Clyde Drexler vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Clyde Drexler, 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.

Clyde Drexler played 15 years in the NBA, 1 more than Don Nelson, who played 14. Clyde Drexler had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, 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
Clyde Drexler	15	15	1983-84 to 1997-98
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


Rookie Season
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1983-84	1962-63
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Chicago Zephyrs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	17.2	7.7	1.4	1.5	2.9	1.9	1.3	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.1	6.8	.451	0.0	0.0	.250	1.5	2.1	.728
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		%
Clyde Drexler	5	17.0	7.2	1.4	2.0	3.4	1.6	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.2	3.0	7.0	.429	0.0	0.2	.000	1.2	1.4	.857
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1984-85	1963-64
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Clyde Drexler	80	31.9	17.2	2.7	3.2	6.0	5.5	2.2	0.9	2.8	3.3	7.2	14.5	.494	0.1	0.5	.216	2.8	3.7	.759
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		%
Clyde Drexler	9	37.7	16.7	3.0	3.1	6.1	9.2	2.6	1.0	3.2	4.1	6.1	14.9	.410	0.2	0.8	.286	4.2	5.0	.844
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1985-86	1964-65
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Clyde Drexler	75	34.3	18.5	2.3	3.3	5.6	8.0	2.6	0.6	3.8	3.6	7.2	15.2	.475	0.2	0.8	.200	3.9	5.1	.769
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	36.3	18.0	2.3	4.0	6.3	6.5	1.5	0.8	4.8	4.8	6.5	14.3	.456	0.5	1.3	.400	4.5	5.8	.783
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1986-87	1965-66
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	38.0	21.7	2.8	3.5	6.3	6.9	2.5	0.9	3.1	3.4	8.6	17.2	.502	0.1	0.6	.234	4.4	5.7	.760
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	38.3	24.0	4.0	3.5	7.5	3.8	1.8	0.8	1.5	4.0	9.0	19.8	.456	0.3	1.0	.250	5.8	7.3	.793
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1987-88	1966-67
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Clyde Drexler	81	37.8	27.0	3.2	3.4	6.6	5.8	2.5	0.6	2.9	3.1	10.5	20.7	.506	0.1	0.6	.212	5.9	7.2	.811
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	42.5	22.0	3.0	4.0	7.0	5.3	3.0	0.5	3.0	3.5	8.0	20.8	.386	0.8	1.5	.500	5.3	7.3	.724
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1988-89	1967-68
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	78	39.3	27.2	3.7	4.2	7.9	5.8	2.7	0.7	3.2	3.4	10.6	21.4	.496	0.3	1.3	.260	5.6	7.0	.799
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		%
Clyde Drexler	3	42.7	27.7	4.3	2.3	6.7	8.3	2.0	0.7	4.0	3.7	11.7	23.7	.493	0.0	0.7	.000	4.3	5.7	.765
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1989-90	1968-69
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	73	36.8	23.3	2.8	4.1	6.9	5.9	2.0	0.7	2.6	3.0	9.2	18.6	.494	0.4	1.5	.283	4.6	5.9	.774
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		%
Clyde Drexler	21	40.6	21.4	3.0	4.2	7.2	7.1	2.5	0.9	3.2	3.4	8.2	18.6	.441	0.4	2.0	.220	4.6	5.9	.774
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1990-91	1969-70
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Clyde Drexler	82	34.8	21.5	2.6	4.1	6.7	6.0	1.8	0.7	2.8	2.8	7.9	16.3	.482	0.7	2.3	.319	5.1	6.4	.794
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		%
Clyde Drexler	16	39.6	21.7	2.5	5.6	8.1	8.1	2.1	1.0	3.8	3.5	8.0	16.8	.476	0.9	3.5	.268	4.8	6.1	.776
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1991-92	1970-71
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Clyde Drexler	76	36.2	25.0	2.2	4.4	6.6	6.7	1.8	0.9	3.2	3.0	9.1	19.4	.470	1.5	4.4	.337	5.3	6.6	.794
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		%
Clyde Drexler	21	40.3	26.3	2.9	4.5	7.4	7.0	1.5	1.0	2.8	3.7	9.4	20.2	.466	0.9	3.9	.235	6.6	8.1	.807
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1992-93	1971-72
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Clyde Drexler	49	34.1	19.9	2.6	3.7	6.3	5.7	1.9	0.8	2.3	3.2	7.1	16.7	.429	0.6	2.7	.233	5.0	6.0	.839
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		%
Clyde Drexler	3	38.7	19.0	2.7	3.7	6.3	4.7	1.7	1.0	1.0	3.0	6.0	14.3	.419	1.7	4.0	.417	5.3	6.7	.800
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1993-94	1972-73
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Clyde Drexler	68	34.3	19.2	2.3	4.3	6.5	4.9	1.4	0.5	2.5	3.0	7.0	16.3	.428	1.0	3.2	.324	4.2	5.4	.777
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		%
Clyde Drexler	4	39.3	21.0	2.5	7.8	10.3	5.5	2.0	0.5	2.3	1.8	7.8	18.3	.425	0.8	3.3	.231	4.8	5.8	.826
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1994-95	1973-74
Team	Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	76	35.9	21.8	2.0	4.3	6.3	4.8	1.8	0.6	2.4	2.7	7.5	16.3	.461	1.9	5.4	.360	4.8	5.8	.824
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		%
Clyde Drexler	22	38.6	20.5	2.0	5.0	7.0	5.0	1.5	0.7	2.0	3.1	7.0	14.6	.481	1.4	4.5	.303	5.0	6.4	.786
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1995-96	1974-75
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
Clyde Drexler	52	38.4	19.3	1.9	5.3	7.2	5.8	2.0	0.5	2.6	2.9	6.4	14.7	.433	1.5	4.5	.332	5.1	6.5	.784
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		%
Clyde Drexler	8	36.5	16.6	1.9	5.9	7.8	5.0	2.6	0.5	2.5	2.8	6.1	14.8	.415	1.1	4.3	.265	3.3	4.3	.765
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1996-97	1975-76
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	62	36.6	18.0	1.9	4.1	6.0	5.7	1.9	0.6	2.5	2.4	6.4	14.5	.442	1.9	5.4	.355	3.2	4.3	.750
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		%
Clyde Drexler	16	39.1	18.1	1.6	4.0	5.6	4.8	1.6	0.4	2.3	3.3	6.6	15.1	.436	2.4	6.4	.373	2.6	3.4	.778
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
	Clyde Drexler	Don Nelson
Season	1997-98	-
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		%
Clyde Drexler	70	35.3	18.4	1.5	3.4	4.9	5.5	1.8	0.6	2.7	2.8	6.5	15.1	.427	1.5	4.8	.317	4.0	4.9	.801
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Clyde Drexler	5	36.4	15.0	1.8	3.6	5.4	4.6	1.6	0.6	2.6	3.0	4.2	13.6	.309	1.0	5.2	.192	5.6	7.4	.757
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Clyde Drexler vs. Don Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Don Nelson and Clyde Drexler, 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