomjanovich	81	38.7	20.7	2.3	5.3	7.6	2.9	0.9	0.3	-	2.8	8.6	16.3	.525	-	-	-	3.6	4.5	.790

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	8	38.0	23.0	2.8	5.3	8.0	2.9	0.1	0.5	-	2.1	9.0	16.0	.563	-	-	-	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1961-62	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	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
Rudy Tomjanovich	79	36.9	18.5	2.1	6.3	8.4	2.4	0.5	0.2	-	2.6	7.9	15.2	.517	-	-	-	2.8	3.6	.767

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1962-63	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost East Conf 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	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Rudy Tomjanovich	81	38.6	21.6	2.1	6.3	8.4	2.1	0.7	0.3	-	2.4	9.0	17.7	.510	-	-	-	3.5	4.2	.839

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	12	38.1	20.3	2.0	3.4	5.4	2.0	0.6	0.3	-	3.0	8.9	17.7	.505	-	-	-	2.4	3.1	.784


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1963-64	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Rudy Tomjanovich	23	36.9	21.5	1.7	4.3	6.0	1.4	0.7	0.2	1.7	2.7	9.4	19.4	.485	-	-	-	2.7	3.5	.753

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1964-65	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	74	35.7	19.0	2.3	5.4	7.7	1.9	0.6	0.2	1.9	2.5	8.4	16.2	.517	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.760

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	2	32.0	10.0	3.5	3.5	7.0	1.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	4.5	11.5	.391	-	-	-	1.0	2.5	.400


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1965-66	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	62	29.6	14.2	2.1	3.6	5.8	1.8	0.5	0.2	1.6	2.6	6.0	12.5	.476	0.4	1.3	.278	1.9	2.4	.803

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	7	26.4	8.3	1.7	4.0	5.7	1.4	0.3	0.0	2.0	3.0	3.4	9.1	.375	0.1	1.0	.143	1.3	1.9	.692


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1966-67	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Rockets 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	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Rudy Tomjanovich	52	24.3	11.6	1.5	2.5	4.0	1.6	0.4	0.1	1.1	2.3	5.1	10.8	.467	0.2	1.0	.235	1.3	1.6	.793

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	8	3.9	0.8	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.4	0.1	1.1	.111	0.0	0.4	.000	0.5	0.8	.667


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
Season	1967-68	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second 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	78	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Rudy Tomjanovich
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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Rudy Tomjanovich	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Bill Russell vs. Rudy Tomjanovich Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rudy Tomjanovich 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