Earl Cureton vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Earl Cureton, 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.

Earl Cureton played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Russell, who played 13. Earl Cureton had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, 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
Earl Cureton	12	7	1980-81 to 1996-97
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1956-57
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 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		%
Earl Cureton	52	10.2	4.2	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.9	.454	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	1.2	.516
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		%
Earl Cureton	9	4.0	1.3	0.1	0.9	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.7	2.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.2	.000
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1957-58
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA 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		%
Earl Cureton	66	14.5	5.3	1.4	2.7	4.1	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.7	2.2	2.3	4.6	.487	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.4	.543
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		%
Earl Cureton	12	6.3	2.7	1.0	1.2	2.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.4	.317	0.0	0.1	.000	0.5	0.8	.667
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1958-59
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Earl Cureton	73	13.5	3.4	1.2	2.5	3.7	0.6	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.0	1.5	3.5	.419	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.9	.493
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		%
Earl Cureton	5	5.0	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.6	1.0	0.2	0.8	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1959-60
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Earl Cureton	73	12.4	2.6	1.2	2.8	3.9	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.1	2.4	.458	0.0	0.0	.000	0.4	0.8	.525
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		%
Earl Cureton	5	18.6	6.4	2.8	3.8	6.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	1.0	1.8	3.0	6.2	.484	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.2	.333
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1960-61
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East 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		%
Earl Cureton	81	20.3	6.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	1.0	0.7	0.5	1.4	2.7	2.6	5.3	.484	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.8	.569
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		%
Earl Cureton	9	14.8	4.1	1.1	3.4	4.6	0.4	1.0	0.2	0.4	2.2	1.8	3.8	.471	0.0	0.1	.000	0.6	1.0	.556
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1961-62
Team	Detroit Pistons	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Earl Cureton	80	25.2	8.6	2.5	3.8	6.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	1.9	3.0	3.6	7.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.6	.555
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		%
Earl Cureton	4	31.5	9.0	3.0	4.5	7.5	2.3	0.8	0.0	1.3	3.5	4.3	7.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	2.0	.250
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1962-63
Team	Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	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		%
Earl Cureton	78	25.3	7.3	2.7	3.1	5.8	1.6	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.4	3.1	6.5	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.9	.539
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1963-64
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second 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		%
Earl Cureton	69	16.3	4.3	1.4	2.5	3.9	0.9	0.5	0.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	4.5	.429	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.9	.524
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1964-65
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	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		%
Earl Cureton	82	25.0	6.5	2.3	3.7	6.0	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.4	2.8	2.8	5.7	.501	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.5	.537
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	12	46.8	16.5	-	-	25.2	6.3	-	-	-	3.6	6.6	12.5	.527	-	-	-	3.3	6.3	.526

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1989-90.


Season 10
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1965-66
Team	Charlotte Hornets	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		%
Earl Cureton	9	17.7	1.9	0.7	3.3	4.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.7	1.8	0.9	2.7	.333	0.0	0.1	.000	0.1	0.3	.333
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	17	47.9	19.1	-	-	25.2	5.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.3	15.4	.475	-	-	-	4.5	7.2	.618

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1991-92 and 1992-93.


Season 11
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1993-94	1966-67
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Earl Cureton	2	15.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	6.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0	1.0	4.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	1.0	.000
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		%
Earl Cureton	10	10.0	1.8	0.6	2.3	2.9	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3	2.0	0.8	1.0	.800	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.2	1.000
Bill Russell	9	43.3	10.6	-	-	22.0	5.6	-	-	-	3.6	3.4	9.6	.360	-	-	-	3.7	5.8	.635

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1994-95 and 1995-96.


Season 12
	Earl Cureton	Bill Russell
Season	1996-97	1967-68
Team	Toronto Raptors	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		%
Earl Cureton	9	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.1	0.3	0.9	.375	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.3	.333
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Earl Cureton	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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Earl Cureton vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Earl Cureton, 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