Don Nelson vs. Klay Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Klay Thompson 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, 3 more than Klay Thompson, who played 11. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Klay Thompson had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Klay Thompson	11	9	2011-12 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	Klay Thompson
Season	1962-63	2011-12
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729
Klay Thompson	66	24.4	12.5	0.4	2.1	2.4	2.0	0.7	0.3	1.6	2.3	4.8	10.9	.443	1.7	4.1	.414	1.2	1.4	.868

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


Season 2
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1963-64	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Warriors 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	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741
Klay Thompson	82	35.8	16.6	0.4	3.3	3.7	2.2	1.0	0.5	1.9	2.9	6.2	14.7	.422	2.6	6.4	.401	1.6	1.9	.841

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
Klay Thompson	12	41.3	15.2	0.8	3.8	4.6	1.8	1.0	0.6	2.0	3.7	6.3	14.5	.437	2.1	4.9	.424	0.4	0.5	.833


Season 3
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1964-65	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Warriors 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	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769
Klay Thompson	81	35.4	18.4	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.2	0.9	0.5	1.7	2.9	6.9	15.5	.444	2.8	6.6	.417	1.8	2.3	.795

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
Klay Thompson	7	36.7	16.4	0.6	2.9	3.4	3.6	1.0	0.7	2.1	3.4	5.7	14.0	.408	2.3	6.3	.364	2.7	3.4	.792


Season 4
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1965-66	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Don Nelson	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684
Klay Thompson	77	31.9	21.7	0.4	2.9	3.2	2.9	1.1	0.8	1.9	1.6	7.8	16.9	.463	3.1	7.1	.439	2.9	3.3	.879

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
Klay Thompson	21	36.2	18.6	0.4	3.4	3.9	2.6	0.8	0.9	2.0	3.0	7.1	15.9	.446	2.7	7.0	.390	1.7	2.1	.800


Season 5
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1966-67	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Warriors Lost NBA 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	15.2	7.5	-	-	3.7	0.8	-	-	-	1.8	2.9	6.4	.446	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.742
Klay Thompson	80	33.3	22.1	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.1	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.9	8.1	17.3	.470	3.5	8.1	.425	2.4	2.8	.873

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
Klay Thompson	24	35.4	24.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.3	1.1	0.4	2.0	2.2	8.4	18.9	.444	4.1	9.6	.424	3.4	4.0	.854


Season 6
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1967-68	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Don Nelson	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	22.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.1	0.8	0.5	1.6	1.8	8.3	17.6	.468	3.4	8.3	.414	2.4	2.8	.853

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
Klay Thompson	17	35.1	15.0	0.6	3.2	3.9	2.1	0.8	0.3	1.4	2.6	5.5	13.9	.397	2.4	6.2	.387	1.5	1.9	.788


Season 7
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1968-69	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Don Nelson	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776
Klay Thompson	73	34.3	20.0	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.5	0.8	0.5	1.8	1.6	7.9	16.2	.488	3.1	7.1	.440	1.1	1.3	.837

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
Klay Thompson	21	37.8	19.6	0.5	3.6	4.1	1.8	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.3	7.6	16.3	.465	3.2	7.5	.427	1.3	1.5	.871


Season 8
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1969-70	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

more >>

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
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	21.5	0.5	3.4	3.8	2.4	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.0	8.4	18.0	.467	3.1	7.7	.402	1.7	2.0	.816

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Klay Thompson	21	39.0	20.7	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.1	1.3	0.7	1.8	2.8	7.8	17.1	.456	3.3	7.5	.443	1.8	2.0	.902

Note: Klay Thompson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.


Season 9
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1970-71	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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	82	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744
Klay Thompson	32	29.4	20.4	0.5	3.4	3.9	2.8	0.5	0.5	1.3	1.7	7.7	17.9	.429	3.6	9.3	.385	1.4	1.6	.902

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Klay Thompson	22	36.0	19.0	0.3	3.6	3.9	2.3	1.1	0.7	1.3	2.1	7.2	16.7	.429	3.5	9.1	.385	1.2	1.4	.867


Season 10
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1971-72	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Warriors 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	82	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788
Klay Thompson	69	33.0	21.9	0.6	3.6	4.1	2.4	0.7	0.4	1.8	1.9	7.9	18.1	.436	4.4	10.6	.412	1.7	1.9	.879

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
Klay Thompson	13	36.0	18.5	0.1	4.1	4.2	2.2	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.2	6.5	16.8	.388	3.8	10.5	.368	1.6	1.8	.875


Season 11
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1972-73	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Don Nelson	72	19.8	10.8	-	-	4.4	1.4	-	-	-	2.2	4.3	9.0	.476	-	-	-	2.2	2.6	.846
Klay Thompson	77	29.7	17.9	0.5	2.8	3.3	2.3	0.6	0.5	1.5	1.6	6.4	14.7	.432	3.5	9.0	.387	1.6	1.8	.927

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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
Season	1973-74	-
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	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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Don Nelson	Klay Thompson
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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Klay Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Nelson vs. Klay Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Klay Thompson 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