Don Nelson vs. Rajon Rondo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rajon Rondo 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.

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 less than Rajon Rondo, who played 16. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Rajon Rondo had his rookie season in 2006-07. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16
Rookie Season
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1962-63	2006-07
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Boston Celtics
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
Rajon Rondo	78	23.5	6.4	0.9	2.8	3.7	3.8	1.6	0.1	1.8	2.3	2.4	5.8	.418	0.1	0.4	.207	1.5	2.4	.647
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rajon Rondo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1963-64	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	NBA Champion

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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
Rajon Rondo	77	29.9	10.6	1.0	3.2	4.2	5.1	1.7	0.2	1.9	2.4	4.6	9.3	.492	0.1	0.2	.263	1.4	2.3	.611
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
Rajon Rondo	26	32.0	10.2	1.5	2.6	4.1	6.6	1.7	0.3	1.8	2.8	4.1	10.1	.407	0.2	0.8	.250	1.8	2.6	.691

Season 3
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1964-65	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics 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	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769
Rajon Rondo	80	33.0	11.9	1.3	4.0	5.2	8.2	1.9	0.1	2.6	2.4	4.8	9.5	.505	0.2	0.6	.313	2.2	3.4	.642
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
Rajon Rondo	14	41.2	16.9	2.3	7.4	9.7	9.8	2.5	0.2	2.7	3.4	6.6	15.9	.417	0.4	1.7	.250	3.1	4.8	.657

Season 4
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1965-66	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics 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	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684
Rajon Rondo	81	36.6	13.7	1.2	3.2	4.4	9.8	2.3	0.1	3.0	2.4	5.7	11.2	.508	0.2	1.0	.213	2.2	3.5	.621
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
Rajon Rondo	24	40.6	15.8	1.6	4.0	5.6	9.3	1.9	0.1	3.0	2.4	6.3	13.6	.463	0.4	1.0	.375	2.8	4.8	.596

Season 5
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1966-67	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Celtics 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
Rajon Rondo	68	37.2	10.6	1.3	3.1	4.4	11.2	2.3	0.2	3.4	1.8	4.7	9.9	.475	0.1	0.6	.233	1.1	1.9	.568
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
Rajon Rondo	9	38.3	14.0	1.2	4.2	5.4	9.6	1.1	0.0	3.7	1.8	5.7	11.9	.477	0.0	0.3	.000	2.7	4.2	.632

Season 6
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1967-68	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics 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	82	18.3	10.0	-	-	5.3	1.3	-	-	-	2.2	3.8	7.7	.494	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
Rajon Rondo	53	36.9	11.9	1.2	3.7	4.8	11.7	1.8	0.1	3.6	1.9	4.8	10.8	.448	0.2	0.8	.238	2.0	3.4	.597
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
Rajon Rondo	19	42.6	17.3	1.8	4.9	6.7	11.9	2.4	0.1	3.8	2.1	7.4	15.8	.468	0.4	1.6	.267	2.1	2.9	.696

Season 7
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1968-69	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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
Rajon Rondo	38	37.4	13.7	1.1	4.4	5.6	11.1	1.8	0.2	3.9	2.5	5.9	12.2	.484	0.3	1.3	.240	1.6	2.4	.645
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
Rajon Rondo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1971-72	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
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
Rajon Rondo	72	35.2	11.9	1.1	5.0	6.0	11.7	2.0	0.1	3.9	2.4	4.9	10.9	.454	0.9	2.4	.365	1.2	2.1	.580
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
Rajon Rondo	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1973-74	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pelicans Lost West 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	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
Rajon Rondo	65	26.2	8.3	0.5	3.6	4.0	8.2	1.1	0.2	2.3	1.8	3.6	7.6	.468	0.8	2.3	.333	0.4	0.7	.543
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
Rajon Rondo	9	33.6	10.3	1.0	6.6	7.6	12.2	1.4	0.2	3.7	2.2	4.2	10.2	.413	0.9	2.1	.421	1.0	1.6	.643

Season 14
	Don Nelson	Rajon Rondo
Season	1975-76	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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	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
Rajon Rondo	48	20.5	7.1	0.5	2.5	3.0	5.0	0.8	0.0	1.9	1.2	2.9	6.8	.418	0.9	2.6	.328	0.6	0.9	.659
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
Rajon Rondo	16	24.7	8.9	0.8	3.5	4.3	6.6	1.4	0.1	2.1	2.3	3.4	7.6	.455	1.3	3.1	.400	0.8	1.2	.684