Kyrie Irving vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kyrie Irving, 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.

Kyrie Irving and Bill Russell both played 13 years in the NBA. Kyrie Irving had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, 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
Kyrie Irving	13	7	2011-12 to 2023-24
Bill Russell	13	13	1956-57 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season
Rookie Season
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2011-12	1956-57
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
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		%
Kyrie Irving	51	30.5	18.5	0.9	2.9	3.7	5.4	1.1	0.4	3.1	2.2	6.9	14.6	.469	1.4	3.6	.399	3.4	3.8	.872
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2012-13	1957-58
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	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		%
Kyrie Irving	59	34.7	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.7	5.9	1.5	0.4	3.2	2.5	8.2	18.1	.452	1.8	4.7	.391	4.2	4.9	.855
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2013-14	1958-59
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First 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		%
Kyrie Irving	71	35.2	20.8	0.7	2.9	3.6	6.1	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.3	7.5	17.4	.430	1.7	4.8	.358	4.1	4.8	.861
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2014-15	1959-60
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
Kyrie Irving	75	36.4	21.7	0.7	2.4	3.2	5.2	1.5	0.3	2.5	1.9	7.7	16.5	.468	2.1	5.0	.415	4.2	4.9	.863
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		%
Kyrie Irving	13	35.7	19.0	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.8	1.3	0.8	1.5	2.2	6.2	14.2	.438	2.1	4.6	.450	4.5	5.3	.841
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2015-16	1960-61
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Kyrie Irving	53	31.5	19.6	0.8	2.1	3.0	4.7	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.4	16.6	.448	1.6	4.9	.321	3.2	3.6	.885
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		%
Kyrie Irving	21	36.9	25.2	0.7	2.2	3.0	4.7	1.7	0.6	2.3	2.2	9.6	20.1	.475	2.4	5.5	.440	3.7	4.2	.875
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2016-17	1961-62
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
Kyrie Irving	72	35.1	25.2	0.7	2.5	3.2	5.8	1.2	0.3	2.5	2.2	9.3	19.7	.473	2.5	6.1	.401	4.1	4.6	.905
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		%
Kyrie Irving	18	36.3	25.9	0.7	2.1	2.8	5.3	1.3	0.4	2.7	2.1	9.6	20.6	.468	2.4	6.6	.373	4.2	4.7	.905
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2017-18	1962-63
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	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		%
Kyrie Irving	60	32.2	24.4	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.1	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	8.9	18.1	.491	2.8	6.8	.408	3.9	4.4	.889
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2018-19	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Kyrie Irving	67	33.0	23.8	1.1	3.9	5.0	6.9	1.5	0.5	2.6	2.5	9.0	18.5	.487	2.6	6.5	.401	3.2	3.7	.873
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		%
Kyrie Irving	9	36.7	21.3	0.6	3.8	4.3	7.0	1.4	0.4	3.1	2.9	7.7	19.9	.385	2.0	6.4	.310	4.0	4.4	.900
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2019-20	1964-65
Team	Brooklyn Nets	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		%
Kyrie Irving	20	32.9	27.4	1.1	4.1	5.2	6.4	1.4	0.5	2.6	2.7	10.0	20.8	.478	2.8	7.1	.394	4.7	5.1	.922
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2020-21	1965-66
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets 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		%
Kyrie Irving	54	34.9	26.9	1.0	3.8	4.8	6.0	1.4	0.7	2.4	2.6	10.2	20.1	.506	2.8	7.0	.402	3.7	4.0	.922
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		%
Kyrie Irving	9	36.1	22.7	1.3	4.4	5.8	3.4	1.0	0.6	1.2	2.1	8.6	18.1	.472	2.7	7.2	.369	2.9	3.1	.929
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2021-22	1966-67
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kyrie Irving	29	37.6	27.4	0.6	3.8	4.4	5.8	1.4	0.6	2.5	2.8	10.0	21.2	.469	3.4	8.2	.418	4.1	4.4	.915
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		%
Kyrie Irving	4	42.5	21.3	1.5	3.8	5.3	5.3	1.8	1.3	2.3	3.3	7.0	15.8	.444	2.0	5.3	.381	5.3	5.3	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

Season 12
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2022-23	1967-68
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
Kyrie Irving	60	37.3	27.1	1.0	4.1	5.1	5.5	1.1	0.8	2.1	2.8	9.9	20.1	.494	3.1	8.3	.379	4.1	4.6	.905
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		%
Kyrie Irving	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Kyrie Irving	Bill Russell
Season	2023-24	1968-69
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks TBD	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		%
Kyrie Irving	58	35.0	25.6	0.8	4.2	5.0	5.2	1.3	0.5	1.8	1.9	9.7	19.5	.497	3.0	7.3	.411	3.3	3.6	.905
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		%
Kyrie Irving	6	40.0	26.5	1.3	4.3	5.7	4.7	1.8	0.3	2.3	3.3	9.5	18.5	.514	3.7	8.2	.449	3.8	4.5	.852
Bill Russell	18	46.1	10.8	-	-	20.5	5.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.3	10.1	.423	-	-	-	2.3	4.5	.506

Kyrie Irving vs. Bill Russell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Russell and Kyrie Irving, 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