James Donaldson vs. Elvin Hayes Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Elvin Hayes 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.

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, 2 less than Elvin Hayes, who played 16. James Donaldson had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while Elvin Hayes had his rookie season in 1968-69. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16
Rookie Season
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1980-81	1968-69
Team	Seattle Supersonics	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Div Semis

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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
Elvin Hayes	82	45.1	28.4	-	-	17.1	1.4	-	-	-	3.2	11.3	25.4	.447	-	-	-	5.7	9.1	.626
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	6	46.3	25.8	-	-	13.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	10.0	19.0	.526	-	-	-	5.8	8.8	.660

Season 2
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1981-82	1969-70
Team	Seattle Supersonics	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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
Elvin Hayes	82	44.7	27.5	-	-	16.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	11.1	24.6	.452	-	-	-	5.2	7.6	.688
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
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1982-83	1970-71
Team	Seattle Supersonics	San Diego Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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
Elvin Hayes	82	44.3	28.7	-	-	16.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	11.6	27.0	.428	-	-	-	5.5	8.2	.672
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
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1983-84	1971-72
Team	San Diego Clippers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Elvin Hayes	82	42.2	25.2	-	-	14.6	3.3	-	-	-	2.8	10.1	23.4	.434	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.649
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1984-85	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Elvin Hayes	81	41.3	21.2	-	-	14.5	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.671
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	5	45.6	25.8	-	-	11.4	1.0	-	-	-	3.2	10.6	21.0	.505	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.697

Season 6
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1985-86	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks	Capital Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Elvin Hayes	81	44.5	21.4	4.4	13.7	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	-	3.1	8.5	20.1	.423	-	-	-	4.4	6.1	.721
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
Elvin Hayes	7	46.1	25.9	4.4	11.4	15.9	3.0	0.7	2.1	-	3.3	10.9	20.4	.531	-	-	-	4.1	5.9	.707

Season 7
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1986-87	1974-75
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bullets 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	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
Elvin Hayes	82	42.3	23.0	2.7	9.5	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	-	2.9	9.0	20.3	.443	-	-	-	5.0	6.5	.766
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
Elvin Hayes	17	44.2	25.5	2.7	8.2	10.9	2.2	1.5	2.3	-	4.1	10.2	21.9	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.677

Season 8
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1987-88	1975-76
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis

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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	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
Elvin Hayes	80	37.2	19.8	2.6	8.4	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	-	3.7	8.1	17.3	.470	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	.628
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
Elvin Hayes	7	43.6	20.0	2.3	10.3	12.6	1.4	0.7	4.0	-	3.4	7.7	17.4	.443	-	-	-	4.6	7.9	.582

Season 9
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1988-89	1976-77
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis

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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	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
Elvin Hayes	82	41.0	23.7	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	-	3.8	9.3	18.5	.501	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.687
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	9	45.0	21.0	3.2	10.3	13.6	1.9	1.1	2.4	-	4.3	8.2	19.2	.428	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.695

Season 10
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1989-90	1977-78
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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	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
Elvin Hayes	81	40.1	19.7	4.1	9.1	13.3	1.8	1.2	2.0	2.8	3.9	7.9	17.4	.451	-	-	-	4.0	6.3	.634
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
Elvin Hayes	21	41.3	21.8	4.9	8.4	13.3	2.0	1.5	2.5	2.8	4.1	9.0	18.3	.491	-	-	-	3.8	6.3	.594

Season 11
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1990-91	1978-79
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets 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	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
Elvin Hayes	82	37.9	21.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	1.7	0.9	2.3	2.9	3.8	8.8	18.0	.487	-	-	-	4.3	6.5	.654
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elvin Hayes	19	41.4	22.5	4.9	9.1	14.0	2.0	0.9	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.9	20.8	.429	-	-	-	4.6	6.8	.669

Season 12
	James Donaldson	Elvin Hayes
Season	1991-92	1979-80
Team	Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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	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
Elvin Hayes	81	39.3	23.0	3.3	7.7	11.1	1.6	0.8	2.3	2.7	3.8	9.4	20.7	.454	0.0	0.2	.231	4.1	5.9	.699
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	-
Elvin Hayes	2	46.0	20.0	5.0	6.0	11.0	3.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	8.0	20.5	.390	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	5.0	.800

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