Dan Issel vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and Dan Issel, 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.

Dan Issel played 9 years in the NBA, 2 more than Donovan Mitchell, who played 7. Dan Issel had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Donovan Mitchell had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Dan Issel 9 7 1976-77 to 1984-85
Donovan Mitchell 7 7 2017-18 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1976-772017-18
Team Denver NuggetsUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisJazz Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 79 31.7 22.3 2.7 6.1 8.8 2.2 1.2 0.4 - 3.1 8.4 16.2 .515 - - - 5.6 7.1 .797
Donovan Mitchell 79 33.4 20.5 0.7 3.1 3.7 3.7 1.5 0.3 2.7 2.7 7.5 17.2 .437 2.4 7.0 .340 3.0 3.8 .805
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 6 37.0 22.0 3.0 6.7 9.7 2.8 0.8 0.7 - 3.3 8.2 16.0 .510 - - - 5.7 7.5 .756
Donovan Mitchell 11 37.4 24.4 0.8 5.1 5.9 4.2 1.5 0.4 2.9 3.2 9.3 22.1 .420 2.3 7.3 .313 3.5 3.9 .907

Season 2
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1977-782018-19
Team Denver NuggetsUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsJazz 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 %
Dan Issel 82 34.8 21.3 3.1 7.0 10.1 3.7 1.2 0.5 3.2 3.4 8.0 15.7 .512 - - - 5.2 6.7 .782
Donovan Mitchell 77 33.7 23.8 0.8 3.3 4.1 4.2 1.4 0.4 2.8 2.7 8.6 19.9 .432 2.4 6.7 .362 4.1 5.1 .806
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 13 35.4 20.2 3.2 7.2 10.3 4.1 0.5 0.2 3.0 3.3 7.9 16.3 .486 - - - 4.3 5.0 .862
Donovan Mitchell 5 38.6 21.4 1.4 3.6 5.0 3.2 1.6 0.2 4.2 3.0 7.2 22.4 .321 2.2 8.6 .256 4.8 6.6 .727

Season 3
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1978-792019-20
Team Denver NuggetsUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdJazz 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 %
Dan Issel 81 33.9 17.0 3.0 6.1 9.1 3.1 0.8 0.6 2.1 2.9 6.6 12.7 .517 - - - 3.9 5.2 .754
Donovan Mitchell 69 34.3 24.0 0.8 3.6 4.4 4.3 1.0 0.2 2.7 2.5 8.7 19.4 .449 2.5 6.9 .366 4.0 4.7 .863
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 3 36.3 24.3 2.3 7.0 9.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.0 5.0 8.0 15.0 .533 - - - 8.3 10.3 .806
Donovan Mitchell 7 37.7 36.3 0.9 4.1 5.0 4.9 1.0 0.3 4.1 1.6 11.9 22.4 .529 4.7 9.1 .516 7.9 8.3 .948

Season 4
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1979-802020-21
Team Denver NuggetsUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayJazz Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 82 35.8 23.8 2.9 5.9 8.8 2.4 1.1 0.7 2.0 2.3 8.7 17.3 .505 0.0 0.1 .333 6.3 8.1 .775
Donovan Mitchell 53 33.4 26.4 0.9 3.5 4.4 5.2 1.0 0.3 2.8 2.2 9.0 20.6 .438 3.4 8.7 .386 5.0 6.0 .845
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel ------- --- ----------
Donovan Mitchell 10 34.6 32.3 0.3 3.9 4.2 5.5 1.1 0.2 2.8 2.0 10.5 23.5 .447 5.0 11.5 .435 6.3 7.6 .829

Season 5
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1980-812021-22
Team Denver NuggetsUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayJazz 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 %
Dan Issel 80 33.0 21.9 2.9 5.6 8.5 2.0 1.0 0.7 1.6 3.1 7.7 15.3 .503 0.0 0.2 .167 6.5 8.6 .759
Donovan Mitchell 67 33.8 25.9 0.8 3.4 4.2 5.3 1.5 0.2 3.0 2.4 9.2 20.5 .448 3.5 9.8 .355 4.0 4.7 .853
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel ------- --- ----------
Donovan Mitchell 6 38.2 25.5 1.0 3.3 4.3 5.7 0.7 0.5 2.7 2.3 8.8 22.2 .398 1.7 8.0 .208 6.2 7.0 .881

Season 6
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1981-822022-23
Team Denver NuggetsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdCavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 81 30.5 22.9 2.1 5.4 7.5 2.2 0.8 0.7 2.1 3.0 8.0 15.3 .527 0.0 0.1 .667 6.7 8.1 .834
Donovan Mitchell 68 35.8 28.3 0.9 3.3 4.3 4.4 1.5 0.4 2.6 2.5 10.0 20.6 .484 3.6 9.3 .386 4.7 5.4 .867
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 3 34.3 25.3 2.7 4.3 7.0 1.7 1.0 0.3 2.3 3.3 10.7 20.0 .533 0.0 0.0 - 4.0 4.0 1.000
Donovan Mitchell 5 41.4 23.2 0.6 4.4 5.0 7.2 2.0 0.6 3.8 2.8 9.0 20.8 .433 2.6 9.0 .289 2.6 3.6 .722

Season 7
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1982-832023-24
Team Denver NuggetsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisCavaliers TBD
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 80 30.4 21.6 1.9 5.6 7.5 2.8 1.0 0.5 2.2 2.8 8.3 16.2 .510 0.1 0.2 .211 5.0 6.0 .835
Donovan Mitchell 55 35.3 26.6 0.8 4.3 5.1 6.1 1.8 0.5 2.8 2.1 9.1 19.8 .462 3.3 9.0 .368 5.0 5.8 .865
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 8 28.4 20.4 1.6 5.6 7.3 3.1 1.1 0.6 1.3 2.3 8.6 17.0 .507 0.0 0.1 .000 3.1 3.6 .862
Donovan Mitchell 10 38.2 29.6 0.6 4.8 5.4 4.7 1.3 0.3 2.8 2.9 10.7 22.5 .476 2.9 8.2 .354 5.3 6.5 .815

Season 8
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1983-84-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets 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 %
Dan Issel 76 27.3 19.8 1.5 5.3 6.8 2.3 0.8 0.6 1.6 2.4 7.5 15.2 .493 0.1 0.3 .211 4.8 5.6 .850
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 5 30.6 27.4 2.0 6.0 8.0 1.6 1.2 1.2 3.0 3.0 10.4 20.4 .510 0.2 0.4 .500 6.4 7.8 .821
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Dan Issel Donovan Mitchell
Season 1984-85-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 77 21.9 12.8 1.0 3.3 4.3 1.8 0.8 0.4 1.2 2.2 4.7 10.3 .459 0.0 0.1 .143 3.3 4.1 .806
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 15 21.7 12.4 0.9 2.7 3.6 1.8 0.8 0.3 0.9 2.4 4.9 10.6 .459 0.1 0.1 1.000 2.6 3.2 .813
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
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