Bernard King vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Bernard King, 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.

Bernard King and Don Nelson both played 14 years in the NBA. Bernard King had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Don Nelson had his rookie season in 1962-63. 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
Bernard King	14	5	1977-78 to 1992-93
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1977-78	1962-63
Team	New Jersey Nets	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
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		%
Bernard King	79	39.1	24.2	3.4	6.2	9.5	2.4	1.5	0.5	3.9	3.8	10.1	21.1	.479	-	-	-	4.0	5.8	.677
Don Nelson	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1978-79	1963-64
Team	New Jersey Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers 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		%
Bernard King	82	34.9	21.6	3.1	5.1	8.2	3.6	1.4	0.5	3.9	4.0	8.7	16.6	.522	-	-	-	4.3	7.5	.564
Don Nelson	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	2	40.5	26.0	2.5	3.0	5.5	3.5	2.0	0.0	3.0	5.0	10.5	21.0	.500	-	-	-	5.0	12.0	.417
Don Nelson	5	11.2	3.4	-	-	2.6	0.4	-	-	-	2.2	1.4	2.6	.538	-	-	-	0.6	0.6	1.000


Season 3
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1979-80	1964-65
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers 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		%
Bernard King	19	22.1	9.3	1.3	3.4	4.6	2.7	0.4	0.2	2.6	3.5	3.7	7.2	.518	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.3	.540
Don Nelson	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	11	19.3	6.1	-	-	5.4	1.7	-	-	-	2.8	2.2	4.8	.453	-	-	-	1.7	2.3	.760


Season 4
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1980-81	1965-66
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Bernard King	81	36.0	21.9	2.2	4.6	6.8	3.5	0.9	0.4	3.3	3.8	9.0	15.4	.588	0.0	0.1	.333	3.8	5.4	.703
Don Nelson	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	17	18.6	8.4	-	-	5.0	0.8	-	-	-	2.9	2.9	6.9	.424	-	-	-	2.5	3.1	.808


Season 5
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1981-82	1966-67
Team	Golden State Warriors	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bernard King	79	36.2	23.2	1.8	4.2	5.9	3.6	1.0	0.3	3.4	3.6	9.4	16.5	.566	0.0	0.1	.200	4.5	6.3	.705
Don Nelson	79	15.2	7.5	-	-	3.7	0.8	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	6.4	.446	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.742

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	9	15.8	7.1	-	-	4.7	1.0	-	-	-	1.3	3.0	6.6	.458	-	-	-	1.1	1.9	.588


Season 6
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1982-83	1967-68
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Bernard King	68	32.5	21.9	1.5	3.3	4.8	2.9	1.3	0.2	2.9	3.4	8.9	16.8	.528	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.7	.722
Don Nelson	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	6	30.7	23.5	1.3	2.7	4.0	2.2	0.3	0.0	1.7	2.7	9.3	16.2	.577	0.2	0.5	.333	4.7	5.8	.800
Don Nelson	19	24.6	12.5	-	-	7.5	1.7	-	-	-	2.6	4.8	9.2	.520	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	.743


Season 7
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1983-84	1968-69
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Bernard King	77	34.6	26.3	1.6	3.5	5.1	2.1	1.0	0.2	2.6	3.5	10.3	18.1	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	5.7	7.3	.779
Don Nelson	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	12	39.8	34.8	2.3	3.8	6.2	3.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	4.0	13.5	23.5	.574	0.0	0.1	.000	7.8	10.3	.756
Don Nelson	18	19.3	12.4	-	-	4.6	1.2	-	-	-	2.8	4.8	9.3	.518	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.833


Season 8
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1984-85	1969-70
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	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		%
Bernard King	55	37.5	32.9	2.1	3.7	5.8	3.7	1.3	0.3	3.7	3.5	12.6	23.7	.530	0.0	0.2	.100	7.7	10.0	.772
Don Nelson	82	27.1	15.4	-	-	7.3	1.8	-	-	-	2.9	5.6	11.2	.501	-	-	-	4.1	5.3	.775

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Bernard King didn't play in 1985-86.


Season 9
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1986-87	1970-71
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Bernard King	6	35.7	22.7	2.2	3.2	5.3	3.2	0.3	0.0	2.5	2.3	8.7	17.5	.495	0.0	0.0	-	5.3	7.2	.744
Don Nelson	82	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1987-88	1971-72
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Bernard King	69	29.6	17.2	1.2	2.8	4.1	2.8	0.7	0.1	3.1	2.9	6.8	13.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	3.6	4.7	.762
Don Nelson	82	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	5	33.6	13.8	0.6	1.6	2.2	1.8	0.6	0.0	2.8	3.4	5.2	10.6	.491	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	4.2	.810
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854


Season 11
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1988-89	1972-73
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Bernard King	81	31.6	20.7	1.6	3.1	4.7	3.6	0.8	0.2	2.8	2.7	8.1	16.9	.477	0.1	0.4	.167	4.5	5.4	.819
Don Nelson	72	19.8	10.8	-	-	4.4	1.4	-	-	-	2.2	4.3	9.0	.476	-	-	-	2.2	2.6	.846

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	13	23.3	11.0	-	-	2.9	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	3.6	7.8	.465	-	-	-	3.8	4.3	.875


Season 12
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1989-90	1973-74
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
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		%
Bernard King	82	32.8	22.4	1.6	3.4	4.9	4.6	0.6	0.1	3.0	2.8	8.7	17.8	.487	0.0	0.3	.130	5.0	6.3	.803
Don Nelson	82	21.3	11.5	1.1	3.1	4.2	2.0	0.2	0.2	-	2.3	4.4	8.7	.508	-	-	-	2.6	3.3	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	18	25.9	11.4	1.4	4.0	5.4	1.9	0.4	0.2	-	3.0	4.6	9.1	.500	-	-	-	2.3	2.9	.774


Season 13
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1990-91	1974-75
Team	Washington Bullets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Bernard King	64	37.5	28.4	1.8	3.2	5.0	4.6	0.9	0.3	4.0	2.9	11.1	23.6	.472	0.1	0.6	.216	6.0	7.6	.790
Don Nelson	79	26.0	14.0	1.6	4.3	5.9	2.3	0.4	0.2	-	3.0	5.4	9.9	.539	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.827

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	11	24.9	15.4	1.6	2.5	4.1	2.4	0.2	0.2	-	3.3	6.0	10.6	.564	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.902

Note: Bernard King didn't play in 1991-92.


Season 14
	Bernard King	Don Nelson
Season	1992-93	1975-76
Team	New Jersey Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	32	13.4	7.0	1.1	1.3	2.4	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.7	1.7	2.8	5.5	.514	0.1	0.2	.286	1.2	1.8	.684
Don Nelson	75	12.6	6.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	1.0	0.2	0.1	-	1.5	2.3	5.1	.462	-	-	-	1.7	2.1	.789

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	3	8.0	2.7	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	1.0	1.3	2.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Don Nelson	18	17.5	9.1	0.9	2.0	2.9	0.9	0.2	0.1	-	2.6	2.9	6.0	.481	-	-	-	3.3	3.8	.870

Bernard King vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Bernard King, 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

Season 14