Don Nelson vs. Jonas Valanciunas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jonas Valanciunas 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, 2 more than Jonas Valanciunas, who played 12. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Jonas Valanciunas had his rookie season in 2012-13. 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
Jonas Valanciunas	12	8	2012-13 to 2023-24

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	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1962-63	2012-13
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
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
Jonas Valanciunas	62	23.9	8.9	2.0	4.0	6.0	0.7	0.3	1.3	1.5	3.0	3.3	5.9	.557	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.0	.789

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


Season 2
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1963-64	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Raptors 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
Jonas Valanciunas	81	28.2	11.3	2.8	6.0	8.8	0.7	0.3	0.9	1.7	3.1	4.4	8.3	.531	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.2	.762

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
Jonas Valanciunas	7	28.6	10.9	2.7	7.0	9.7	0.3	0.0	1.0	2.7	3.1	4.4	7.0	.633	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.1	.636


Season 3
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1964-65	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Raptors 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
Jonas Valanciunas	80	26.2	12.0	2.7	6.0	8.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	1.4	2.8	4.7	8.2	.572	0.0	0.0	.000	2.7	3.5	.786

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
Jonas Valanciunas	4	26.5	11.3	2.3	7.0	9.3	0.5	0.5	0.3	1.0	1.8	4.8	9.5	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.0	.875


Season 4
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1965-66	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors 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
Jonas Valanciunas	60	26.0	12.8	3.1	6.1	9.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	1.4	2.6	5.1	8.9	.565	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.6	.761

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
Jonas Valanciunas	12	26.8	13.8	4.0	6.8	10.8	0.9	0.8	1.2	1.5	2.7	5.7	10.0	.567	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.3	.744


Season 5
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1966-67	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Raptors 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	79	15.2	7.5	-	-	3.7	0.8	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	6.4	.446	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.742
Jonas Valanciunas	80	25.8	12.0	2.8	6.7	9.5	0.7	0.5	0.8	1.3	2.7	4.9	8.8	.557	0.0	0.0	.500	2.2	2.7	.811

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
Jonas Valanciunas	10	22.6	11.2	0.9	5.8	6.7	0.2	0.2	0.6	1.3	2.2	4.4	8.1	.543	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.3	.727


Season 6
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1967-68	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors 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
Jonas Valanciunas	77	22.4	12.7	2.4	6.2	8.6	1.1	0.4	0.9	1.5	2.5	5.1	8.9	.568	0.4	1.0	.405	2.2	2.7	.806

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
Jonas Valanciunas	10	24.4	14.6	3.0	7.5	10.5	1.2	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.2	5.8	10.7	.542	0.2	0.5	.400	2.8	3.4	.824


Season 7
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1968-69	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776
Jonas Valanciunas	49	22.3	15.6	2.2	6.4	8.6	1.4	0.4	1.1	1.8	3.0	6.1	11.0	.559	0.3	1.0	.292	3.0	3.8	.795

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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1969-70	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Memphis Grizzlies
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	27.1	15.4	-	-	7.3	1.8	-	-	-	2.9	5.6	11.2	.501	-	-	-	4.1	5.3	.775
Jonas Valanciunas	70	26.4	14.9	3.0	8.2	11.3	1.9	0.4	1.1	1.8	2.6	6.2	10.6	.585	0.5	1.3	.352	2.1	2.9	.740

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


Season 9
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1970-71	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Grizzlies Lost West 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	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744
Jonas Valanciunas	62	28.3	17.1	4.1	8.4	12.5	1.8	0.6	0.9	1.6	2.9	7.1	12.0	.592	0.3	0.9	.368	2.5	3.3	.773

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jonas Valanciunas	5	33.2	15.0	4.0	5.8	9.8	2.6	0.6	0.6	2.0	3.6	6.6	11.6	.569	0.4	1.6	.250	1.4	1.6	.875


Season 10
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1971-72	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pelicans Lost West 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	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788
Jonas Valanciunas	74	30.3	17.8	3.1	8.3	11.4	2.6	0.6	0.8	2.4	3.3	6.9	12.7	.544	0.8	2.1	.361	3.2	3.9	.820

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
Jonas Valanciunas	6	29.2	14.5	5.5	8.8	14.3	3.0	0.7	0.2	2.0	2.8	5.5	11.3	.485	0.2	1.0	.167	3.3	4.3	.769


Season 11
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1972-73	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
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
Jonas Valanciunas	79	24.9	14.1	2.8	7.3	10.2	1.8	0.3	0.7	2.0	3.1	5.6	10.3	.547	0.5	1.4	.349	2.3	2.8	.826

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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1973-74	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pelicans 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		%
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
Jonas Valanciunas	82	23.5	12.2	2.3	6.5	8.8	2.1	0.4	0.8	1.4	2.7	4.9	8.8	.559	0.5	1.5	.308	2.0	2.5	.785

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
Jonas Valanciunas	4	22.5	14.5	4.5	6.5	11.0	1.3	0.5	0.0	2.5	2.3	5.5	10.5	.524	0.0	0.3	.000	3.5	4.3	.824


Season 13
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
Season	1974-75	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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		%
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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Don Nelson	Jonas Valanciunas
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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Jonas Valanciunas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Nelson vs. Jonas Valanciunas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jonas Valanciunas 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