Don Nelson vs. Wes Unseld Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wes Unseld 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 more than Wes Unseld, who played 13. Don Nelson had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Wes Unseld had his rookie season in 1968-69. 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
Wes Unseld	13	12	1968-69 to 1980-81

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	Wes Unseld
Season	1962-63	1968-69
Team	Chicago Zephyrs	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets Lost East 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	62	17.3	6.8	-	-	4.5	1.2	-	-	-	2.2	2.1	4.7	.440	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.729
Wes Unseld	82	36.2	13.8	-	-	18.2	2.6	-	-	-	3.4	5.2	10.9	.476	-	-	-	3.4	5.6	.605

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wes Unseld	4	41.3	18.8	-	-	18.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.5	7.5	14.3	.526	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.789


Season 2
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1963-64	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Bullets Lost East 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	80	17.6	5.2	-	-	4.0	1.0	-	-	-	2.3	1.7	4.0	.418	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.741
Wes Unseld	82	39.4	16.2	-	-	16.7	3.5	-	-	-	3.0	6.4	12.4	.518	-	-	-	3.3	5.2	.638

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
Wes Unseld	7	41.3	10.4	-	-	23.6	3.4	-	-	-	3.6	4.1	10.0	.414	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.789


Season 3
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1964-65	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bullets 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	39	6.1	2.4	-	-	1.9	0.6	-	-	-	1.0	0.9	2.2	.424	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.769
Wes Unseld	74	39.2	14.1	-	-	16.9	4.0	-	-	-	3.2	5.7	11.4	.501	-	-	-	2.7	4.1	.657

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
Wes Unseld	18	42.2	13.2	-	-	18.8	3.8	-	-	-	3.3	5.3	11.6	.462	-	-	-	2.6	4.5	.568


Season 4
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1965-66	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	75	23.5	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	8.2	.439	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.684
Wes Unseld	76	41.7	13.0	-	-	17.6	3.7	-	-	-	2.9	5.4	10.8	.498	-	-	-	2.3	3.6	.629

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
Wes Unseld	6	44.3	12.3	-	-	12.5	4.2	-	-	-	3.7	5.3	10.8	.492	-	-	-	1.7	3.2	.526


Season 5
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1966-67	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Baltimore Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	Bullets 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
Wes Unseld	79	39.1	12.5	-	-	15.9	4.4	-	-	-	2.1	5.3	10.8	.493	-	-	-	1.9	2.7	.703

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
Wes Unseld	5	40.2	9.8	-	-	15.2	3.4	-	-	-	2.4	4.0	9.6	.417	-	-	-	1.8	3.8	.474


Season 6
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1967-68	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Capital Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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
Wes Unseld	56	30.8	5.9	2.7	6.5	9.2	2.8	1.0	0.3	-	2.2	2.6	5.9	.438	-	-	-	0.6	1.0	.655

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
Wes Unseld	7	42.4	10.1	3.1	9.0	12.1	3.9	0.6	0.1	-	2.1	4.4	9.0	.492	-	-	-	1.3	2.1	.600


Season 7
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1968-69	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	Rebounds Leader
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	82	21.6	11.6	-	-	5.6	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	4.6	9.4	.485	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.776
Wes Unseld	73	39.8	9.2	4.4	10.4	14.8	4.1	1.6	0.9	-	2.5	3.7	7.5	.502	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.685

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
Wes Unseld	17	43.2	10.7	3.8	12.4	16.2	3.8	0.9	1.2	-	2.3	4.2	7.6	.546	-	-	-	2.4	3.6	.656


Season 8
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1969-70	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets 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	27.1	15.4	-	-	7.3	1.8	-	-	-	2.9	5.6	11.2	.501	-	-	-	4.1	5.3	.775
Wes Unseld	78	37.5	9.6	3.5	9.8	13.3	5.2	1.1	0.8	-	2.6	4.1	7.3	.561	-	-	-	1.5	2.5	.585

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wes Unseld	7	44.3	7.0	3.7	8.4	12.1	4.0	0.9	0.6	-	2.7	2.6	5.6	.462	-	-	-	1.9	3.4	.542


Season 9
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1970-71	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets 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	27.5	13.9	-	-	6.9	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.0	10.7	.468	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.744
Wes Unseld	82	34.9	7.8	3.0	7.7	10.7	4.4	1.1	0.5	-	3.1	3.3	6.7	.490	-	-	-	1.2	2.0	.602

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wes Unseld	9	40.9	7.4	2.7	9.0	11.7	4.9	0.9	0.7	-	3.6	3.3	6.0	.556	-	-	-	0.8	1.3	.583


Season 10
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1971-72	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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	82	25.4	13.8	-	-	5.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	.788
Wes Unseld	80	33.1	7.6	3.6	8.4	11.9	4.1	1.2	0.6	2.2	2.9	3.2	6.1	.523	-	-	-	1.2	2.2	.538

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
Wes Unseld	18	37.6	9.4	4.0	8.0	12.0	4.4	0.9	0.4	2.0	3.4	3.9	7.4	.530	-	-	-	1.5	2.6	.587


Season 11
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1972-73	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Bullets 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	72	19.8	10.8	-	-	4.4	1.4	-	-	-	2.2	4.3	9.0	.476	-	-	-	2.2	2.6	.846
Wes Unseld	77	31.2	10.9	3.6	7.2	10.8	4.1	0.9	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.5	7.8	.577	-	-	-	2.0	3.1	.643

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
Wes Unseld	19	38.7	10.3	4.7	8.6	13.3	3.4	0.9	0.7	1.6	3.5	4.1	8.3	.494	-	-	-	2.1	3.4	.609


Season 12
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1973-74	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bullets 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	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
Wes Unseld	82	36.3	9.7	4.1	9.3	13.3	4.5	0.8	0.7	1.9	3.0	4.0	7.8	.513	0.0	0.0	.500	1.7	2.5	.665

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
Wes Unseld	2	43.5	9.0	3.5	10.5	14.0	3.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	2.5	3.5	7.0	.500	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 13
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
Season	1974-75	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Bullets
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	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
Wes Unseld	63	32.3	8.0	3.3	7.4	10.7	2.7	0.8	0.6	1.5	2.7	3.6	6.8	.524	0.0	0.1	.500	0.9	1.4	.640

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
Wes Unseld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Don Nelson	Wes Unseld
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
Wes Unseld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Wes Unseld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Nelson vs. Wes Unseld Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wes Unseld 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