Dave DeBusschere vs. Bill Willoughby Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Willoughby and Dave DeBusschere, 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.

Dave DeBusschere played 12 years in the NBA, 4 more than Bill Willoughby, who played 8. Dave DeBusschere had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Bill Willoughby had his rookie season in 1975-76. 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
Dave DeBusschere 12 8 1962-63 to 1973-74
Bill Willoughby 8 3 1975-76 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1962-631975-76
Team Detroit PistonsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Pistons Lost West Div SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 80 29.4 12.7 - - 8.7 2.6 - - - 3.1 5.1 11.8 .430 - - - 2.6 3.6 .718
Bill Willoughby 62 14.0 4.7 1.7 3.0 4.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 - 1.4 1.8 4.6 .398 - - - 1.1 1.6 .660
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 4 39.8 20.0 - - 15.8 1.5 - - - 3.5 6.3 14.8 .424 - - - 7.5 11.0 .682
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1963-641976-77
Team Detroit PistonsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 15 20.3 8.6 - - 7.0 1.5 - - - 2.1 3.5 8.9 .391 - - - 1.7 2.9 .581
Bill Willoughby 39 14.1 4.9 1.7 2.7 4.4 0.3 0.5 0.6 - 1.6 1.9 4.3 .444 - - - 1.1 1.6 .683
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1964-651977-78
Team Detroit PistonsBuffalo Braves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 79 35.1 16.7 - - 11.1 3.2 - - - 3.1 6.4 15.1 .425 - - - 3.9 5.5 .700
Bill Willoughby 56 19.3 6.7 1.4 2.6 3.9 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.0 2.3 2.8 6.5 .430 - - - 1.1 1.4 .800
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Note: Bill Willoughby didn't play in 1978-79.

Season 4

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1965-661979-80
Team Detroit PistonsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 79 34.1 16.4 - - 11.6 2.6 - - - 3.2 6.6 16.3 .408 - - - 3.2 4.8 .659
Bill Willoughby 78 18.6 6.9 1.6 2.7 4.2 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.9 2.4 2.8 5.9 .479 0.0 0.1 .111 1.2 1.6 .756
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1966-671980-81
Team Detroit PistonsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayRockets Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 78 37.1 18.2 - - 11.8 2.8 - - - 3.8 6.8 16.4 .415 - - - 4.6 6.6 .705
Bill Willoughby 55 20.8 6.3 1.3 2.8 4.1 1.2 0.3 0.6 1.3 1.9 2.7 5.2 .523 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.2 .766
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby 19 21.9 6.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 1.2 0.7 1.0 1.2 2.2 2.2 6.1 .362 0.0 0.1 .000 1.6 2.1 .750

Season 6

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1967-681981-82
Team Detroit PistonsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Div SemisRockets 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 %
Dave DeBusschere 80 39.1 17.9 - - 13.5 2.3 - - - 3.8 7.2 16.2 .442 - - - 3.6 5.4 .664
Bill Willoughby 69 21.4 7.8 1.6 2.3 3.8 1.1 0.4 0.9 1.1 2.1 3.5 6.7 .517 0.0 0.1 .429 0.8 1.1 .727
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 6 43.8 19.3 - - 16.2 2.2 - - - 3.8 7.5 17.7 .425 - - - 4.3 7.5 .578
Bill Willoughby 2 8.5 2.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 1.0 1.000

Season 7

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1968-691982-83
Team Detroit Pistons, New York KnicksSan Antonio Spurs, New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 76 38.7 16.3 - - 11.7 2.5 - - - 3.8 6.7 15.0 .444 - - - 3.0 4.3 .698
Bill Willoughby 62 18.5 5.5 1.0 2.2 3.2 1.0 0.4 0.3 1.0 2.2 2.4 5.2 .454 0.1 0.2 .429 0.7 0.9 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 10 41.9 16.3 - - 14.8 3.3 - - - 4.3 6.1 17.4 .351 - - - 4.1 5.0 .820
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1969-701983-84
Team New York KnicksNew Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNets 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 %
Dave DeBusschere 79 33.3 14.6 - - 10.0 2.5 - - - 3.1 6.2 13.7 .451 - - - 2.2 3.2 .688
Bill Willoughby 67 14.0 4.5 1.1 1.8 2.9 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.8 1.6 1.9 3.9 .481 0.0 0.1 .000 0.8 0.9 .873
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 19 36.9 16.1 - - 11.6 2.4 - - - 3.3 6.8 16.3 .421 - - - 2.4 3.6 .662
Bill Willoughby 3 4.3 0.7 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.3 1.0 .333 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 9

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1970-71-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks 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 %
Dave DeBusschere 81 35.7 15.6 - - 11.1 2.7 - - - 2.9 6.5 15.3 .421 - - - 2.7 3.9 .696
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 12 40.7 16.4 - - 13.0 1.8 - - - 3.3 7.0 16.8 .416 - - - 2.4 3.7 .659
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1971-72-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 80 38.4 15.4 - - 11.3 3.6 - - - 2.7 6.5 15.2 .427 - - - 2.4 3.3 .728
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 16 38.5 16.6 - - 12.1 2.3 - - - 3.2 6.8 15.1 .450 - - - 3.0 4.0 .750
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1972-73-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 77 36.7 16.3 - - 10.2 3.4 - - - 2.8 6.9 15.9 .435 - - - 2.5 3.4 .746
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 17 37.2 15.6 - - 10.5 3.4 - - - 3.4 6.9 15.6 .442 - - - 1.8 2.4 .775
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Dave DeBusschere Bill Willoughby
Season 1973-74-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks 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 %
Dave DeBusschere 71 38.0 18.1 1.9 8.8 10.7 3.6 0.9 0.5 - 3.1 7.9 17.1 .461 - - - 2.3 3.1 .756
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave DeBusschere 12 33.7 12.0 2.1 6.2 8.3 3.2 0.6 0.3 - 3.0 5.3 13.8 .380 - - - 1.5 2.4 .621
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------