Bob Pettit vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Bob Pettit, 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.

Bob Pettit played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Bob Pettit had the first of his seasons in 1954-55, while Bill Russell had his rookie season in 1956-57. 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
Bob Pettit	11	9	1954-55 to 1964-65
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

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


Rookie Season
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1954-55	1956-57
Team	Milwaukee Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
Bill Russell	48	35.3	14.7	-	-	19.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	5.8	13.5	.427	-	-	-	3.2	6.4	.492

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	10	40.9	13.9	-	-	24.4	3.2	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	14.8	.365	-	-	-	3.1	6.1	.508


Season 2
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1955-56	1957-58
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	Celtics 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		%
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
Bill Russell	69	38.3	16.6	-	-	22.7	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	15.0	.442	-	-	-	3.3	6.4	.519

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843
Bill Russell	9	39.4	15.1	-	-	24.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	5.3	14.8	.361	-	-	-	4.4	7.3	.606


Season 3
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1956-57	1958-59
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
Bill Russell	70	42.6	16.7	-	-	23.0	3.2	-	-	-	2.3	6.5	14.2	.457	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.598

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767
Bill Russell	11	45.1	15.5	-	-	27.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	14.5	.409	-	-	-	3.7	6.1	.612


Season 4
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1957-58	1959-60
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
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		%
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
Bill Russell	74	42.5	18.2	-	-	24.0	3.7	-	-	-	2.8	7.5	16.1	.467	-	-	-	3.2	5.3	.612

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729
Bill Russell	13	44.0	18.5	-	-	25.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	7.2	15.8	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.8	.707


Season 5
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1958-59	1960-61
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
Bill Russell	78	44.3	16.9	-	-	23.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	6.8	16.0	.426	-	-	-	3.3	6.0	.550

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785
Bill Russell	10	46.2	19.1	-	-	29.9	4.8	-	-	-	2.4	7.3	17.1	.427	-	-	-	4.5	8.6	.523


Season 6
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1959-60	1961-62
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
Bill Russell	76	45.2	18.9	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	16.6	.457	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.595

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754
Bill Russell	14	48.0	22.4	-	-	26.4	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.3	18.1	.458	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.726


Season 7
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1960-61	1962-63
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
Bill Russell	78	44.9	16.8	-	-	23.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.4	6.6	15.2	.432	-	-	-	3.7	6.6	.555

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757
Bill Russell	13	47.5	20.3	-	-	25.1	5.1	-	-	-	2.8	7.4	16.3	.453	-	-	-	5.5	8.4	.661


Season 8
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1961-62	1963-64
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bob Pettit	78	42.1	31.1	-	-	18.7	3.7	-	-	-	3.8	11.1	24.7	.450	-	-	-	8.9	11.6	.771
Bill Russell	78	44.6	15.0	-	-	24.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.8	.433	-	-	-	3.0	5.5	.550

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


Season 9
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1962-63	1964-65
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	79	39.1	28.4	-	-	15.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.6	9.8	22.1	.446	-	-	-	8.7	11.2	.774
Bill Russell	78	44.4	14.1	-	-	24.1	5.3	-	-	-	2.6	5.5	12.6	.438	-	-	-	3.1	5.5	.573

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	11	42.1	31.8	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.1	10.8	23.5	.459	-	-	-	10.2	13.1	.778
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526


Season 10
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1963-64	1965-66
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	80	41.2	27.4	-	-	15.3	3.2	-	-	-	3.8	9.9	21.4	.463	-	-	-	7.6	9.6	.789
Bill Russell	78	43.4	12.9	-	-	22.8	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	2.9	5.2	.551

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	12	41.2	21.0	-	-	14.5	2.8	-	-	-	3.7	7.8	18.8	.412	-	-	-	5.5	6.6	.835
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618


Season 11
	Bob Pettit	Bill Russell
Season	1964-65	1966-67
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Semis	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Bob Pettit	50	35.1	22.5	-	-	12.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.3	7.9	18.5	.429	-	-	-	6.6	8.1	.820
Bill Russell	81	40.7	13.3	-	-	21.0	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	4.9	10.7	.454	-	-	-	3.5	5.8	.610

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	4	23.8	11.5	-	-	6.0	2.0	-	-	-	2.5	3.8	10.3	.366	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.800
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635


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

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


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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Bob Pettit vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Bob Pettit, 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