Don Nelson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens 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 less than Lenny Wilkens, who played 15. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Lenny Wilkens had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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
Lenny Wilkens	15	7	1960-61 to 1974-75

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1962-63	1960-61
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost NBA 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	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729
Lenny Wilkens	75	25.3	11.7	-	-	4.5	2.8	-	-	-	2.9	4.4	10.4	.425	-	-	-	2.9	4.0	.713

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	12	36.4	14.2	-	-	6.0	3.5	-	-	-	4.3	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 2
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1963-64	1961-62
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	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	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741
Lenny Wilkens	20	43.5	18.2	-	-	6.6	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	7.0	18.2	.385	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.764

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1964-65	1962-63
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost West Div 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	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769
Lenny Wilkens	75	34.3	11.8	-	-	5.4	5.1	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	11.1	.399	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.696

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
Lenny Wilkens	11	36.4	13.7	-	-	6.3	6.3	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	14.0	.370	-	-	-	3.4	4.5	.755


Season 4
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1965-66	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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
Lenny Wilkens	78	32.4	12.0	-	-	4.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	4.3	10.4	.413	-	-	-	3.5	4.7	.740

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
Lenny Wilkens	12	34.4	14.3	-	-	5.0	5.3	-	-	-	3.5	5.3	11.9	.448	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 5
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1966-67	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Hawks Lost West Div 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
Lenny Wilkens	78	36.6	16.5	-	-	4.7	5.5	-	-	-	3.6	5.6	13.4	.414	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.746

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
Lenny Wilkens	4	36.8	16.0	-	-	3.0	3.8	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	14.3	.351	-	-	-	6.0	7.3	.828


Season 6
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1967-68	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
Lenny Wilkens	69	39.0	18.0	-	-	4.7	6.2	-	-	-	3.6	6.0	13.8	.431	-	-	-	6.1	7.7	.793

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
Lenny Wilkens	10	39.1	17.1	-	-	5.4	7.0	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	14.3	.399	-	-	-	5.7	8.3	.687


Season 7
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1968-69	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div 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	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776
Lenny Wilkens	78	38.1	17.4	-	-	5.3	5.7	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	13.3	.432	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.787

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
Lenny Wilkens	9	42.0	21.4	-	-	7.6	7.2	-	-	-	3.8	6.4	16.1	.400	-	-	-	8.6	10.0	.856


Season 8
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1969-70	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div 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
Lenny Wilkens	82	38.6	20.0	-	-	5.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.2	.438	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	6	39.5	18.3	-	-	6.3	7.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.2	.440	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750


Season 9
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1970-71	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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
Lenny Wilkens	82	42.2	22.4	-	-	6.2	8.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.9	17.8	.440	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770

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


Season 10
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1971-72	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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
Lenny Wilkens	75	37.4	17.8	-	-	5.0	9.1	-	-	-	2.8	6.0	14.2	.420	-	-	-	5.8	7.4	.788

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1972-73	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game NVP
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
Lenny Wilkens	71	37.2	19.8	-	-	4.5	9.2	-	-	-	2.8	6.6	15.8	.419	-	-	-	6.5	8.1	.803

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1973-74	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
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
Lenny Wilkens	80	37.4	18.0	-	-	4.2	9.6	-	-	-	2.6	6.0	12.8	.466	-	-	-	6.0	7.8	.774

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1974-75	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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	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
Lenny Wilkens	75	39.6	20.5	-	-	4.6	8.4	-	-	-	2.9	7.6	17.0	.449	-	-	-	5.3	6.3	.828

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1975-76	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
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	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
Lenny Wilkens	74	33.6	16.4	1.1	2.7	3.7	7.1	1.3	0.2	-	2.2	6.2	13.4	.465	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.801

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
Lenny Wilkens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Don Nelson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	-	1974-75
Team	-	Portland Trail Blazers
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 Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	65	17.9	6.5	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.6	1.2	0.1	-	1.5	2.1	4.7	.439	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.768

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

Don Nelson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens 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

Season 15