Don Nelson vs. Joakim Noah Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joakim Noah and Don Nelson, 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 Nelson played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Joakim Noah, who played 13. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Joakim Noah had his rookie season in 2007-08. 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 Nelson	14	11	1962-63 to 1975-76
Joakim Noah	13	8	2007-08 to 2019-20

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


Rookie Season
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1962-63	2007-08
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Chicago Bulls
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		%
Don Nelson	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729
Joakim Noah	74	20.7	6.6	2.4	3.3	5.6	1.1	0.9	0.9	1.2	2.3	2.4	5.0	.482	0.0	0.0	.000	1.8	2.6	.691

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


Season 2
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1963-64	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741
Joakim Noah	80	24.2	6.7	3.1	4.5	7.6	1.3	0.6	1.4	1.0	3.0	2.6	4.7	.556	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.3	.676

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	5	11.2	3.4	-	-	2.6	0.4	-	-	-	2.2	1.4	2.6	.538	-	-	-	0.6	0.6	1.000
Joakim Noah	7	38.7	10.1	4.0	9.1	13.1	2.3	0.9	2.1	1.1	4.4	3.7	7.3	.510	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.6	.760


Season 3
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1964-65	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769
Joakim Noah	64	30.1	10.7	3.4	7.6	11.0	2.1	0.5	1.6	1.8	3.1	4.1	8.1	.504	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.4	.744

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	11	19.3	6.1	-	-	5.4	1.7	-	-	-	2.8	2.2	4.8	.453	-	-	-	1.7	2.3	.760
Joakim Noah	5	37.6	14.8	4.0	9.0	13.0	2.6	1.8	1.4	3.0	4.0	5.6	10.6	.528	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	3.8	.947


Season 4
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1965-66	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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		%
Don Nelson	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684
Joakim Noah	48	32.8	11.7	3.8	6.6	10.4	2.2	1.0	1.5	1.9	3.3	4.4	8.4	.525	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	3.9	.739

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	17	18.6	8.4	-	-	5.0	0.8	-	-	-	2.9	2.9	6.9	.424	-	-	-	2.5	3.1	.808
Joakim Noah	16	33.1	8.7	4.3	5.9	10.2	2.5	1.0	2.1	1.2	3.9	3.2	7.8	.411	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.2	.725


Season 5
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1966-67	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	79	15.2	7.5	-	-	3.7	0.8	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	6.4	.446	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.742
Joakim Noah	64	30.4	10.2	3.8	6.0	9.8	2.5	0.6	1.4	1.4	2.5	3.9	7.7	.508	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.2	.748

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	9	15.8	7.1	-	-	4.7	1.0	-	-	-	1.3	3.0	6.6	.458	-	-	-	1.1	1.9	.588
Joakim Noah	3	33.0	15.0	3.0	6.3	9.3	3.0	0.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	6.3	8.7	.731	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.7	.636


Season 6
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1967-68	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Nelson	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
Joakim Noah	66	36.8	11.9	3.9	7.2	11.1	4.0	1.2	2.1	2.7	2.8	4.6	9.5	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	3.6	.751

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	19	24.6	12.5	-	-	7.5	1.7	-	-	-	2.6	4.8	9.2	.520	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	.743
Joakim Noah	12	34.1	10.8	4.3	5.3	9.6	2.3	0.8	2.2	2.0	3.6	4.3	9.9	.437	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.3	.641


Season 7
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1968-69	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776
Joakim Noah	80	35.3	12.6	3.5	7.7	11.3	5.4	1.2	1.5	2.4	3.1	4.8	10.0	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	4.2	.737

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	18	19.3	12.4	-	-	4.6	1.2	-	-	-	2.8	4.8	9.3	.518	-	-	-	2.8	3.3	.833
Joakim Noah	5	42.0	10.4	3.0	9.8	12.8	4.6	1.0	1.4	3.8	3.8	4.2	8.2	.512	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.4	.588


Season 8
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1969-70	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf 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		%
Don Nelson	82	27.1	15.4	-	-	7.3	1.8	-	-	-	2.9	5.6	11.2	.501	-	-	-	4.1	5.3	.775
Joakim Noah	67	30.6	7.2	3.3	6.4	9.6	4.7	0.7	1.1	1.8	3.0	2.8	6.4	.445	0.0	0.0	.000	1.6	2.6	.603

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joakim Noah	12	32.9	5.8	3.8	7.3	11.0	3.2	0.8	1.2	1.7	3.1	2.6	6.3	.408	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.7	.350


Season 9
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1970-71	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
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		%
Don Nelson	82	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744
Joakim Noah	29	21.9	4.3	3.0	5.8	8.8	3.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.7	1.8	4.6	.383	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.6	.489

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


Season 10
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1971-72	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Don Nelson	82	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788
Joakim Noah	46	22.1	5.0	3.5	5.2	8.8	2.2	0.7	0.8	1.3	2.8	2.2	4.4	.490	0.0	0.0	.000	0.7	1.7	.436

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	11	28.0	13.2	-	-	5.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.0	.525	-	-	-	3.7	4.4	.854
Joakim Noah	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1972-73	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Don Nelson	72	19.8	10.8	-	-	4.4	1.4	-	-	-	2.2	4.3	9.0	.476	-	-	-	2.2	2.6	.846
Joakim Noah	7	5.7	1.7	0.9	1.1	2.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.7	0.7	1.4	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.6	.500

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


Season 12
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1973-74	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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 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
Joakim Noah	42	16.5	7.1	1.4	4.3	5.7	2.1	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.3	2.6	5.1	.516	0.0	0.0	.000	1.9	2.6	.716

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Joakim Noah	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1974-75	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Clippers 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		%
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
Joakim Noah	5	10.0	2.8	1.0	2.2	3.2	1.4	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.8	0.8	1.6	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.6	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Joakim Noah	2	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 14
	Don Nelson	Joakim Noah
Season	1975-76	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Joakim Noah	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Joakim Noah	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Nelson vs. Joakim Noah Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joakim Noah and Don Nelson, 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