Billy Cunningham vs. Paul Silas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Silas and Billy Cunningham, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Billy Cunningham played 9 years in the NBA, 7 less than Paul Silas, who played 16. Billy Cunningham had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, while Paul Silas had his rookie season in 1964-65. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16
Rookie Season
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1965-66	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
Billy Cunningham	80	26.7	14.3	-	-	7.5	2.6	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	12.6	.426	-	-	-	3.5	5.5	.634
Paul Silas	79	15.7	4.6	-	-	7.3	0.6	-	-	-	2.0	1.8	4.7	.373	-	-	-	1.1	2.1	.506
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	4	17.3	5.3	-	-	4.5	2.5	-	-	-	2.8	1.3	7.8	.161	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.846
Paul Silas	4	10.5	2.8	-	-	4.5	0.3	-	-	-	1.5	1.0	2.5	.400	-	-	-	0.8	1.0	.750

Season 2
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1966-67	1965-66
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
Billy Cunningham	81	26.8	18.5	-	-	7.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	6.9	15.0	.459	-	-	-	4.7	6.9	.686
Paul Silas	46	12.7	3.8	-	-	5.1	0.5	-	-	-	1.6	1.5	3.8	.405	-	-	-	0.8	1.3	.574
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	15	22.6	15.0	-	-	6.2	2.2	-	-	-	3.5	5.5	14.7	.376	-	-	-	3.9	6.0	.656
Paul Silas	7	11.4	2.6	-	-	4.9	0.3	-	-	-	1.6	0.7	2.6	.278	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.727

Season 4
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1968-69	1967-68
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Semis	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
Billy Cunningham	82	40.8	24.8	-	-	12.8	3.5	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	21.2	.426	-	-	-	6.8	9.2	.737
Paul Silas	82	32.3	13.4	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	3.0	4.9	10.6	.458	-	-	-	3.6	5.2	.705
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	5	43.4	24.4	-	-	12.6	2.4	-	-	-	4.8	9.8	23.4	.419	-	-	-	4.8	7.6	.632
Paul Silas	6	29.7	11.8	-	-	9.5	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	3.7	8.5	.431	-	-	-	4.5	6.3	.711

Season 5
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1969-70	1968-69
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Semis	Hawks Lost West Div 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		%
Billy Cunningham	81	39.4	26.1	-	-	13.6	4.3	-	-	-	4.1	9.9	21.1	.469	-	-	-	6.3	8.6	.729
Paul Silas	79	23.5	8.7	-	-	9.4	1.8	-	-	-	2.1	3.1	7.3	.419	-	-	-	2.6	4.2	.613
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	5	41.0	29.2	-	-	10.4	4.0	-	-	-	3.8	12.2	24.6	.496	-	-	-	4.8	7.2	.667
Paul Silas	11	23.5	5.5	-	-	8.4	1.9	-	-	-	2.9	1.9	5.3	.362	-	-	-	1.7	3.4	.514

Season 6
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1970-71	1969-70
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Div 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		%
Billy Cunningham	81	38.1	23.0	-	-	11.7	4.9	-	-	-	4.0	8.7	18.8	.462	-	-	-	5.6	7.7	.734
Paul Silas	78	36.4	12.8	-	-	11.7	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	4.8	10.3	.464	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.607
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	7	43.0	25.9	-	-	15.4	5.7	-	-	-	4.0	9.6	20.3	.472	-	-	-	6.7	9.6	.701
Paul Silas	7	40.9	16.1	-	-	15.9	4.3	-	-	-	4.1	6.6	15.6	.422	-	-	-	3.0	4.6	.656

Season 7
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1971-72	1970-71
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Billy Cunningham	75	38.7	23.3	-	-	12.2	5.9	-	-	-	3.9	8.8	19.0	.461	-	-	-	5.7	8.0	.712
Paul Silas	81	36.3	11.9	-	-	12.5	3.0	-	-	-	2.8	4.2	9.7	.428	-	-	-	3.5	5.1	.685
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Billy Cunningham didn't play in 1972-73 and 1973-74.

Season 8
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1974-75	1971-72
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Billy Cunningham	80	35.7	19.5	1.6	7.5	9.1	5.5	1.1	0.4	-	3.4	7.6	17.8	.428	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.777
Paul Silas	80	38.5	17.5	-	-	11.9	4.3	-	-	-	2.5	6.1	12.9	.470	-	-	-	5.4	7.0	.773
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	1975-76	1972-73
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Billy Cunningham	20	32.0	13.7	1.5	5.9	7.4	5.4	1.2	0.5	-	2.9	5.2	12.6	.410	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	.773
Paul Silas	80	32.7	13.3	-	-	13.0	3.1	-	-	-	2.5	5.0	10.6	.470	-	-	-	3.3	4.8	.700
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	13	39.4	9.6	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	9.2	.392	-	-	-	2.4	3.8	.620

Season 10
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	-	1973-74
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	31.7	11.5	4.1	7.1	11.2	2.3	0.8	0.2	-	3.0	4.1	9.4	.440	-	-	-	3.2	4.1	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	18	31.9	8.0	2.9	7.7	10.6	2.6	0.7	0.5	-	2.8	2.8	7.0	.397	-	-	-	2.4	2.9	.830

Season 11
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	-	1974-75
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	32.5	10.6	4.2	8.3	12.5	2.7	0.7	0.3	-	2.8	3.8	9.1	.417	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	.709
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	11	36.8	9.1	4.2	7.6	11.8	3.6	1.1	0.2	-	4.1	3.8	8.4	.457	-	-	-	1.5	2.3	.640

Season 12
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	-	1975-76
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	-	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		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	81	32.9	10.7	4.5	8.1	12.7	2.5	0.7	0.4	-	2.8	3.9	9.1	.426	-	-	-	2.9	4.1	.709
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	18	41.2	10.8	4.3	9.3	13.7	2.3	1.3	0.3	-	3.7	3.8	8.6	.448	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.812

Season 15
	Billy Cunningham	Paul Silas
Season	-	1978-79
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	82	23.9	5.6	3.2	3.9	7.0	1.4	0.4	0.2	1.2	2.2	2.1	4.9	.423	-	-	-	1.4	2.4	.598
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Billy Cunningham	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Silas	17	24.6	4.3	2.4	3.4	5.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.6	1.2	3.2	.389	-	-	-	1.8	2.7	.674