Cross-era · careers 43 years apart

Bill Russell vs Kawhi Leonard

Bill Russell 1956-1968 · Center Kawhi Leonard 2011-2025 · Forward · active

Bill Russell (1956-1968) and Kawhi Leonard (2011-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 43 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Kawhi Leonard was the higher-volume scorer (20.7 points per game to 15.1); adjusted for era they scored at 1.32× and 2.03× their league average respectively; Kawhi Leonard was the more efficient scorer (67.2% true shooting to 47.1%). Bill Russell holds the edge on accolades — 5 MVPs, 11 championships and the #5 all-time ranking to Kawhi Leonard's #27.

Career averages

Bill RussellStatKawhi Leonard
15.1 Points / game 20.7
22.5 Rebounds / game 6.4
4.3 Assists / game 3.1
0.0 Steals / game 1.7
0.0 Blocks / game 0.6
44.0% Field goal % 49.9%
0.0% 3-point % 38.9%
56.1% Free throw % 85.0%
47.1% True shooting % 67.2%
963 Games played 798

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Bill RussellStatKawhi Leonard
1.32× Points vs era avg 2.03×
3.67× Rebounds vs era avg 1.55×
1.96× Assists vs era avg 1.36×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Bill Russell's era.

Bill RussellStatKawhi Leonard
— Offensive rating 115.0
— Defensive rating 105.0
— Net rating 10.0
— Usage % 33.5%
— Assist % 21.0%
— Rebound % 11.5%

Playoff averages

Bill RussellStatKawhi Leonard
16.2 Points / game 21.5
24.9 Rebounds / game 7.8
4.7 Assists / game 3.0
0.0 Steals / game 1.8
0.0 Blocks / game 0.7
42.7% Field goal % 51.3%
0.0% 3-point % 40.2%
59.9% Free throw % 80.2%
165 Playoff games 146

Accolades

Bill RussellStatKawhi Leonard
5 MVP awards 0
0 Finals MVP 2
11 Championships 2
12 All-Star selections 7
3 All-NBA 1st Team 3
#5 All-time GOAT rank #27

More comparisons

Want a different matchup? Use the interactive comparison tool.