Don Nelson vs. Tony Parker Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tony Parker 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, 4 less than Tony Parker, who played 18. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Tony Parker had his rookie season in 2001-02. 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
Tony Parker 18 17 2001-02 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18

Rookie Season

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1962-632001-02
Team Chicago ZephyrsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did Not PlaySpurs 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 62 17.3 6.8 - - 4.5 1.2 - - - 2.2 2.1 4.7 .440 - - - 2.6 3.6 .729
Tony Parker 77 29.4 9.2 0.4 2.1 2.6 4.3 1.2 0.1 2.0 2.2 3.5 8.3 .419 0.8 2.5 .323 1.4 2.1 .675
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 10 34.1 15.5 0.5 2.4 2.9 4.0 0.9 0.1 2.2 2.2 6.2 13.6 .456 1.0 2.7 .370 2.1 2.8 .750

Season 2

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1963-642002-03
Team Los Angeles LakersSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div SemisNBA 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 80 17.6 5.2 - - 4.0 1.0 - - - 2.3 1.7 4.0 .418 - - - 1.9 2.5 .741
Tony Parker 82 33.8 15.5 0.4 2.2 2.6 5.3 0.9 0.0 2.4 2.1 5.9 12.7 .464 1.0 3.0 .337 2.7 3.5 .755
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
Tony Parker 24 33.9 14.7 0.3 2.4 2.8 3.5 0.9 0.1 2.0 2.1 5.6 14.0 .403 0.6 2.3 .268 2.8 3.9 .713

Season 3

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1964-652003-04
Team Los Angeles LakersSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA FinalsSpurs 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 39 6.1 2.4 - - 1.9 0.6 - - - 1.0 0.9 2.2 .424 - - - 0.5 0.7 .769
Tony Parker 75 34.4 14.7 0.6 2.6 3.2 5.5 0.8 0.1 2.4 2.0 5.6 12.6 .447 0.8 2.7 .312 2.5 3.6 .702
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
Tony Parker 10 38.6 18.4 0.5 1.6 2.1 7.0 1.3 0.1 3.1 1.5 7.2 16.8 .429 1.7 4.3 .395 2.3 3.5 .657

Season 4

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1965-662004-05
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA 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
Tony Parker 80 34.2 16.6 0.6 3.1 3.7 6.1 1.2 0.1 2.7 2.1 6.7 14.0 .482 0.5 2.0 .276 2.6 4.0 .650
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
Tony Parker 23 37.2 17.2 0.6 2.3 2.9 4.3 0.7 0.1 3.1 3.0 7.2 15.9 .454 0.4 2.1 .188 2.4 3.8 .632

Season 5

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1966-672005-06
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsSpurs 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 15.2 7.5 - - 3.7 0.8 - - - 1.8 2.9 6.4 .446 - - - 1.8 2.4 .742
Tony Parker 80 33.9 18.9 0.5 2.8 3.3 5.8 1.0 0.1 3.1 2.0 7.8 14.2 .548 0.1 0.5 .306 3.2 4.5 .707
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
Tony Parker 13 36.5 21.1 0.6 3.0 3.6 3.8 1.0 0.1 3.1 2.4 8.0 17.4 .460 0.2 0.7 .222 4.9 6.1 .810

Season 6

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1967-682006-07
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA 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
Tony Parker 77 32.5 18.6 0.4 2.8 3.2 5.5 1.1 0.1 2.5 1.8 7.4 14.2 .520 0.2 0.5 .395 3.6 4.5 .783
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
Tony Parker 20 37.6 20.8 0.7 2.7 3.4 5.8 1.1 0.0 3.3 1.7 8.4 17.5 .480 0.4 1.1 .333 3.6 5.3 .679

Season 7

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1968-692007-08
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West 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 82 21.6 11.6 - - 5.6 1.1 - - - 2.4 4.6 9.4 .485 - - - 2.5 3.2 .776
Tony Parker 69 33.5 18.8 0.4 2.8 3.2 6.0 0.8 0.1 2.4 1.3 7.5 15.1 .494 0.2 1.0 .258 3.6 5.0 .715
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
Tony Parker 17 38.5 22.4 0.6 3.1 3.7 6.1 0.9 0.1 2.9 2.2 8.9 18.0 .497 0.4 1.2 .350 4.1 5.5 .753

Season 8

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1969-702008-09
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlaySpurs 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 27.1 15.4 - - 7.3 1.8 - - - 2.9 5.6 11.2 .501 - - - 4.1 5.3 .775
Tony Parker 72 34.1 22.0 0.4 2.7 3.1 6.9 0.9 0.1 2.6 1.5 8.9 17.5 .506 0.3 0.9 .292 3.9 5.0 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 5 36.2 28.6 0.2 4.0 4.2 6.8 1.2 0.2 4.2 2.6 11.8 21.6 .546 0.6 2.8 .214 4.4 6.2 .710

Season 9

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1970-712009-10
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlaySpurs 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 27.5 13.9 - - 6.9 1.9 - - - 2.8 5.0 10.7 .468 - - - 3.9 5.2 .744
Tony Parker 56 30.9 16.0 0.1 2.3 2.4 5.7 0.5 0.1 2.7 1.7 6.2 12.8 .487 0.2 0.6 .294 3.3 4.4 .756
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 10 33.5 17.3 0.9 2.9 3.8 5.4 0.6 0.0 2.2 2.0 7.3 15.4 .474 0.2 0.3 .667 2.5 4.2 .595

Season 10

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1971-722010-11
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsSpurs 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 25.4 13.8 - - 5.5 2.3 - - - 2.7 4.7 9.9 .480 - - - 4.3 5.5 .788
Tony Parker 78 32.4 17.5 0.4 2.7 3.1 6.6 1.2 0.0 2.6 1.7 7.1 13.7 .519 0.3 0.9 .357 3.0 3.9 .769
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
Tony Parker 6 36.8 19.7 0.2 2.5 2.7 5.2 1.3 0.3 3.3 1.7 7.2 15.5 .462 0.2 1.3 .125 5.2 6.8 .756

Season 11

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1972-732011-12
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsSpurs Lost West 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 72 19.8 10.8 - - 4.4 1.4 - - - 2.2 4.3 9.0 .476 - - - 2.2 2.6 .846
Tony Parker 60 32.1 18.3 0.4 2.5 2.9 7.7 1.0 0.1 2.6 1.3 7.1 14.8 .480 0.2 1.0 .230 3.8 4.7 .799
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
Tony Parker 14 36.1 20.1 0.6 3.0 3.6 6.8 0.9 0.0 3.1 1.6 7.3 16.1 .453 0.5 1.5 .333 5.1 6.3 .807

Season 12

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1973-742012-13
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs 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 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
Tony Parker 66 32.9 20.3 0.3 2.7 3.0 7.6 0.8 0.1 2.6 1.4 7.9 15.1 .522 0.4 1.0 .353 4.2 5.0 .845
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
Tony Parker 21 36.4 20.6 0.7 2.6 3.2 7.0 1.1 0.1 2.5 1.2 8.0 17.4 .458 0.5 1.5 .355 4.1 5.3 .777

Season 13

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1974-752013-14
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsNBA 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 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
Tony Parker 68 29.4 16.7 0.3 2.0 2.3 5.7 0.5 0.1 2.2 1.3 6.7 13.4 .499 0.4 1.0 .373 2.9 3.6 .811
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
Tony Parker 23 31.3 17.4 0.2 1.7 2.0 4.8 0.7 0.1 2.7 1.6 7.3 15.0 .486 0.6 1.5 .371 2.2 3.0 .729

Season 14

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season 1975-762014-15
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs 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 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
Tony Parker 68 28.7 14.4 0.2 1.7 1.9 4.9 0.6 0.0 2.1 1.6 5.9 12.2 .486 0.6 1.3 .427 1.9 2.4 .783
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
Tony Parker 7 30.0 10.9 0.6 2.7 3.3 3.6 0.3 0.0 1.6 2.0 4.7 13.0 .363 0.0 1.3 .000 1.4 2.4 .588

Season 15

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season -2015-16
Team -San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Spurs 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 ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 72 27.5 11.9 0.2 2.2 2.4 5.3 0.8 0.2 1.8 1.6 4.9 9.9 .493 0.4 0.9 .415 1.8 2.4 .760
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 10 26.4 10.4 0.1 2.1 2.2 5.3 0.6 0.2 1.8 1.5 4.4 9.8 .449 0.4 1.6 .250 1.2 1.4 .857

Season 16

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season -2016-17
Team -San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Spurs Lost West 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 ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 63 25.2 10.1 0.1 1.7 1.8 4.5 0.5 0.0 1.4 1.5 4.2 9.0 .466 0.4 1.1 .333 1.3 1.9 .726
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 8 26.4 15.9 0.3 2.3 2.5 3.1 0.5 0.0 1.5 1.3 6.4 12.1 .526 1.4 2.4 .579 1.8 1.8 1.000

Season 17

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season -2017-18
Team -San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Spurs 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 ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 55 19.5 7.7 0.1 1.6 1.7 3.5 0.5 0.0 1.2 0.9 3.2 7.1 .459 0.2 0.7 .270 1.0 1.4 .705
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 5 13.4 6.6 0.0 0.8 0.8 1.2 0.4 0.0 0.8 0.4 2.8 7.4 .378 0.0 1.0 .000 1.0 1.4 .714

Season 18

Don Nelson Tony Parker
Season -2018-19
Team -Charlotte Hornets
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 ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker 56 17.9 9.5 0.3 1.2 1.5 3.7 0.4 0.1 1.3 0.9 3.8 8.3 .460 0.2 0.9 .255 1.6 2.2 .734
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Nelson ------- --- ----------
Tony Parker ------- --- ----------