Bill Russell vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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8of 9 lines

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar compared on their NBA careers: Bill Russell played 13 seasons, 1956-57 to 1968-69, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 seasons, 1975-76 to 1988-89. Bill Russell averaged 15.1 points a game to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 24.6. Bill Russell won 11 titles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won 5 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads in 8 of the 9 lines, Bill Russell in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar career per game

963	GP	1,560
42.3	MIN	36.8
15.1	PTS	24.6, better
0	REB	7.9, better
4.3, better	AST	3.6
0	STL	0.7, better
0	BLK	2, better
44	FG%	55.9, better
0	3P%	5.6, better
56.1	FT%	72.1, better
47.1	TS%	59.2, better

Career totals

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar career totals

14,522	PTS	38,387, better
0	REB	12,369, better
4,100	AST	5,660, better
0	STL	1,160, better
0	BLK	3,189, better
44	FG%	55.9, better
0	3P%	5.6, better
56.1	FT%	72.1, better
47.1	TS%	59.2, better

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar postseason

165	GP	237
45.4	MIN	37.3
16.2	PTS	24.3, better
0	REB	7.5, better
4.7, better	AST	3.2
0	STL	0.8, better
0	BLK	2, better
43	FG%	53.3, better
0	3P%	0
60.3	FT%	74, better
47.4	TS%	57.1, better

Where each stands all time

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all-time places

173rd (14,522)	Points	2nd (38,387), better
119th (4,100)	Assists	49th (5,660), better
—	Rebounds	12th (12,369), better
—	Steals	105th (1,160), better
—	Blocks	3rd (3,189), better

Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar titles and awards

11, better	Championships	5
8, better	All-NBA Second Team	4
5	MVP	5
3	All-NBA First Team	9, better
1, better	All-Star MVP	—
1	All-Defensive First Team	5, better
—	All-Defensive Second Team	3, better
—	Finals MVP	1, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar season by season

1st	1956-57	14.7	0	1.8	1975-76	27.7, better	16.9, better	5.0, better
2nd	1957-58	16.6	0	2.9	1976-77	26.2, better	13.3, better	3.9, better
3rd	1958-59	16.7	0	3.2	1977-78	25.8, better	12.9, better	4.3, better
4th	1959-60	18.2	0	3.7	1978-79	23.8, better	12.8, better	5.4, better
5th	1960-61	16.9	0	3.4	1979-80	24.8, better	10.8, better	4.5, better
6th	1961-62	18.9	0	4.5, better	1980-81	26.2, better	10.3, better	3.4
7th	1962-63	16.8	0	4.5, better	1981-82	23.9, better	8.7, better	3.0
8th	1963-64	15.0	0	4.7, better	1982-83	21.8, better	7.5, better	2.5
9th	1964-65	14.1	0	5.3, better	1983-84	21.5, better	7.3, better	2.6
10th	1965-66	12.9	0	4.8, better	1984-85	22.0, better	7.9, better	3.2
11th	1966-67	13.3	0	5.8, better	1985-86	23.4, better	6.1, better	3.5
12th	1967-68	12.5	0	4.6, better	1986-87	17.5, better	6.7, better	2.6
13th	1968-69	9.9	0	4.9, better	1987-88	14.6, better	6.0, better	1.7
14th	—	—	—	—	1988-89	10.1	4.5	1.0

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST