Don Adams vs. LaMelo Ball Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of LaMelo Ball and Don Adams, 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.

Don Adams played 7 years in the NBA, 3 more than LaMelo Ball, who played 4. Don Adams had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while LaMelo Ball had his rookie season in 2020-21. 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
Don Adams 7 3 1970-71 to 1976-77
LaMelo Ball 4 0 2020-21 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1970-712020-21
Team San Diego RocketsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 82 29.0 11.4 - - 7.1 2.1 - - - 4.2 4.8 11.7 .409 - - - 1.9 2.6 .731
LaMelo Ball 51 28.8 15.7 1.2 4.7 5.9 6.1 1.6 0.4 2.8 2.7 5.7 13.2 .436 1.8 5.1 .352 2.5 3.2 .758
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams ------- --- ----------
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1971-722021-22
Team Houston Rockets, Atlanta HawksCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 73 28.4 11.4 - - 6.9 1.9 - - - 3.6 4.3 10.9 .392 - - - 2.8 3.8 .745
LaMelo Ball 75 32.3 20.1 1.4 5.2 6.7 7.6 1.6 0.4 3.3 3.2 7.2 16.7 .429 2.9 7.5 .389 2.8 3.2 .872
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 6 31.3 9.3 - - 6.3 2.0 - - - 4.2 3.3 9.3 .357 - - - 2.7 3.8 .696
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1972-732022-23
Team Atlanta Hawks, Detroit PistonsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 74 25.3 9.1 - - 6.0 1.6 - - - 3.1 3.6 9.2 .391 - - - 2.0 2.5 .788
LaMelo Ball 36 35.2 23.3 1.2 5.3 6.4 8.4 1.3 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.2 20.0 .411 4.0 10.6 .376 2.8 3.4 .836
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams ------- --- ----------
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1973-742023-24
Team Detroit PistonsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pistons Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 74 31.1 10.3 1.8 4.3 6.1 1.9 1.5 0.2 - 3.3 4.1 10.0 .408 - - - 2.1 2.7 .761
LaMelo Ball 22 32.3 23.9 1.3 3.8 5.1 8.0 1.8 0.2 3.8 3.6 8.3 19.2 .433 3.2 9.0 .355 4.1 4.7 .865
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 7 36.6 9.1 2.4 4.9 7.3 2.9 0.9 0.1 - 3.7 4.0 10.4 .384 - - - 1.1 2.0 .571
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1974-75-
Team Detroit Pistons-
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 %
Don Adams 51 27.0 5.9 1.2 3.5 4.8 1.5 1.4 0.4 - 3.5 2.5 6.2 .403 - - - 0.9 1.5 .577
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams ------- --- ----------
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1975-76-
Team Buffalo Braves-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Braves Lost East Conf Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 56 12.6 3.1 0.7 1.9 2.6 1.3 0.5 0.1 - 2.3 1.2 3.0 .394 - - - 0.7 1.0 .702
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams 9 13.6 4.0 0.9 2.1 3.0 1.4 0.2 0.0 - 2.6 1.7 4.0 .417 - - - 0.7 0.8 .857
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Don Adams LaMelo Ball
Season 1976-77-
Team Buffalo Braves-
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 %
Don Adams 77 22.2 7.3 1.7 3.1 4.8 1.9 1.0 0.2 - 2.6 2.8 6.8 .411 - - - 1.7 2.2 .746
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Adams ------- --- ----------
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------