Bill Russell vs. Thabo Sefolosha Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Thabo Sefolosha 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 Thabo Sefolosha, who played 14. Bill Russell had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while Thabo Sefolosha had his rookie season in 2006-07. 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
Thabo Sefolosha	14	9	2006-07 to 2019-20

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	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1956-57	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492
Thabo Sefolosha	71	12.2	3.6	0.5	1.7	2.2	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.8	1.4	1.5	3.6	.426	0.2	0.6	.357	0.3	0.6	.511

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
Thabo Sefolosha	9	11.0	3.3	0.4	1.4	1.9	0.8	0.2	0.0	0.8	1.2	1.1	2.9	.385	0.3	0.9	.375	0.8	1.3	.583


Season 2
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1957-58	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
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
Thabo Sefolosha	69	20.8	6.7	0.7	3.0	3.7	1.9	0.9	0.4	1.3	1.9	2.6	6.1	.428	0.4	1.3	.330	1.1	1.5	.721

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
Thabo Sefolosha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1958-59	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder
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
Thabo Sefolosha	66	22.0	5.9	0.8	2.8	3.7	1.7	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.6	2.3	5.4	.426	0.4	1.3	.276	0.9	1.1	.836

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
Thabo Sefolosha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1959-60	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder 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	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612
Thabo Sefolosha	82	28.6	6.0	0.9	3.8	4.7	1.8	1.2	0.6	1.1	1.9	2.4	5.4	.440	0.5	1.6	.313	0.7	1.1	.674

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
Thabo Sefolosha	6	21.2	4.5	0.5	2.5	3.0	1.2	0.8	1.0	0.3	2.5	1.3	4.5	.296	0.5	2.2	.231	1.3	1.5	.889


Season 5
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1960-61	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder Lost West Conf 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	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550
Thabo Sefolosha	79	25.9	5.1	0.8	3.6	4.4	1.4	1.2	0.5	0.7	2.2	2.0	4.2	.471	0.4	1.3	.275	0.7	1.0	.747

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
Thabo Sefolosha	17	20.2	4.6	0.7	2.4	3.1	0.7	0.9	0.3	0.9	1.4	1.8	3.9	.463	0.2	1.5	.154	0.8	0.8	1.000


Season 6
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1961-62	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder 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	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595
Thabo Sefolosha	42	21.8	4.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	1.1	0.9	0.4	1.0	1.9	1.6	3.7	.432	0.7	1.7	.437	0.9	1.0	.884

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
Thabo Sefolosha	20	22.3	5.3	0.6	2.1	2.7	1.3	1.5	0.5	0.6	2.2	2.1	5.1	.402	0.8	2.5	.327	0.4	0.5	.889


Season 7
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1962-63	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder Lost West 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	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555
Thabo Sefolosha	81	27.5	7.6	0.7	3.2	3.9	1.5	1.3	0.5	0.8	2.2	2.8	5.8	.481	1.3	3.2	.419	0.7	0.9	.826

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
Thabo Sefolosha	11	27.3	5.7	1.2	3.3	4.5	2.1	1.1	0.5	0.7	2.4	1.9	5.5	.344	1.1	3.5	.316	0.8	1.0	.818


Season 8
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1963-64	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder Lost West 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	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550
Thabo Sefolosha	61	26.0	6.3	0.8	2.8	3.6	1.5	1.3	0.3	0.9	1.5	2.3	5.6	.415	0.8	2.5	.316	0.9	1.1	.768

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
Thabo Sefolosha	15	15.7	3.7	0.5	1.6	2.1	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.5	0.7	1.5	3.7	.418	0.4	1.5	.261	0.3	0.3	.800


Season 9
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1964-65	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First 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	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573
Thabo Sefolosha	52	18.8	5.3	1.0	3.3	4.3	1.4	1.0	0.4	0.7	1.3	2.0	4.8	.418	0.5	1.5	.321	0.9	1.1	.776

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
Thabo Sefolosha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1965-66	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks 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
Thabo Sefolosha	75	23.4	6.4	0.7	3.8	4.5	1.4	1.1	0.5	0.9	1.5	2.5	4.9	.507	0.6	1.6	.341	0.8	1.3	.626

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
Thabo Sefolosha	10	20.3	5.9	0.8	3.3	4.1	1.7	1.0	0.6	1.0	1.7	2.2	4.6	.478	0.7	1.9	.368	0.8	1.5	.533


Season 11
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1966-67	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Hawks 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	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610
Thabo Sefolosha	62	25.7	7.2	0.9	3.5	4.4	1.7	1.5	0.5	0.9	1.6	2.8	6.4	.441	0.7	1.9	.342	0.9	1.2	.733

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
Thabo Sefolosha	4	2.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	1.0	.250


Season 12
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1967-68	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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	37.9	12.5	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.1	4.7	11.0	.425	-	-	-	3.2	5.9	.537
Thabo Sefolosha	38	21.2	8.2	0.8	3.5	4.2	0.9	1.4	0.3	0.8	1.6	3.1	6.3	.492	0.8	2.2	.381	1.2	1.4	.815

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
Thabo Sefolosha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	1968-69	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West 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	77	42.7	9.9	-	-	19.3	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	8.4	.433	-	-	-	2.6	5.0	.526
Thabo Sefolosha	50	12.2	3.8	0.2	2.3	2.5	0.5	0.9	0.1	0.5	0.8	1.4	3.0	.477	0.7	1.6	.436	0.3	0.4	.636

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
Thabo Sefolosha	4	10.5	1.3	0.3	1.8	2.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.8	0.5	3.5	.143	0.3	2.0	.125	0.0	0.0	-


Season 14
	Bill Russell	Thabo Sefolosha
Season	-	2019-20
Team	-	Houston Rockets
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Thabo Sefolosha	41	10.6	2.2	0.5	1.8	2.3	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.4	1.0	0.9	2.2	.407	0.4	1.3	.278	0.1	0.2	.375

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

Bill Russell vs. Thabo Sefolosha Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Thabo Sefolosha 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