Courtney Lee vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Courtney Lee, 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.

Courtney Lee played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Courtney Lee had the first of his seasons in 2008-09, 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
Courtney Lee	12	5	2008-09 to 2019-20
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2008-09	1956-57
Team	Orlando Magic	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Magic 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		%
Courtney Lee	77	25.2	8.4	0.2	2.1	2.3	1.2	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.0	3.2	7.0	.450	1.1	2.6	.404	1.0	1.2	.830
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		%
Courtney Lee	21	26.2	8.0	0.3	1.6	1.9	1.3	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.2	7.3	.435	0.6	2.1	.273	1.1	1.2	.885
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2009-10	1957-58
Team	New Jersey Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Courtney Lee	71	33.5	12.5	0.8	2.7	3.5	1.7	1.3	0.3	1.1	1.8	4.8	10.9	.436	1.1	3.2	.338	1.9	2.2	.869
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2010-11	1958-59
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Courtney Lee	81	21.3	8.3	0.6	2.0	2.6	1.2	0.7	0.2	0.8	1.3	3.1	7.1	.439	0.9	2.1	.408	1.2	1.5	.792
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1959-60
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Courtney Lee	58	30.3	11.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	1.5	1.2	0.4	1.1	1.8	4.3	10.0	.433	1.5	3.7	.401	1.2	1.5	.826
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Courtney Lee	78	24.9	7.8	0.4	2.0	2.4	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.1	1.8	3.2	6.8	.464	0.7	2.0	.372	0.8	0.9	.861
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		%
Courtney Lee	4	9.8	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.8	0.3	1.3	.200	0.0	0.5	.000	1.0	1.0	1.000
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1961-62
Team	Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Courtney Lee	79	25.0	9.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	1.5	0.8	0.4	0.9	1.6	3.7	7.8	.480	0.9	2.5	.371	1.3	1.4	.884
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		%
Courtney Lee	7	32.0	10.0	0.4	1.6	2.0	1.6	0.7	0.3	0.9	2.9	3.6	8.6	.417	0.9	2.7	.316	2.0	2.6	.778
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1962-63
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Courtney Lee	77	30.6	10.1	0.3	2.0	2.3	2.0	1.0	0.2	1.0	1.7	3.7	8.4	.448	1.2	2.9	.402	1.4	1.7	.860
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		%
Courtney Lee	11	33.4	13.3	0.3	2.3	2.5	2.2	1.1	0.0	1.2	2.2	5.0	9.1	.550	1.3	2.7	.467	2.0	2.1	.957
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1963-64
Team	Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Courtney Lee	79	29.5	9.6	0.4	2.2	2.6	1.7	1.1	0.4	0.9	1.7	3.7	8.1	.454	1.0	2.7	.378	1.3	1.5	.839
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		%
Courtney Lee	7	36.7	8.6	0.7	2.1	2.9	1.3	0.9	0.4	0.7	2.7	3.0	7.3	.412	0.6	1.3	.444	2.0	2.1	.933
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Courtney Lee	77	31.9	10.8	0.7	2.7	3.4	2.3	1.1	0.3	0.9	1.8	4.2	9.1	.456	1.4	3.5	.401	1.1	1.3	.867
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1965-66
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Courtney Lee	76	30.4	12.0	0.4	2.6	2.9	2.4	1.1	0.2	1.1	1.4	4.5	9.9	.454	1.5	3.7	.406	1.5	1.6	.919
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1966-67
Team	New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Courtney Lee	34	12.6	4.0	0.3	1.3	1.6	1.1	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.9	1.6	3.8	.411	0.5	1.6	.291	0.4	0.6	.667
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1967-68
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Courtney Lee	24	14.4	4.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.5	0.8	0.3	0.5	1.4	1.7	3.4	.488	0.9	2.0	.447	0.3	0.3	.857
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Courtney Lee	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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Courtney Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Courtney Lee vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Courtney Lee, 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