Bill Russell vs Larry Bird

1of 3 lines

2of 3 lines

Bill Russell and Larry Bird compared on their NBA careers: Bill Russell played 13 seasons, 1956-57 to 1968-69, Larry Bird 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1991-92. Bill Russell averaged 15.1 points a game to Larry Bird's 24.3. Bill Russell won 11 titles, Larry Bird won 3 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Larry Bird leads in 2 of the 3 lines, Bill Russell in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Bill Russell and Larry Bird career per game

963	GP	—
42.3	MIN	—
15.1	PTS	24.3, better
22, better	REB	10
4.3	AST	6.3, better
0	STL	—
0	BLK	—
44	FG%	—
0	3P%	—
56.1	FT%	—
47.1	TS%	—

Career totals

Bill Russell and Larry Bird career totals

14,522	PTS	21,791, better
21,198, better	REB	8,974
4,100	AST	5,695, better
0	STL	—
0	BLK	—
44	FG%	—
0	3P%	—
56.1	FT%	—
47.1	TS%	—

Where each stands all time

Bill Russell and Larry Bird all-time places

172nd (14,522)	Points	40th (21,791), better
2nd (21,198), better	Rebounds	57th (8,974)
117th (4,100)	Assists	48th (5,695), 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 Larry Bird titles and awards

11, better	Championships	3
8, better	All-NBA Second Team	1
5, better	MVP	3
3	All-NBA First Team	9, better
1	All-Star MVP	1
1, better	All-Defensive First Team	—
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	All-Rookie First Team	1, better
—	All-Defensive Second Team	3, better
—	Finals MVP	2, 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 Larry Bird season by season

1st	1956-57	14.7	18.6, better	1.8	1979-80	21.3, better	10.4	4.5, better
2nd	1957-58	16.6	21.8, better	2.9	1980-81	21.2, better	10.9	5.5, better
3rd	1958-59	16.7	21.9, better	3.2	1981-82	22.9, better	10.9	5.8, better
4th	1959-60	18.2	23.9, better	3.7	1982-83	23.6, better	11.0	5.8, better
5th	1960-61	16.9	21.8, better	3.4	1983-84	24.2, better	10.1	6.6, better
6th	1961-62	18.9	23.4, better	4.5	1984-85	28.7, better	10.5	6.6, better
7th	1962-63	16.8	23.6, better	4.5	1985-86	25.8, better	9.8	6.8, better
8th	1963-64	15.0	24.4, better	4.7	1986-87	28.1, better	9.2	7.6, better
9th	1964-65	14.1	24.1, better	5.3	1987-88	29.9, better	9.3	6.1, better
10th	1965-66	12.9	22.6, better	4.8	1988-89	19.3, better	6.2	4.8
11th	1966-67	13.3	21.0, better	5.8	1989-90	24.3, better	9.5	7.5, better
12th	1967-68	12.5	18.6, better	4.6	1990-91	19.4, better	8.5	7.2, better
13th	1968-69	9.9	19.3, better	4.9	1991-92	20.2, better	9.6	6.8, better

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST