James Donaldson vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and James Donaldson, 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.

James Donaldson played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Bill Russell, who played 13. James Donaldson 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
James Donaldson	14	9	1980-81 to 1994-95
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1980-81	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
James Donaldson	68	14.4	5.3	1.6	3.0	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.9	3.5	.542	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.5	.594
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		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1981-82	1957-58
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
James Donaldson	82	20.9	8.1	1.7	4.3	6.0	0.6	0.3	1.7	1.4	2.3	3.1	5.1	.609	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.9	.629
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		%
James Donaldson	8	23.6	6.8	3.1	6.1	9.3	0.9	0.3	0.6	1.3	2.0	2.3	5.4	.419	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.750
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1982-83	1958-59
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics 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		%
James Donaldson	82	21.8	8.9	1.6	4.5	6.1	1.2	0.2	1.2	1.6	2.1	3.5	6.0	.583	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.7	.688
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		%
James Donaldson	2	23.5	12.0	2.5	6.0	8.5	1.0	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.0	5.5	11.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.5	.667
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1983-84	1959-60
Team	San Diego Clippers	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		%
James Donaldson	82	30.8	11.8	2.0	5.9	7.9	1.1	0.5	1.7	2.1	2.6	4.4	7.4	.596	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.0	.761
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		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1984-85	1960-61
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
James Donaldson	82	29.2	11.3	2.0	6.1	8.1	0.6	0.3	1.6	2.5	2.6	4.3	6.7	.637	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.7	.749
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		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1985-86	1961-62
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
James Donaldson	83	32.3	8.6	2.1	7.5	9.6	1.2	0.3	1.7	1.5	2.3	3.1	5.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.1	.803
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		%
James Donaldson	10	41.0	10.9	3.0	8.7	11.7	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.6	4.8	.750	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.0	.925
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1986-87	1962-63
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
James Donaldson	82	36.9	10.8	3.6	8.3	11.9	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.3	2.3	3.8	6.5	.586	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.0	.812
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		%
James Donaldson	3	22.7	5.3	0.7	5.0	5.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.7	2.0	1.3	1.7	.800	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.0	.889
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1987-88	1963-64
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	81	31.1	7.0	3.0	6.3	9.3	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.4	2.2	2.6	4.7	.558	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.778
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		%
James Donaldson	17	29.4	9.3	2.8	5.8	8.6	0.7	0.4	0.9	1.7	2.4	4.0	6.1	.654	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	2.2	.595
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1988-89	1964-65
Team	Dallas Mavericks	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		%
James Donaldson	53	32.9	9.1	3.0	7.8	10.8	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.6	2.1	3.6	6.4	.573	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.766
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		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1989-90	1965-66
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	73	31.0	9.1	2.1	6.5	8.6	0.8	0.3	0.6	1.6	1.8	3.5	6.6	.539	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.9	.700
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		%
James Donaldson	3	24.7	7.3	2.0	3.3	5.3	0.7	0.7	0.0	1.3	2.7	3.0	4.3	.692	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.7	.800
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1990-91	1966-67
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	34.1	10.0	2.5	6.4	8.9	0.8	0.4	1.1	1.8	2.2	4.0	7.5	.532	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.721
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		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1991-92	1967-68
Team	Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	58	18.5	4.9	1.7	3.3	5.0	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.8	1.8	1.9	4.2	.457	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.5	.709
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		%
James Donaldson	2	5.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1992-93	1968-69
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	6	15.7	3.5	1.0	3.8	4.8	0.2	0.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	1.3	2.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.556
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		%
James Donaldson	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Note: James Donaldson didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 14
	James Donaldson	Bill Russell
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Utah Jazz	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
James Donaldson	43	14.3	2.6	0.4	2.0	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.0	1.7	.595	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.7	.710
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	5	15.2	2.8	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.4	1.6	1.0	1.2	.833	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	0.8	1.000
Bill Russell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

James Donaldson vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and James Donaldson, 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

Season 14