Charles Barkley vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Charles Barkley, 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.

Charles Barkley played 16 years in the NBA, 2 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. Charles Barkley had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, 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
Charles Barkley	16	13	1984-85 to 1999-00
Don Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1984-85	1962-63
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	82	28.6	14.0	3.2	5.3	8.6	1.9	1.2	1.0	2.5	3.7	5.2	9.5	.545	0.0	0.1	.167	3.6	4.9	.733
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		%
Charles Barkley	13	31.4	14.9	4.0	7.1	11.1	2.0	1.8	1.2	2.7	3.8	5.8	10.7	.540	0.3	0.5	.667	3.1	4.8	.635
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1985-86	1963-64
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	80	36.9	20.0	4.4	8.4	12.8	3.9	2.2	1.6	4.4	4.2	7.4	13.0	.572	0.2	0.9	.227	5.0	7.2	.685
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		%
Charles Barkley	12	41.4	25.0	5.0	10.8	15.8	5.6	2.3	1.3	5.4	4.3	8.7	15.0	.578	0.1	1.3	.067	7.6	10.9	.695
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1986-87	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	68	40.3	23.0	5.7	8.9	14.6	4.9	1.8	1.5	4.7	3.7	8.2	13.8	.594	0.3	1.5	.202	6.3	8.3	.761
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		%
Charles Barkley	5	42.0	24.6	5.4	7.2	12.6	2.4	0.8	1.6	4.4	4.2	8.6	15.0	.573	0.2	1.6	.125	7.2	9.0	.800
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1987-88	1965-66
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	80	39.6	28.3	4.8	7.1	11.9	3.2	1.3	1.3	3.8	3.5	9.4	16.0	.587	0.6	2.0	.280	8.9	11.9	.751
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		%
Charles Barkley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1988-89	1966-67
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	79	39.1	25.8	5.1	7.4	12.5	4.1	1.6	0.8	3.2	3.3	8.9	15.3	.579	0.4	2.1	.216	7.6	10.1	.753
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		%
Charles Barkley	3	45.0	27.0	2.7	9.0	11.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	3.7	3.0	9.7	15.0	.644	0.3	1.7	.200	7.3	10.3	.710
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1989-90	1967-68
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	79	39.1	25.2	4.6	6.9	11.5	3.9	1.9	0.6	3.1	3.2	8.9	14.9	.600	0.3	1.2	.217	7.1	9.4	.749
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		%
Charles Barkley	10	41.9	24.7	6.6	8.9	15.5	4.3	0.8	0.7	3.0	3.6	8.8	16.2	.543	0.6	1.8	.333	6.5	10.8	.602
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1990-91	1968-69
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	67	37.3	27.6	3.9	6.3	10.1	4.2	1.6	0.5	3.1	2.6	9.9	17.4	.570	0.7	2.3	.284	7.1	9.8	.722
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		%
Charles Barkley	8	40.8	24.9	3.9	6.6	10.5	6.0	1.9	0.4	3.1	2.9	9.3	15.6	.592	0.3	2.5	.100	6.1	9.4	.653
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1991-92	1969-70
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	75	38.4	23.1	3.6	7.5	11.1	4.1	1.8	0.6	3.1	2.6	8.3	15.0	.552	0.4	1.8	.234	6.1	8.7	.695
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		%
Charles Barkley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1992-93	1970-71
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	76	37.6	25.6	3.1	9.1	12.2	5.1	1.6	1.0	3.1	2.6	9.4	18.1	.520	0.9	2.9	.305	5.9	7.7	.765
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		%
Charles Barkley	24	42.8	26.6	3.9	9.7	13.6	4.3	1.6	1.0	2.1	3.0	9.6	20.1	.477	0.4	1.9	.222	7.0	9.1	.771
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1993-94	1971-72
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	65	35.4	21.6	3.0	8.1	11.2	4.6	1.6	0.6	3.2	2.5	8.0	16.1	.495	0.7	2.7	.270	4.9	7.0	.704
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		%
Charles Barkley	10	42.5	27.6	3.4	9.6	13.0	4.8	2.5	0.9	2.7	2.6	11.0	21.6	.509	1.4	4.0	.350	4.2	5.5	.764
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1994-95	1972-73
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	68	35.0	23.0	3.0	8.1	11.1	4.1	1.6	0.7	2.2	3.0	8.1	16.8	.486	1.1	3.2	.338	5.6	7.5	.748
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		%
Charles Barkley	10	39.0	25.7	3.9	9.5	13.4	3.2	1.3	1.1	2.5	2.8	9.1	18.2	.500	0.9	3.5	.257	6.6	9.0	.733
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1995-96	1973-74
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West 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		%
Charles Barkley	71	37.1	23.2	3.4	8.1	11.6	3.7	1.6	0.8	3.1	2.9	8.2	16.3	.500	0.7	2.5	.280	6.2	8.0	.777
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		%
Charles Barkley	4	41.0	25.5	4.5	9.0	13.5	3.8	1.0	1.0	1.5	3.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.8	3.0	.250	9.3	11.8	.787
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
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1996-97	1974-75
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	53	37.9	19.2	4.0	9.5	13.5	4.7	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.9	6.3	13.1	.484	1.1	3.9	.283	5.4	7.8	.694
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		%
Charles Barkley	16	37.9	17.9	4.0	8.0	12.0	3.4	1.2	0.4	2.7	3.3	5.4	12.4	.434	0.7	2.4	.289	6.4	8.4	.769
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


Season 14
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1997-98	1975-76
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Charles Barkley	68	33.0	15.2	3.5	8.1	11.7	3.2	1.0	0.4	2.2	2.8	5.3	10.9	.485	0.3	1.2	.214	4.4	5.8	.746
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		%
Charles Barkley	4	22.0	9.0	1.3	4.0	5.3	1.0	1.3	0.0	1.5	3.0	3.0	5.8	.522	0.0	0.5	.000	3.0	5.3	.571
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


Season 15
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1998-99	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	42	36.3	16.1	4.0	8.3	12.3	4.6	1.0	0.3	2.4	2.1	5.7	12.0	.478	0.1	0.6	.160	4.6	6.4	.719
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	4	39.3	23.5	3.3	10.5	13.8	3.8	1.5	0.5	2.0	3.0	9.0	17.0	.529	0.5	1.8	.286	5.0	7.5	.667
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Charles Barkley	Don Nelson
Season	1999-00	-
Team	Houston Rockets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	20	31.0	14.5	3.6	6.9	10.5	3.2	0.7	0.2	2.2	2.4	5.3	11.1	.477	0.3	1.3	.231	3.6	5.5	.645
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Charles Barkley vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Charles Barkley, 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

Season 15

Season 16